The Effect of Stress on the Extent to Which College Freshmen Exhibit Depressive Symptoms - Research Paper Example

Data will be collected from freshmen studying different courses in different universities in the state using the BDI-II, PSS and the Stress Scale for the Youth, and the data collected were analyzed using factorial ANOVA and Chi-Square.Depression is a disorder that impacts affective, behavioral and cognitive aspects of an individual’s functioning, and affects anywhere between 8 – 12 % of individuals in the population (Kessler, Berglund, Demler, Jin, Merikangas, & Walters, 2005).

Women are more susceptible to depression as compared to men, and nearly twice the number of women are diagnosed with depression as compared to men (Kessler et al, 2005). Individuals in their early adulthood are somewhat more likely to show signs of depression, and there seems to be a strong relationship between stressful events and the onset of depression (Kessler et al, 2005). Individuals who experience stressful life events are more likely to exhibit depressive symptoms as compared to those who do not (Monroe, Slavich & Georgiades, 2008), and individuals who have higher levels of stress on a regular basis are also more sensitive to episodes of depression (Morris, Ciesla, & Garber, 2010).

From this data, it seems that certain groups of college students may be at considerable risk for depressive symptoms as a result of significant life events like moving away from home or coping with a changing social environment. Depression is associated with lowered achievement as well as an increased risk for suicidal ideation and attempts (Robbins, 2008). It is thus important to identify and provide support to at-risk individuals. Towards this end, this study attempts to explore whether existing life stress and moving away from home to attend college can increase the risk faced by college freshmen for depressive symptoms.

Depression is a mood disorder that finds its causes in a number of factors that include biological, sociological, genetic and psychological influences. There have been many theories that have attempted to explain the nature and incidence of depressive symptoms (Monroe, Slavich & Georgiades, 2008) ranging from theories that postulate the role of chemical changes in brain functioning (Tanti & Belzung, 2010) to evolutionary theories that attempt to explain the value of depression in survival.