The Effect of Acute Stress and Chronic Stress - Research Paper Example

The study expects to find that chronic stress also affects the extent to which individual displays depressive symptoms; and that high levels of both types of stress will be associated with the highest scores on depression. To this end, 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. Title The effect of Acute Stress and Chronic Stress on the extent to which College Freshmen exhibit Depressive Symptoms Introduction 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). 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. Review of Literature 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 (Sloman, Gilbert and Hasey, 2003).

Tanti and Belzung (2010) have attempted to explain depression using a connectivist approach that uses information about different possible causes for a depressive episode as input nodes to an explanation of the individual’s symptoms and intensity of the condition. According to them, each possible cause affects the individual in a different way; and thus may produce different experiences and emotions. Using this information, it becomes possible to understand the particular manifestation of the illness in an individual on the basis of the reasons that brought about the episode.