CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF DEPRESSION AMONG HIGHER EDUCATION STUDENTS OF KOLKATA

Students of all ages are susceptible to depression, which is a common mental health disorder that impacts millions of people worldwide. The major aim of the study was to investigate the rate of prevalence of depression among higher education students in Kolkata in relation with different demographic factors viz. gender, type of family and minority status. In order to fulfill the aim of this investigation, a cross-sectional survey design was used. The study's sample included undergraduate and postgraduate students located in Kolkata, West Bengal. A total of 250 participants, including both undergraduate and postgraduate students, were recruited using a random sampling method from various higher education institutions, namely colleges and universities, located in the Kolkata area of West Bengal. This research aimed to examine the association between depression and many independent factors, including higher educational levels, gender, type of family, and minority status. Depression was used as the dependent variable in this analysis. To access the depression levels of higher education students, researchers used Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) including a demographic data sheet. Major findings yielded that firstly, majority of the undergraduate and postgraduate students appeared with mild level of depression and educational levels had no significant dependency on levels of depression (p>0.05). Secondly, most of the male students showed moderate level of depression and the majority of female students showed mild level of depression and gender had a significant dependency on levels of depression (p<0.05). Thirdly, majority of students from both categories of family type appeared with mild level of depression but types of family had no significant dependency on levels of depression (p>0.05) and lastly, minority status wise majority of non-minor students showed mild level of depression and majority of minor students emerged with moderate level of depression and a significant relationship found between levels of depression and minority status of students (p<0.05).