Exploring Depression & Anxiety among College Going Students

Adjustment to college life and attending a university for the first time can be a stressful experience for most college students. Because of the challenges faced when adapting to these life changes, college students are at risk for developing mental health issues. The development of symptoms of depression and anxiety can further aggravate and leads to difficulty in adapting to the demands imposed upon by academic pressures of different course. Adolescent by itself is a period of adjusting to the changes in one-s body and at emotional, cognitive and behavioral level. Mental health issues like depression and excessive anxiety can lead to difficulty in academics, relationships, and other important day to day life challenges. The aim of the current research was to a) Examine Depression in a group of college going Boys b) Examine Anxiety in a group of college going Girls. The measures used were a) Beck Depression Inventory ( Beck, 1961) to examine Depression and b) Beck Anxiety Inventory ( Beck, 1961) to examine Anxiety. After having sought the written permission from the management, the data was collected in group using convenient sampling technique. Descriptive statistics like mean and SD and inferential statistics like t test was used examine group differences. The results indicate that girls reported more symptoms of depression and anxiety in comparison to boys as revealed through the questionnaires. The findings of the current investigation also revealed that professional students reported more symptoms of depression and anxiety than the non-professional students. The current research highlights the need for mental health evaluation and interventions for the college going students. The colleges and the Universities need to set up mental health clinics in colleges and universities and employ trained mental health counselors and clinical psychologists to cater the emerging mental health needs of the students.