research topic about students depression

An Exploratory Study of Students with Depression in Undergraduate Research Experiences

Affiliations.

• 1 Department of Biology, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL, 32816.
• 2 Biology Education Research Lab, Research for Inclusive STEM Education Center, School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85281.
• PMID: 32412838
• PMCID: PMC8697659
• DOI: 10.1187/cbe.19-11-0217

Depression is a top mental health concern among undergraduates and has been shown to disproportionately affect individuals who are underserved and underrepresented in science. As we aim to create a more inclusive scientific community, we argue that we need to examine the relationship between depression and scientific research. While studies have identified aspects of research that affect graduate student depression, we know of no studies that have explored the relationship between depression and undergraduate research. In this study, we sought to understand how undergraduates' symptoms of depression affect their research experiences and how research affects undergraduates' feelings of depression. We interviewed 35 undergraduate researchers majoring in the life sciences from 12 research-intensive public universities across the United States who identify with having depression. Using inductive and deductive coding, we identified that students' depression affected their motivation and productivity, creativity and risk-taking, engagement and concentration, and self-perception and socializing in undergraduate research experiences. We found that students' social connections, experiencing failure in research, getting help, receiving feedback, and the demands of research affected students' depression. Based on this work, we articulate an initial set of evidence-based recommendations for research mentors to consider in promoting an inclusive research experience for students with depression.

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7 Depression Research Paper Topic Ideas

Nancy Schimelpfening, MS is the administrator for the non-profit depression support group Depression Sanctuary. Nancy has a lifetime of experience with depression, experiencing firsthand how devastating this illness can be.

Cara Lustik is a fact-checker and copywriter.

In psychology classes, it's common for students to write a depression research paper. Researching depression may be beneficial if you have a personal interest in this topic and want to learn more, or if you're simply passionate about this mental health issue. However, since depression is a very complex subject, it offers many possible topics to focus on, which may leave you wondering where to begin.

If this is how you feel, here are a few research titles about depression to help inspire your topic choice. You can use these suggestions as actual research titles about depression, or you can use them to lead you to other more in-depth topics that you can look into further for your depression research paper.

What Is Depression?

Everyone experiences times when they feel a little bit blue or sad. This is a normal part of being human. Depression, however, is a medical condition that is quite different from everyday moodiness.

Your depression research paper may explore the basics, or it might delve deeper into the  definition of clinical depression  or the  difference between clinical depression and sadness .

What Research Says About the Psychology of Depression

Studies suggest that there are biological, psychological, and social aspects to depression, giving you many different areas to consider for your research title about depression.

Types of Depression

There are several different types of depression  that are dependent on how an individual's depression symptoms manifest themselves. Depression symptoms may vary in severity or in what is causing them. For instance, major depressive disorder (MDD) may have no identifiable cause, while postpartum depression is typically linked to pregnancy and childbirth.

Depressive symptoms may also be part of an illness called bipolar disorder. This includes fluctuations between depressive episodes and a state of extreme elation called mania. Bipolar disorder is a topic that offers many research opportunities, from its definition and its causes to associated risks, symptoms, and treatment.

Causes of Depression

The possible causes of depression are many and not yet well understood. However, it most likely results from an interplay of genetic vulnerability  and environmental factors. Your depression research paper could explore one or more of these causes and reference the latest research on the topic.

For instance, how does an imbalance in brain chemistry or poor nutrition relate to depression? Is there a relationship between the stressful, busier lives of today's society and the rise of depression? How can grief or a major medical condition lead to overwhelming sadness and depression?

Who Is at Risk for Depression?

This is a good research question about depression as certain risk factors may make a person more prone to developing this mental health condition, such as a family history of depression, adverse childhood experiences, stress , illness, and gender . This is not a complete list of all risk factors, however, it's a good place to start.

The growing rate of depression in children, teenagers, and young adults is an interesting subtopic you can focus on as well. Whether you dive into the reasons behind the increase in rates of depression or discuss the treatment options that are safe for young people, there is a lot of research available in this area and many unanswered questions to consider.

Depression Signs and Symptoms

The signs of depression are those outward manifestations of the illness that a doctor can observe when they examine a patient. For example, a lack of emotional responsiveness is a visible sign. On the other hand, symptoms are subjective things about the illness that only the patient can observe, such as feelings of guilt or sadness.

An illness such as depression is often invisible to the outside observer. That is why it is very important for patients to make an accurate accounting of all of their symptoms so their doctor can diagnose them properly. In your depression research paper, you may explore these "invisible" symptoms of depression in adults or explore how depression symptoms can be different in children .

How Is Depression Diagnosed?

This is another good depression research topic because, in some ways, the diagnosis of depression is more of an art than a science. Doctors must generally rely upon the patient's set of symptoms and what they can observe about them during their examination to make a diagnosis. 

While there are certain  laboratory tests that can be performed to rule out other medical illnesses as a cause of depression, there is not yet a definitive test for depression itself.

If you'd like to pursue this topic, you may want to start with the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). The fifth edition, known as DSM-5, offers a very detailed explanation that guides doctors to a diagnosis. You can also compare the current model of diagnosing depression to historical methods of diagnosis—how have these updates improved the way depression is treated?

Treatment Options for Depression

The first choice for depression treatment is generally an antidepressant medication. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are the most popular choice because they can be quite effective and tend to have fewer side effects than other types of antidepressants.

Psychotherapy, or talk therapy, is another effective and common choice. It is especially efficacious when combined with antidepressant therapy. Certain other treatments, such as electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) or vagus nerve stimulation (VNS), are most commonly used for patients who do not respond to more common forms of treatment.

Focusing on one of these treatments is an option for your depression research paper. Comparing and contrasting several different types of treatment can also make a good research title about depression.

A Word From Verywell

The topic of depression really can take you down many different roads. When making your final decision on which to pursue in your depression research paper, it's often helpful to start by listing a few areas that pique your interest.

From there, consider doing a little preliminary research. You may come across something that grabs your attention like a new study, a controversial topic you didn't know about, or something that hits a personal note. This will help you narrow your focus, giving you your final research title about depression.

Remes O, Mendes JF, Templeton P. Biological, psychological, and social determinants of depression: A review of recent literature . Brain Sci . 2021;11(12):1633. doi:10.3390/brainsci11121633

National Institute of Mental Health. Depression .

American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition . American Psychiatric Association.

National Institute of Mental Health. Mental health medications .

Ferri, F. F. (2019). Ferri's Clinical Advisor 2020 E-Book: 5 Books in 1 . Netherlands: Elsevier Health Sciences.

By Nancy Schimelpfening Nancy Schimelpfening, MS is the administrator for the non-profit depression support group Depression Sanctuary. Nancy has a lifetime of experience with depression, experiencing firsthand how devastating this illness can be.  

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Open Access

Peer-reviewed

Research Article

Depression, anxiety and stress among high school students: A cross-sectional study in an urban municipality of Kathmandu, Nepal

Contributed equally to this work with: Anita Karki, Bipin Thapa

Roles Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analysis, Investigation, Methodology, Project administration, Software, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing

* E-mail: [email protected] (PB); [email protected] (AK)

Affiliation Central Department of Public Health, Institute of Medicine, Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu, Nepal

Roles Data curation, Formal analysis, Methodology, Software, Visualization, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing

Affiliation Department of Child, Adolescent Health and Maternal Care, School of Public Health, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China

Roles Writing – review & editing

Affiliation Department of Community Medicine, Maharajgunj Medical Campus, Institute of Medicine, Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu, Nepal

Roles Conceptualization, Methodology, Supervision, Writing – review & editing

• Anita Karki, 
• Bipin Thapa, 
• Pranil Man Singh Pradhan, 

• Published: May 31, 2022
• https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgph.0000516
• Peer Review
• Reader Comments

Depression and anxiety are the most widely recognized mental issues affecting youths. It is extremely important to investigate the burden and associated risk factors of these common mental disorders to combat them. Therefore, this study was undertaken with the aim to estimate the prevalence and identify factors associated with depression, anxiety, and stress among high school students in an urban municipality of Kathmandu, Nepal. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 453 students of five randomly selected high schools in Tokha Municipality of Kathmandu. Previously validated Nepali version of depression, anxiety, and stress scale (DASS-21) was used to assess the level of symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress (DAS). Multivariable logistic regression was carried out to decide statistically significant variables of symptoms of DAS at p-value<0.05. The overall prevalence of DAS was found to be 56.5% (95% CI: 51.8%, 61.1%), 55.6% (95%CI: 50.9%, 60.2%) and 32.9% (95%CI: 28.6%, 37.4%) respectively. In the multivariable model, nuclear family type, students from science or humanities faculty, presence of perceived academic stress, and being electronically bullied were found to be significantly associated with depression. Female sex, having mother with no formal education, students from science or humanities faculty and presence of perceived academic stress were significantly associated with anxiety. Likewise, female sex, currently living without parents, and presence of perceived academic stress were significantly associated with stress. Prevention and control activities such as school-based counseling services focusing to reduce and manage academic stress and electronic bullying are recommended in considering the findings of this research.

Citation: Karki A, Thapa B, Pradhan PMS, Basel P (2022) Depression, anxiety and stress among high school students: A cross-sectional study in an urban municipality of Kathmandu, Nepal. PLOS Glob Public Health 2(5): e0000516. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgph.0000516

Editor: Khameer Kidia, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, UNITED STATES

Received: February 22, 2022; Accepted: May 2, 2022; Published: May 31, 2022

Copyright: © 2022 Karki et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License , which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Data Availability: The data that support the findings of descriptive analysis of this study are available in Figshare with the identifier given below: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.19203512 The data that support the findings of inferential analysis of this study are available in Figshare with the identifier given below: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.19203491 .

Funding: The authors received no specific funding for this work.

Competing interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Introduction

Mental disorders contribute to a huge proportion of disease burden across all societies [ 1 ]. Among them, depression, anxiety and stress are the leading causes of illness and disability among adolescents [ 2 ]. The physical, psychological, and behavioral changes that occur throughout adolescence predispose them to a variety of mental health issues [ 3 ]. Despite this, mental health and mental disorders are largely ignored and not given the same importance as physical health [ 4 ].

The existing community-based studies conducted among high school students of various parts of Nepal have reported a wide range of prevalence of symptoms of depression and anxiety. The prevalence of depressive symptoms has been reported to range from 27% to 76% [ 5 – 7 ]. Likewise, the limited studies conducted in Nepal have estimated the proportion of symptoms of anxiety to range from 10% to 57% [ 7 – 9 ]. A nationwide survey conducted in Nepal revealed the prevalence of mental distress among adolescents (13-17years) to be 5.2% [ 10 ]. The Global School Health Survey which was a nationwide survey conducted in 2015 reported anxiety among 4.6% of the students [ 11 ].

Previous studies have revealed that sex [ 12 – 16 ], staying away from home [ 17 ], grade [ 12 , 14 , 16 ], stream of study [ 18 ], academic performance and examination related issues [ 7 , 19 ], cyber bullying [ 20 ] were linked with depression. Likewise, sex [ 8 , 21 ], grade of students and type of school i.e., public or private [ 8 ], family type [ 17 ], not living with parents, educational level of parents [ 21 ] and high educational stress [ 22 ] had been the determinants of anxiety as per previous studies.

High school education is an important turning point in the life of academic students in Nepal [ 23 ]. As the educational system becomes more specialized and tough in high school, the students become more likely to experience stress at this level. This might put them at risk of developing common mental disorders such as depression, anxiety and stress (DAS). However, there is a paucity of research studies that have assessed DAS among high school students in Nepal.

Exploring the magnitude and risk factors of symptoms of DAS are very crucial to combat the burden of adolescent mental health issues [ 24 ]. However, due to limited access to psychological and psychiatric services as well as the significant social stigma associated with mental health issues, anxiety and depression in early adolescence frequently go undiagnosed and untreated, particularly in developing countries such as Nepal. Therefore, this study aimed to estimate the prevalence and identify factors associated with the symptoms of DAS among high school students in an urban municipality of Kathmandu, Nepal.

Materials and methods

Study setting, design, and population.

This was a cross-sectional survey conducted in randomly selected high schools of Tokha Municipality, Kathmandu District in province no. 3 of Nepal. The data collection period was from 27 th August to 11 th September 2019. This municipality was formed on 7 December 2014 by merging five previous villages. It has an area of 16.2 sq.km. and comprises 11 wards [ 25 , 26 ]. The municipality is rich in cultural and ethnic diversity [ 25 ]. According to Nepal government records as of 2017, there were total 218,554 students in Tokha municipality in 82 schools. High school students were the study population for this study [ 26 ]. In Nepal, high school students comprise of grade 11 and grade 12 students. The high school differs from lower schooling level since the students have the opportunity to enroll in specialized areas such as science, management, humanities and education. High school are also popularly known as 10+2 [ 27 ].

Sample size calculation and sampling technique

Sample size was estimated using the formula for cross-sectional survey [ 28 ], n = Z 2 p(1-p)/ e 2 considering the following assumptions; proportion (p) = 0.24 [ 12 ], 95% confidence level, the margin of error of 5%. The estimated proportion used for sample size calculation was based on proportion of symptoms of anxiety i.e., 24%, as reported by a similar study conducted in Manipur, India [ 12 ].

After calculation, the minimum sample size required was 280. After adjusting for design effect of 1.5 to adjust variance from cluster design and assuming non-response rate of 10%, final sample of 467 was calculated. Two-stage cluster sampling was used. A list of all high schools of Tokha municipality was obtained from the education division of the municipality. Out of twelve high schools (8 private schools and 4 public schools), five schools were randomly selected. Within each selected high school further two sections each of grades 11 and 12 were randomly selected. A total of 20 sections were selected, 4 from each selected school, and all the students from the selected sections were included in the study.

Data collection tools

A structured questionnaire was prepared based on our study objectives which was divided into three sections. The first section included information about socio-demographic, familial and academic characteristics of the students. The second section included two item question to assess socializing among the students which was based on a previous study by Vankim and Nelson [ 29 ], two questions to assess bullying among the students based on 2019 Youth Risk Behavior Survey [ 30 ] and one item question to assess perceived academic stress. The third section consisted of Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21) used to assess level of symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress among the students.

DASS-21 is a psychological screening instrument capable of differentiating symptoms of DAS. Depression, anxiety, and stress are three subscales and there are 7 items in each subscale. Each item is scored on a 4-point Likert scale which ranges from 0 i.e., did not apply to me at all to 3 i.e., applied to me very much. Scores for DAS were calculated by summing the scores for the relevant items. and multiplying by two [ 31 ]. A previously validated Nepali version of DASS-21 was obtained and used for data collection. Nepali version of the DASS-21 has demonstrated adequate internal consistency and validity. However, in the validation paper, the construct validity of the tool was evaluated against life satisfaction scale and not a systematic diagnostic tool [ 32 ]. Reliability for the symptoms of DAS was tested by Cronbach alpha. Cronbach alpha values for DAS were 0.74, 0.77, and 0.74 respectively.

Data collection procedure and technique

Data was collected after obtaining permission from the municipality’s education division as well as individual high schools. The questionnaire was in both English and Nepali language and had been pre-tested among 45 high school students of neighboring municipality. Self-administered anonymous questionnaires were distributed to students in their respective classrooms and requested for participation. An orientation session was conducted for the filling the questionnaire before distribution. Written informed consent was taken from all students prior to data collection whereas additional written parental consent was obtained from students below 18 years of age. One of the investigators herself collected the data from students. After data collection, a session on depression, anxiety, and stress along with the importance of discussing it with the guardians/ teachers and asking for help was conducted.

Study variables

The study variables are described in Table 1 .

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https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgph.0000516.t001

Data analysis

Compilation of data was done in EpiData 3.1 and then exported to IBM SPSS Statistics version 20 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY) for cleaning and analysis. Descriptive analysis was performed. Frequency tables with percentages were generated for categorical variables, while mean and standard deviation (SD) were calculated for continuous variables.

Binary logistic regression was performed to identify associated factors of symptoms of DAS. Firstly, we performed univariate analysis in which each co-variate was modeled separately to determine the odds of DAS. Those variables with p-value <0.15 in univariate analysis were identified as candidate variables for multivariable logistic regression. In multivariable logistic regression, a p-value of < .05 was considered to be statistically significant and strength of association was measured using adjusted odds ratio (AOR) at 95% confidence interval.

Multicollinearity of variables was tested before entering them in the regression analysis. No problem of multicollinearity was seen among the variables (the highest observed VIF was 1.25,1.10 and 1.13 for symptoms of DAS respectively. The goodness of fit of the regression model was tested by the application of the Hosmer and Lemeshow test; the model was found to be a good fit (P >.05).

The regression model was explained by the equation:

Log [Y/ (1-Y)] = b 0 + b 1 X 1 + b 2 X 2 + b 3 X 3 … ..b n X n + e

Where Y is the expected probability for the outcome variable to occur, b 0 is the constant/intercept, b 1 through b n are the regression coefficients and the X 1 through X n are distinct independent variables and e is the error term.

Ethical approval and consent

The study protocol was approved by the Institutional Review Committee (IRC) of the Institute of Medicine, Tribhuvan University (Reference no. 23/ (6–11) 76/077). Approval to conduct this study was also obtained from the education division of Tokha Municipality (Ref: 076/077-23) and respective school authorities. A written informed consent (in the Nepali language) was obtained from the students before the data collection to assure their willingness to participate and no identifiers were listed in the questionnaire to make it anonymous and confidential. Parental consent was obtained for students who were under the age of 18. No incentives were provided.

Sociodemographic, academic and contextual characteristics of the students

The research questionnaire was distributed to a sample of 468 high school students, one of whom refused to participate in this study, with a response rate of 99.78%. Responses from 14 students were excluded due to incompleteness. This study presents the analysis on a total of 453 students.

The mean age of the students was 16.99 years (SD = ±1.12), ranging from 14 to 22 years. The proportion of female students (54.1%) was higher than male students (45.9%). Majority of the students were found to be currently living with their parents i.e., 65.8%. Around 70% of the students were from nuclear family. Regarding parent’s educational level, majority of the students responded that their father as well as mother had attained secondary level of education i.e., 31.6% and 33.3% respectively.

With regards to academic characteristics, more than two- third of students i.e., 69.5% were from private high schools while the remaining 30.5% were studying in a government or public high school. More than half i.e. (53.4%) of the students studied in grade eleven. About half of the students i.e., 50.6% were from management faculty. Only 3.8% students reported to have failed in the previous examination.

It was noted that about 60% of students perceived themselves to be stressed due to their studies. Most students were low socializing i.e., 60.9%. Around one-tenth students reported being bullied electronically in the past 12 months (10.2%). Similar proportion of students i.e., 10.4% also reported being bullied on school property in the past 12 months ( Table 2 ).

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgph.0000516.t002

Level of symptoms of DAS among the students

The prevalence of symptoms of DAS was found to be 56.5% (51.8%, 61.1%), 55.6% (50.9%, 60.2%) and 32.9% (28.6%, 37.4%) respectively. About a quarter of students showed moderate level of symptoms of depression and anxiety i.e., 25.8% and 24.5% respectively. On the other hand, symptoms of mild stress were most prevalent among the students. i.e., 14.8% ( Table 3 ).

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgph.0000516.t003

Factors associated with symptoms of depression

The results from multivariable logistic regression analyses for correlates of symptoms of depression are shown in Table 4 . The variables that remain in the final model were age, type of family, father’s education, mother’s education, type of school, grade, faculty, perceived academic stress, and bullied electronically as these variables had p-value less than 0.15 in the univariate model. In the final model, nuclear family type (AOR: 1.64, 95% CI: 1.06–2.52), students from science/humanities faculty (AOR: 1.58, 95% CI: 1.05–2.40), presence of perceived academic stress (AOR: 1.62, 95% CI: 1.08–2.44) and bullied electronically in past 12 months (AOR: 2.84, 95% CI: 1.34–5.99) were significantly associated with symptoms of depression.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgph.0000516.t004

Factors associated with symptoms of anxiety

The results from multivariable logistic regression analyses for correlates of symptoms of anxiety are shown in Table 5 . The variables that remained in the final model were age, sex, mother’s education, stream/ faculty, perceived academic stress, bullied electronically, and bullied on school property (p<0.15). Female sex (AOR: 1.82, 95% CI: 1.23–2.71), no formal education attained by the mother (AOR: 1.63, 95% CI: 1.08–2.47), students from science or humanities faculties (AOR: 1.50, 95% CI: 1.01–2.21), and presence of perceived academic stress (AOR: 1.93, 95% CI: 1.30–2.87), and were significantly associated with symptoms of anxiety.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgph.0000516.t005

Factors associated with symptoms of stress

The results from multivariable logistic regression analyses for main correlates of symptoms of stress are shown in Table 6 . The variables that remained in the final model were sex, current living status, grade, stream / faculty, perceived academic stress, bullied electronically and bullied on school property. In the final model, female sex (AOR: 1.54, 95% CI: 1.01–2.34), currently living without parents, (AOR: 1.70, 95% CI: 1.11–2.61), and presence of perceived academic stress (AOR: 2.11, 95% CI: 1.36–3.26) were significantly associated with stress symptoms.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgph.0000516.t006

In our study, the prevalence of depressive symptoms among high school students was found to be 56.5%. The existing community-based studies conducted among high school students of various parts of Nepal have reported a wide range of prevalence of depressive symptoms. A study by Gautam et al. reported that more than one quarter i.e., 27% of high school students in a rural setting of Nepal showed depressive symptoms [ 6 ]. Similarly, in a study conducted by Bhattarai et. al. in four schools of a metropolitan city in Nepal, it was found that more than 2/5 th i.e., 44.2% students exhibited depressive symptoms [ 5 ]. Similar proportion of depressive symptoms i.e., 41.6% was also reported by Sharma et. al in a study conducted among adolescent students of public schools of Kathmandu [ 9 ]. The prevalence estimated by these studies are lower than the findings of our study [ 5 , 6 , 9 ]. On contrary, a single high school study by Bhandari et al reported depressive symptoms among 76% students [ 7 ]. In our study, the proportion of students showing symptoms of anxiety were 55.6%. A study by Sharma et al. revealed that more than half i.e. 56.9% of public high school students showed symptoms of anxiety [ 9 ]. Another study by Bhandari et. al, also found out that nearly one out of two students i.e., 46.5% suffered from anxiety [ 8 ].These findings are in line with the findings of our study. On contrary, a study by Bhandari reported that only 10% students had mild anxiety [ 7 ]. In our study, the prevalence of stress symptoms among students was 32.9%. A study by Sharma et. al reported that more than 1/4 th students i.e., 27.5% showed symptoms of stress which corroborates with the findings of our study.

While the prevalence of symptoms of DAS reported by our study corroborates with the existing literatures in Nepal, it is exceptionally high. One possible explanation for this could be that the data was collected at the beginning of academic session. The students in the eleventh grade were undergoing sudden transition from secondary school life to high school life with regards to new friends, teachers, school environment, and change in daily schedules whereas the students in 12 th grade were awaiting results of previous board exam. This anticipation and the tremendous pressure faced by 12 th grade students for tertiary education might have contributed to the high prevalence of symptoms of DAS among 12 th grade students whereas the higher prevalence of symptoms of DAS among 11 th grade students could be possibly explained by the inability to cope with the adjustment of sudden transition from secondary to high school life. Moreover, the wide range in prevalence of DAS symptoms among these community-based studies could be attributed to the difference in the setting (rural or urban) and difference in methodology used.

Among South Asian countries, the prevalence of depression reported by our study is in line with the studies conducted in India, and Bangladesh, but slightly higher than one conducted in China and [ 13 , 17 , 33 , 34 ]. On contrary, our study has shown higher prevalence of anxiety among students as compared to study conducted in India, Sri Lanka, Vietnam and China [ 12 , 19 , 22 , 34 ].The prevalence of symptoms of stress in this study is comparable to the study from Chandigarh but higher than similar study from Manipur, India [ 12 , 17 ]. Hence, it can be suggested that there is a huge burden of DAS among high school students in South Asia. In context of Nepal, there is no standalone mental health policy. Further, there is inadequate funding allocated for mental health services along with shortage of qualified mental health professionals. In addition, there is much stigma that surrounds mental illness which acts as a barrier to seek and utilize mental health care services [ 35 ]. Due to these reasons, mental health illnesses are likely to remain untreated and continue to persist in the society. This may explain the high prevalence of DAS in our setting.

Socio-demographic characteristics and association with symptoms of DAS (depression, anxiety and stress)

In current study, it was found that females were more likely to suffer from symptoms of anxiety and stress than their male counterparts. This finding corroborates with the findings from previous studies [ 19 , 21 , 36 – 39 ]. On the contrary, a study conducted in Dang, Nepal reported that males were 1.5 times more likely to become anxious [ 8 ].One possible explanation for this is adolescent stage in girls is marked by hormonal changes as a result of various reproductive events which may have a role in the etiology of anxiety disorders [ 40 ]. Furthermore, when compared to boys, girls are more likely to be subjected to stressful situations such as sexual and domestic violence, which may make them more prone to anxiety and stress problems [ 41 ].

This study revealed that the students who live in nuclear families were more likely to exhibit depressive symptoms compared to students from joint or extended families. There are more members in a joint family system, which may provide better opportunities for adolescents to share their emotions and issues, hence providing a strong support system that may serve as a protective factor against depression which may be lacking in nuclear families [ 42 ]. Moreover, this study also found out that risks of stress symptoms was higher among students who were staying far from their parents. A similar finding was reported by Arif et al., 2019 in Uttar Pradesh, India [ 43 ]. One of the possible explanations might be that students who live without their parents may spend a substantial amount of time alone after school, which does not encourage familial intimacy [ 44 ]. As a result, they may feel alone and disconnected from their parents [ 45 ]. These adolescents may miss out on the opportunity to internalize the support they would otherwise get, leading to increased stress.

In our study, the students who reported no formal mother’s education were at greater risk of showing symptoms of anxiety. This was in accordance with other similar studies [ 38 , 46 ]. The attachment theory provides a robust foundation for understanding how parental behavior affects a child’s ability to recognize and manage stressful events throughout their lives [ 47 ]. The theory supports that the educated mother plays a stronger parenting role in the development of emotional skills and mental health outcomes in teenagers which might be protective for anxiety.

Academic characteristics and association with symptoms of DAS

In our study, the students from science or humanities faculties were more likely to have depression and anxiety as compared to management students. This was in line with other studies which showed higher proportion of depressive symptoms among science students. [ 48 ]. Generally, science students have to compete more, study longer hours and have a higher level of curriculum difficulty than management students which explains the finding. Likewise, it is believed that the humanities students have a poorer past academic performance in the secondary school, and may have chosen this stream / faculty as a secondary choice [ 49 ]. This combined with the uncertainty regarding future work prospects among humanities students may likely explain the higher prevalence of depression among humanities students.

In our study, the students who reported to be stressed due to their studies were more likely to suffer from symptoms of DAS. Several studies have documented similar findings [ 7 , 22 ]. A possible explanation might be that high school is an important stage in an individual’s academic life. However, the inability to meet the expectation of parents, teachers, and oneself in terms of academic performance can lead to overburden of stress [ 50 ]. This persistent academic related stress might accelerate the development of mood disorders such as depression, anxiety and stress among the adolescents [ 51 ].

Contextual factors and association with symptoms of DAS

In our study, the risk of depressive symptoms was higher among those students who were bullied via electronic means. Literature suggests that higher the level of cyberbullying/electronic bullying leads to higher the level of depressive symptoms among adolescents [ 52 ]. A similar study by Perren et. al demonstrated that depression was significantly associated with cyberbullying even after controlling for traditional forms of bullying [ 20 ]. The victims of cyberbullying may experience anonymous verbal or visual threats via electronic means. These repeated incidents can cause the victims to feel powerless which exacerbates the feeling of fear. This can cause significant emotional distress among victims and contribute to development of depressive symptoms [ 53 ].

Even though widely utilized in both clinical as well as research setting, DASS scales are screening tools for symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress. Hence, they cannot be used as a modality for diagnosis. This limitation should be considered when interpreting the findings of this study. Due to its cross-sectional design, this study was unable to establish causal relationship of depression, anxiety, and stress with associated factors. Since the study tools used in this study investigate the habits and activities of the high school students in the past, recall and reporting bias are likely; however, the effect due to potential confounders have been controlled. As Nepal is a culturally diverse country, the findings of only one municipality may not be generalized to the whole country. Therefore, future studies covering a larger population of high school students employing more robust study designs such as interventional studies are recommended to get the real scenario of common mental disorders.

In conclusion, more than half of the students had depression and anxiety symptoms and nearly one third of the students had stress symptoms. Nuclear family type, students from humanities/science faculty, presence of perceived academic stress, and being bullied electronically were found to be significantly associated with symptoms of depression. Female sex, no formal mother education, students from humanities/science faculty, and presence of perceived academic stress were significantly associated with symptoms of anxiety. Likewise, symptoms of stress were significantly associated with female sex, currently living without parents, and presence of perceived academic stress.

Therefore, prevention and control activities such as school-based counseling services focusing to reduce and manage academic stress and electronic bullying faced by the students are recommended considering findings of this research.

Supporting information

S1 file. questionnaire form used in data collection..

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgph.0000516.s001

Acknowledgments

We are grateful to Tokha municipality for granting permission to conduct the study. Special thank goes to the school management and teachers for their co-ordination during data collection. Lastly, we would like to thank all the study participants for their co-operation and support during the study.

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Study Tracks Shifts in Student Mental Health During College

Dartmouth study followed 200 students all four years, including through the pandemic.

Phone App Uses AI to Detect Depression From Facial Cues

A four-year study by Dartmouth researchers captures the most in-depth data yet on how college students’ self-esteem and mental health fluctuates during their four years in academia, identifying key populations and stressors that the researchers say administrators could target to improve student well-being. 

The study also provides among the first real-time accounts of how the coronavirus pandemic affected students’ behavior and mental health. The stress and uncertainty of COVID-19 resulted in long-lasting behavioral changes that persisted as a “new normal” even as the pandemic diminished, including students feeling more stressed, less socially engaged, and sleeping more.

The researchers tracked more than 200 Dartmouth undergraduates in the classes of 2021 and 2022 for all four years of college. Students volunteered to let a specially developed app called StudentLife tap into the sensors that are built into smartphones. The app cataloged their daily physical and social activity, how long they slept, their location and travel, the time they spent on their phone, and how often they listened to music or watched videos. Students also filled out weekly behavioral surveys, and selected students gave post-study interviews. 

The study—which is the longest mobile-sensing study ever conducted—is published in the Proceedings of the ACM on Interactive, Mobile, Wearable and Ubiquitous Technologies .

The researchers will present it at the Association of Computing Machinery’s UbiComp/ISWC 2024 conference in Melbourne, Australia, in October. 

These sorts of tools will have a tremendous impact on projecting forward and developing much more data-driven ways to intervene and respond exactly when students need it most.

The team made their anonymized data set publicly available —including self-reports, surveys, and phone-sensing and brain-imaging data—to help advance research into the mental health of students during their college years. 

Andrew Campbell , the paper’s senior author and Dartmouth’s Albert Bradley 1915 Third Century Professor of Computer Science, says that the study’s extensive data reinforces the importance of college and university administrators across the country being more attuned to how and when students’ mental well-being changes during the school year.

“For the first time, we’ve produced granular data about the ebb and flow of student mental health. It’s incredibly dynamic—there’s nothing that’s steady state through the term, let alone through the year,” he says. “These sorts of tools will have a tremendous impact on projecting forward and developing much more data-driven ways to intervene and respond exactly when students need it most.”

First-year and female students are especially at risk for high anxiety and low self-esteem, the study finds. Among first-year students, self-esteem dropped to its lowest point in the first weeks of their transition from high school to college but rose steadily every semester until it was about 10% higher by graduation.

“We can see that students came out of high school with a certain level of self-esteem that dropped off to the lowest point of the four years. Some said they started to experience ‘imposter syndrome’ from being around other high-performing students,” Campbell says. “As the years progress, though, we can draw a straight line from low to high as their self-esteem improves. I think we would see a similar trend class over class. To me, that’s a very positive thing.”

Female students—who made up 60% of study participants—experienced on average 5% greater stress levels and 10% lower self-esteem than male students. More significantly, the data show that female students tended to be less active, with male students walking 37% more often.

Sophomores were 40% more socially active compared to their first year, the researchers report. But these students also reported feeling 13% more stressed during their second year than during their first year as their workload increased, they felt pressure to socialize, or as first-year social groups dispersed.

One student in a sorority recalled that having pre-arranged activities “kind of adds stress as I feel like I should be having fun because everyone tells me that it is fun.” Another student noted that after the first year, “students have more access to the whole campus and that is when you start feeling excluded from things.” 

In a novel finding, the researchers identify an “anticipatory stress spike” of 17% experienced in the last two weeks of summer break. While still lower than mid-academic year stress, the spike was consistent across different summers.

In post-study interviews, some students pointed to returning to campus early for team sports as a source of stress. Others specified reconnecting with family and high school friends during their first summer home, saying they felt “a sense of leaving behind the comfort and familiarity of these long-standing friendships” as the break ended, the researchers report. 

“This is a foundational study,” says Subigya Nepal , first author of the study and a PhD candidate in Campbell’s research group. “It has more real-time granular data than anything we or anyone else has provided before. We don’t know yet how it will translate to campuses nationwide, but it can be a template for getting the conversation going.”

The depth and accuracy of the study data suggest that mobile-sensing software could eventually give universities the ability to create proactive mental-health policies specific to certain student populations and times of year, Campbell says.

For example, a paper Campbell’s research group published in 2022 based on StudentLife data showed that first-generation students experienced lower self-esteem and higher levels of depression than other students throughout their four years of college.

“We will be able to look at campus in much more nuanced ways than waiting for the results of an annual mental health study and then developing policy,” Campbell says. “We know that Dartmouth is a small and very tight-knit campus community. But if we applied these same methods to a college with similar attributes, I believe we would find very similar trends.”

Weathering the pandemic

When students returned home at the start of the coronavirus pandemic, the researchers found that self-esteem actually increased during the pandemic by 5% overall and by another 6% afterward when life returned closer to what it was before. One student suggested in their interview that getting older came with more confidence. Others indicated that being home led to them spending more time with friends talking on the phone, on social media, or streaming movies together. 

The data show that phone usage—measured by the duration a phone was unlocked—indeed increased by nearly 33 minutes, or 19%, during the pandemic, while time spent in physical activity dropped by 52 minutes, or 27%. By 2022, phone usage fell from its pandemic peak to just above pre-pandemic levels, while engagement in physical activity had recovered to exceed the pre-pandemic period by three minutes. 

Despite reporting higher self-esteem, students’ feelings of stress increased by more than 10% during the pandemic. By the end of the study in June 2022, stress had fallen by less than 2% of its pandemic peak, indicating that the experience had a lasting impact on student well-being, the researchers report. 

In early 2021, as students returned to campus, their reunion with friends and community was tempered by an overwhelming concern about the still-rampant coronavirus. “There was the first outbreak in winter 2021 and that was terrifying,” one student recalls. Another student adds: “You could be put into isolation for a long time even if you did not have COVID. Everyone was afraid to contact-trace anyone else in case they got mad at each other.”

Female students were especially concerned about the coronavirus, on average 13% more than male students. “Even though the girls might have been hanging out with each other more, they are more aware of the impact,” one female student reported. “I actually had COVID and exposed some friends of mine. All the girls that I told tested as they were worried. They were continually checking up to make sure that they did not have it and take it home to their family.”

Students still learning remotely had social levels 16% higher than students on campus, who engaged in activity an average of 10% less often than when they were learning from home. However, on-campus students used their phones 47% more often. When interviewed after the study, these students reported spending extended periods of time video-calling or streaming movies with friends and family.

Social activity and engagement had not yet returned to pre-pandemic levels by the end of the study in June 2022, recovering by a little less than 3% after a nearly 10% drop during the pandemic. Similarly, the pandemic correlates with students sticking closer to home, with their distance traveled nearly cut in half during the pandemic and holding at that level since then.

Campbell and several of his fellow researchers are now developing a smartphone app known as MoodCapture that uses artificial intelligence paired with facial-image processing software to reliably detect the onset of depression before the user even knows something is wrong.

Morgan Kelly can be reached at [email protected] .

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Writing about important events in our lives, not just ‘I had a coffee today,’ but ‘I had this deep discussion with my mom,’ generally provides more benefit therapeutically.

University students are at risk of depression – could peer-led interventions help, and if so, how?

Mental health problems like depression are common among university students. This research team will design, deliver and evaluate low-cost, peer-led interventions that could improve student mental health in India and beyond.

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Around 280 million people worldwide are living with depression. It can affect people of all ages and research has shown university students have high rates of mental health problems .

Depression can impact all aspects of a student’s life – from academic studies to work to relationships. It often occurs alongside other mental health problems, especially anxiety, and can also increase the risk of self-harm and suicide.

Yet, there is a lack of effective interventions to help young people.

“Existing university support systems are struggling to address the student mental health burden. This challenge is especially stark in low- and middle-income countries,” says Dr Daniel Michelson, a Clinical Senior Lecturer at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London. 

“Without timely and effective support, students with depression are more likely to underachieve academically, dropout prematurely and suffer restricted life chances in the longer-term,” he continues.

Daniel is leading a research team that wants to close this research gap and find better ways to intervene early. To do so, they want to test components of existing effective mental health interventions and find out if and how they work, and why.

He’s working on a Wellcome-funded programme called METROPOLIS (Mechanistic Trial of Problem Solving and Behavioural Activation for Depression) . It builds on a previous seven-year research project funded by Wellcome, called PRIDE (Premium for Adolescents) , which developed and evaluated a suite of low-cost mental health interventions for adolescents in secondary schools in India.

PRIDE took a ‘stepped care’ approach, offering treatment in stages. In step one, the team delivered a problem-solving intervention to young people with a variety of mental health problems. Therapeutic modules were then made available in step two for participants who did not respond to the first step. Both steps were provided by lay counsellors, trained individuals without formal qualifications in counselling.

The results showed that step one alone was able to reduce the stressful problems experienced by adolescents and had long-term effects on mental health symptoms up to one year later.

Now, the research team behind METROPOLIS wants to extend this evidence for students in university.

“Most psychological interventions tend to package together several components that have the potential to drive clinical effect. This increases complexity and resource demands, without necessarily leading to better outcomes,” explains Daniel.

METROPOLIS will explore the effects of peer-delivered problem solving and behavioural activation – two strategies found to help improve symptoms of mental health problems – as standalone early interventions for young people with depression.

"By paring down interventions, we want to simplify delivery, reduce costs and minimise unnecessary burden for students who take part in the study,” says Daniel.

What is problem solving and behavioural activation?

Dr Pattie Gonsalves, a youth mental health researcher at non-profit Sangath and METROPOLIS co-investigator from New Delhi, explains how problem solving and behavioural activation are used as mental health interventions.

“ Problem solving addresses issues related to life stressors such as problems in relationships and academic pressures. Participants learn a structured process that entails identifying and prioritising current problems, coming up with different ways of responding to the problems, then trying out potential solutions and monitoring the results.

“ Behavioural activation is the idea that people can activate more positive emotional states by increasing sources of reward in their everyday lives. This involves helping people to spend more time doing activities that are enjoyable or provide a sense of achievement, connection or closeness. Such activities are typically reduced when people feel depressed, which can lead to a vicious cycle of inactivity and low mood.

“The two interventions share a focus on behaviour change and are often packaged together. We want to understand them as individual interventions and study whether one has any advantages over the other. It's an opportunity to learn how they work, in what circumstances and for whom."

What will the research involve?  

In a large randomised controlled trial, the team will test how problem solving and behavioural activation improve symptoms of depression. They will compare the two interventions against each other, as well as against a control group that receives support to improve their study skills. To assess the impact of the trial, the team will measure self-reported depression, anxiety and social functioning at six weeks, six months and one year.

The team will also use questionnaires and interviews with participants to better understand the processes through which the interventions actually drive change. Some potential drivers could be a person’s access to rewarding environmental activities, how they perceive and deal with stressful situations, and changes in hopefulness.

These findings can then inform how future interventions are developed, for example by suggesting ways to tailor support to an individual’s specific needs.

This research approach, which takes components of existing effective interventions and tests what makes them effective, is called ‘back translation’.

If proven to be effective, these interventions could help to address the unmet needs of students and strengthen mental health care on university campuses.

The role of peer support in mental health  

The METROPOLIS study will take place in India, home to one-fifth of the world’s population of young people, and host to the largest population of university students in the world. With plans to recruit over 700 undergraduates, it could be one of the largest youth mental health trials in any low- or middle-income country.

“ In India, there is less than one mental health specialist for every 100,000 people and finding help if you are a young person is even more challenging, especially for students from socially marginalised groups,” explains Dr Pattie Gonsalves, co-investigator of the research.

That’s why it’s so important to move away from relying on mental health specialists. METROPOLIS will do this by training and supervising peers to deliver interventions.

Many studies have already shown peer-delivered mental health support to be effective.

“We know that young people experiencing depression may be reluctant to seek a formal support service, even when there is one available,” says Pattie.

“They are much more likely to disclose mental health problems to a peer or a friend. So, we want to train peers to support them." The team will recruit and train around 70 students or recent alumni to be peer counsellors.

Why are we funding this research?

We want to use a ‘back translation’ approach to investigate what makes interventions for anxiety, depression and psychosis effective. That means taking an existing effective intervention or approach and testing hypotheses using experimental methods to understand what makes it work.

Our funding is providing up to £5 million each to 12 research teams to do just that.

The goal is to inform the improvement of existing treatments and the development of new ones.

Learn more about the projects we’re funding .

Embedding lived experience to create a lasting impact  

Making sure these interventions align with the needs of students is a key priority.

To achieve this, METROPOLIS will collaborate with young people who have lived experience of mental health problems at every stage of the research – from co-design to delivery to evaluation. Recognising people’s lived experience as a source of expertise will ensure the study has a lasting impact.

Study co-investigator Hitesh Sanwal is a lived experience expert and founder and CEO of Youth for Mental Health Foundation in India. The youth-led organisation works with students from more than 50 campuses across the country. Its network of student mental health volunteers will help to raise awareness of the study and outreach through student-led groups.

The research team will work closely with a Young People’s Advisory Group to provide regular feedback on the project. They will help ensure the project is accessible to students from diverse backgrounds, including those who experience marginalisation due to their economic status, gender identity, sexuality, religion or caste.

“Traditional research models involve studies designed by mental health professionals and researchers. This can lead to some things being overlooked,” says Hitesh. “For a very long time, people with lived experience have been seen as receivers. Now is the time to change this and work together as equals.”

For Hitesh, joining the team was an easy decision.

“I first experienced mental health concerns when I was an undergraduate student,” he says. “At that time, there was not much support available. It took me more than a year to understand what it was I was experiencing and begin treatment."

METROPOLIS has the potential to close this treatment gap and speed up support for students.

"I really want young people to have access to what I could not access,” says Hitesh. “This project wants to do that, and being able to contribute to that is amazing.”

And the impacts of this study could go beyond university campuses in India.

“Effective, scalable interventions that fit with the priorities and preferences of the current generation of students in India could move the dial for youth mental health on a massive scale,” says Daniel.

Crucially, he adds: “Similar interventions could be adapted and shared with people across low-resource settings globally.”

We’re funding research to help create transformative change in early intervention for anxiety, depression and psychosis.

There are currently no open funding opportunities for Mental Health. Learn more about the funding we provide .

Daniel Michelson

Clinical Senior Lecturer

King's College London

Dr Daniel Michelson is a Clinical Senior Lecturer at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience at King’s College London. He also works as clinical psychologist in the UK’s National Health Service. He specialises in the development, evaluation and implementation of mental health practice innovations for underserved children, young people and families.

Daniel is the principal investigator of the METROPOLIS programme investigating the effectiveness of brief psychological interventions for university students with depression. The research is being funded through our Mental Health Award ‘Looking backwards, moving forward – understanding how interventions for anxiety, depression, and psychosis work’.

Pattie Gonsalves

Project Director, Youth Mental Health Group

Dr Pattie Gonsalves leads the Youth Mental Health Group at Sangath, a non-profit mental health research organisation in India. She brings expertise in participatory research with young people and leads research and public engagement projects on depression, anxiety and suicide prevention. Pattie is a co-investigator and leads Sangath’s contribution to the METROPOLIS programme in New Delhi, India.

Hitesh Sanwal

Founder and CEO

Youth for Mental Health

Hitesh Sanwal is the founder and CEO of Youth for Mental Health, a youth-led organisation in India that aims to support young people’s mental health and empower them to become mental health advocates. He is an expert by lived experience and co-investigator on METROPOLIS.

Related content  

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Experts share three changes we need to see in anxiety research

Mindfulness in schools doesn’t improve mental health. Here’s why that’s a positive

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Depression articles from across Nature Portfolio

Depression refers to a state of low mood that can be accompanied with loss of interest in activities that the individual normally perceived as pleasurable, altered appetite and sleep/wake balance. Its severe form, major depression is classified as a mood disorder.

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The authors examine the longitudinal relationship between residential greenness and the incidence of depression and anxiety using a sample of 409,556 participants from the UK Biobank.

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College students and depression: A guide for parents

• Balance your mental and emotional health
• Suicide Prevention

Entering or returning to college is an exciting time for young adults. Students and parents hope for memorable experiences to last a lifetime. For many students, the years at college are a time of discovery and growth.

But depression may get in the way.

The rate of depression among college students is rising. In a 2021–2022 survey of students across 133 college campuses, 44% of students reported symptoms of depression and 15% reported seriously considering suicide in the past year.

For both parents and students, knowing the risk factors and symptoms can help with the early identification and treatment of depression.

Symptoms of depression can include:

• Anxiety and panic
• Difficulty with schoolwork
• Changes in eating or sleeping patterns
• Emotional outbursts, such as tearfulness, anger or irritability
• Lack of energy or fatigue
• Loss of interest in activities, such as clubs, sports or other social commitments
• Poor self-esteem
• Sense of  being overwhelmed
• Thoughts of suicide or self-harm
• Unrealistic guilt

Why are young adults struggling?

Although the problems facing college students are complex. They  often feel intense pressure to succeed while still developing necessary life skills.

The rising cost of education places additional stress on students and their families. Children are being pushed to their limits as early as elementary school. As a result, their mental health and well-being are suffering.

Many middle and high school students have schedules rivaling top corporate executives, with an average day beginning at 6 a.m. and ending after 10 p.m. These demanding schedules leave many sleep deprived with little time to develop basic independent living skills, such as doing laundry, cooking meals, managing money and accessing services to meet their needs. They do this all while figuring out, "Who am I?"

These skill deficits compound as young adults go to college and face relationship challenges and heavy class schedules. They may also be living separately from their parents for the first time.

Helping children find a balance between achievement and life's demands begins at home.

Here are tips for parents and children before college:

• Set a realistic view of the big picture. Giving 100% at all times in all areas of life is unrealistic. Encourage students to focus on making the most of their college experience by forging positive relationships, creating fun memories and preparing for their future careers.
• Build independent living skills at a young age. Online resources are available to find age-appropriate chores for children to help you start the process.
• Protect downtime or unstructured time for middle and high school students. This is when students start to explore who they are.

What are the risk factors for college students?

Unfortunately, as many as 75% of students who struggle with depression are reluctant to seek help. This increases the risk of harmful outcomes, such as dropping out of college, poor academic performance, suicide and substance abuse.

College students may be exposed to many situations or risk factors that could trigger an episode of depression:

• Comparison of academic, athletic or social performance to their peers
• Drug or alcohol use
• Family history of depression
• Fears of disappointing parents because of grades or career path
• Peer relationship difficulties
• Relationship breakup
• Sexual assault
• Sexual identity adjustment difficulties
• Stressful life events

Those at highest risk for depression and anxiety are:

• Female students
• Low-income students
• Students of color
• Students who are caregivers for children or other adults
• Students who identify as LGBTQ .

What are the warning signs of suicide?

Suicide is the second-leading cause of death in young people ages 20 to 24. While the factors that lead to suicide are multifaceted, being diagnosed with a mental illness like depression increases the risk.

These behaviors may indicate that students are thinking about suicide: 

• Displaying extreme mood swings
• Giving away possessions
• Increasing use of alcohol or drugs
• Ignoring class work or skipping classes
• Engaging in risky or self-destructive acts, such as using drugs or driving recklessly
• Showing anger or rage or expressing a desire to seek revenge
• Sleeping too little or too much
• Talking about suicide
• Talking about being a burden to others
• Talking about feeling trapped, hopeless or having no purpose
• Withdrawing from friends and wanting to be left alone

This is not an exhaustive list. Be alert to behavior and personality changes that can provide clues to a student's well-being.

What can parents do to help students?

Parents often worry about how their child will react if they try to talk the signs and symptoms of depression. But it's crucial to have a conversation about your concerns.

Be direct with your child. Give examples of symptoms you've noticed and explain why these examples worry you. Be patient, calm and empathetic in your communication.

Students often believe they are to blame for their mental health concerns, which can lead to defensiveness or shutting down. To reduce the stigma, help students understand it's not their fault, and many young adults experience depression.

If you have concerns, it's important to ask your students if they're considering suicide or self-harm. This won't put the idea in their heads. If your student is expressing thoughts about suicide, you must seek immediate medical attention.

Many colleges and universities provide mental health services on campus. Your child's primary care provider has resources and can refer your student to a mental health counselor. Parents and students should have hope since many effective treatments for depression exist.

Kristen Bowe is a nurse practitioner in Family Medicine in Belle Plaine and Montgomery , Minnesota.

Related Posts

ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Sources of negative emotions and tactics of self-emotion regulation among college students during covid-19 school closure in china.

• 1 School of Liberal Arts, Nantong University, Nantong, Jiangsu, China
• 2 School of Education Science, Nantong University, Nantong, Jiangsu, China
• 3 School of Humanities and Media, Ningbo University, Ningbo, Zhejiang, China

Background: This study investigated the level of anxiety and depression in Chinese college students since the COVID-19 pandemic and explored the sources of their negative emotions and students' self-emotion regulation strategies.

Methods: A stratified cluster sampling questionnaire was used to survey college students during the pandemic via the Anxiety Depression, Self-made Negative Emotion Source, and Negative Emotion Regulation Strategy Scales.

Results: The prevalence of anxiety and depression was 23.3 and 20.1%, respectively. These levels were higher in women than in men. Furthermore, senior students reported higher levels than freshmen. Anxiety and depression mainly came from the pressure to grow and the narrowed scope of social activities. Proper relaxation via entertainment and communication with family and friends were popular ways of regulating their negative emotions.

Conclusion: College students should confront their negative emotions and understand their source, use psychological methods to regulate their anxiety and depression or seek professional help, improve their psychological resilience, and adopt positive coping measures.

1 Introduction

From the Black Death, Justinian plague, and Spanish flu to severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), the history of mankind has been shadowed by outbreaks ( 1 ). Humans experience physical and mental health issues with each outbreak. Maladaptive behaviors, emotional distress, and defensive responses are the main adverse psychological reactions that people tend to have in response to a disease pandemic ( 2 ). COVID-19 erupted globally in 2019, and scholars worldwide conducted abundant research on the psychological conditions of people during this pandemic. Previous research found that psychological distress and various public health emergencies emerged ( 3 ). People were easily engrossed in the flood of information and swamped by concerns, which could result in depression, anxiety disorders, substance abuse, increased suicidal tendencies, and post-traumatic stress disorder ( 4 ). Furthermore, quarantine measures that limited interpersonal contact substantially impacted people's mental health ( 5 ). People in quarantine were separated from relatives and friends, confronted with the loss of freedom, uncertainty over the disease status, and boredom ( 6 ). Children and college students were trapped at home and unable to receive regular education, which resulted in anxious, depressed, fatigued, and distressed feelings ( 7 ). Hence, governments, hospitals, educational institutions, organizations, and individuals should consider psychological interventions and adopt the necessary measures ( 8 ). Entrepreneurial activity is enterprising human action in pursuit of the generation of value through the creation or expansion of economic activity by identifying and exploiting new products, processes, or markets ( 9 ). Entrepreneurial activities were also threatened by the pandemic, as survival became extremely challenging without support and relief from the respective countries' governments and their policies ( 10 ). A study demonstrated a positive effect of several dimensions of emotional intelligence (EI) on cognition as a mediator ( 11 ). Hence, our worldview of a phenomenon could limit the most substantial options to understand and respond to unfavorable global situations ( 12 ).

In China, many universities took various control measures to prevent the transmission of COVID-19 and improve students' sanitary conditions, such as closed campuses, transitioning to online classes, raising medical supplies, providing psychological assistance, controlling personnel flow, and innovative teaching ( 13 ). During an outbreak, universities in the epicenter accommodated their students on campus. During the lockdowns, students could only interact with their roommates, and the scope of activities was relatively limited. Despite Chinese college students being heavily exposed to mental pressure, limited research focused on students' mental health during this period of school closure in China.

According to experiences in global pandemic prevention, the formulation and implementation of mental health assessments, support, treatment, and service are vital and urgent goals of the health response to COVID-19 ( 14 ). Furthermore, considering the protracted nature of COVID-19, the assessment of psychiatric distress and coping mechanisms is critical ( 15 ). College students' mental health should be examined during the closed school period. Studies should examine the damaging emotional crises among college students and ways to resolve them.

Previous studies indicated that emotion regulation processes were fundamental to normal and abnormal functioning ( 16 ). Emotion management refers to individuals' ability and processes to understand and control their emotions and deal with others' emotions ( 17 ). From the perspective of functionalism, self-emotion management is a process of improving individual self-emotion to adapt to different situations and tasks ( 18 ).

With the emergence of the ongoing novel COVID-19 pandemic, students in higher education experienced increased mental health challenges ( 19 ). Rapid changes in education were inevitable owing to changes in clinical settings and the impact of the repeated outbreaks ( 20 ). Further efforts are required to prevent adverse mental health outcomes and reduce the prevalence of mental health problems ( 21 ). Clinical nurses' negative psychology positively impacted burnout. Furthermore, emotional intelligence and self-efficacy in emotion management alleviated the influence of negative psychology on burnout ( 22 ). Significant associations were observed between all the dimensions of personality traits, emotional stability, and mental health ( 23 ). For college students, regulating emotions could help them protect against changes in depression and affect the quality of their social interactions ( 24 ). Therefore, this study established the following research questions.

According to the stress theory, after a stressful event occurs, the public will inevitably experience negative emotions. This was because emotions were an advanced functional pattern that could coordinate physiological, cognitive, motivational, behavioral, and subjective responses and increase human adaptability to threats and changes in the surrounding environment ( 25 ). Closed management of universities was undoubtedly an adverse life event for most college students. It had a severe impact on students' mental health. Hence, it was significant to explore the specific negative emotions that college students generated. Therefore, we established question 1 as follows: What were the negative emotions of Chinese college students during the closure period?

Bandura proposed the theory of ternary interactive determinism, which viewed the environment, behavior, and individual as relatively independent theoretical entities that interacted with and determined each other. Among them, the individual as the subject included their physiological response ability, cognitive ability, and other physical and mental abilities. Interactive decision refers to the causal relationship between the environment, behavior, and people, each of which has a bi-directional interaction and decision-making relationship ( 26 ). In online public opinion and major disaster events, people were prone to negative emotions or pessimistic attitudes toward aggressive behavior under the influence of internal or external factors ( 27 ). However, the specific causes remain unknown. Hence, question 2 was: What were the primary sources of these negative emotions? What were the fears of disease, school work burden, or limited campus activities?

When in a state of negative emotions, individuals often self-regulated. Kirby promoted survival and development ( 28 ). Some studies suggested that emotional management referred to how individuals effectively guided and regulated their emotions to maintain a relatively stable emotional state through legitimate and reasonable methods when they experienced adverse events ( 29 ). College students often adopt different ways of self-regulation when they experience negative emotions. Hence, we proposed questions 3 and 4. Question 3: what measures have students taken to achieve self-emotion management and eliminate negative emotions? Question 4: What other measures could students take to achieve self-emotion management and eliminate negative emotions?

This study investigated the anxiety and depression levels of college students and explored the source of students' negative emotions and their self-emotion regulation strategies. Furthermore, this study also provided a theoretical basis and inspiration for college students to improve their mental health levels while colleges closed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Both domestic and international psychologists have conducted little research on the source of negative emotions and the self-emotion regulation of college students during the closure of schools. This study examined the source of negative emotions, such as anxiety and depression, through questionnaires. It also proposed strategies for college students' self-emotion management to provide reference methods.

2.1 Participants and procedures

The participants were 422 college students from colleges closed due to the pandemic, regardless of their grades. After the responses were checked and screened to exclude unqualified ones, 481 questionnaires were sent out, and 399 valid questionnaires were received (effective recovery = 82.95%).

We used a national online survey platform called Wenjuanxing. The questionnaire used unified guidelines to describe the survey's purpose and significance. One IP address could only answer the questionnaire once, which could only be submitted once all the items were completed. After the questionnaires were collected, researchers checked each questionnaire's response time and eliminated unqualified questionnaires via the site management background of the online survey platform ( 30 ).

2.2 Research tools

2.2.1 general situation questionnaire.

The self-developed general situation questionnaire included participants, sex, age, grade, experiences of the pandemic since 2020, most extended period of school closure (within 1 week, 1 week to half a month, half a month to 1 month, 1–2 months, 2–3 months, or the entire semester), and form of closure adopted by the school (only activities in the dormitory, free activities on campus, cannot leave school unless necessary, free activities on campus, or can be approved to leave the school).

2.2.2 Self-rating depression anxiety scale

Clark and Watson ( 31 ) proposed a three-factor structural model to distinguish common emotional disorders, such as depression, anxiety, and stress. Lovibond et al. ( 32 ) developed the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS) based on this model. The DASS has been widely used to evaluate and distinguish between clinical and non-clinical emotional disorders. The DASS-21 was a simplified version and excluded the top seven items with the highest workload in each dimension ( 33 ). The Self-Rating Depression Anxiety Scale was selected from the DASS-21 and had high reliability and validity.

The Self-Rating Anxiety Depression Scale, which included two subscales and 14 items, was used to investigate individuals' experience of negative emotions, such as depression and anxiety. Responses were rated on a 4-point Likert scale that ranged from 0 (not consistent) to 3 (most or always consistent). The higher the score, the more serious the degree of depression or anxiety. A depression score of ≤9, 10–13, 14–20, 21–27, and >28 points was considered average, mild, moderate, severe, and extremely severe, respectively. Anxiety scores of ≤7, 8–9, 10–14, 15–19, and >20 points were considered standard, mild, moderate, severe, and extremely serious, respectively. The internal consistency coefficients of the two subscales were 0.77 and 0.79. Their construction reliability was between 0.72 and 0.80 ( 34 ).

3.1 Statistical analysis of demographic variables

Table 1 presents the participants' characteristics. The number of participants in each university year (1st−4th year) was 100, 79, 51, and 169, respectively. Of these, 65.2% were female ( n = 260). Among those who have had school closures since 2020, 244 (61.2%) had experienced closures for 2–3 months. Furthermore, 146 (36.6%) had experienced closure for the entire semester. In addition, the number of participants in free activities on campus was 28 (7.0%), 301 (75.4%) were free activities on campus, and 70 (17.5%) were free activities on campus.

Table 1 . Statistical analysis of the demographic variables.

3.2 Score of anxiety and depression in college students

Table 2 presents the prevalence of anxiety and depression among college students during the closure period. The rates were 23.3 and 20.1%, respectively. Figure 1 presents the proportion of anxiety and depression among college students by sex. Results indicated that the levels of anxiety and depression were higher among women than among men. Figure 2 presents the proportion of anxiety and depression among college students by grade. Results indicated that the senior students had the highest levels of anxiety and depression. A univariate analysis of variance (ANOVA) was conducted and found a significant difference in the level of depression among college students in each grade [ F (3,397) = 2.931, p = 0.033]. Further analysis found a significant difference in the level of depression between freshmen and sophomores ( p = 0.011) and a substantial difference between freshmen and seniors ( p = 0.009; see Table 3 ). Spearman's rank correlation analysis showed that anxiety and depression were significantly correlated, r (397) = 0.793, p < 0.01. This indicated that college students' anxiety and depression were highly positively correlated during school closures.

Table 2 . Anxiety and depression levels in college students.

Figure 1 . Comparison of the proportion of anxiety and depression among college students of different sexes.

Figure 2 . Comparison of the proportion of anxiety and depression among college students of different grades.

Table 3 . Descriptive statistics and analysis of variance (ANOVA) results of anxiety and depression among college students of different grades.

3.3 Source of negative emotions

College students had significantly higher negative emotions during COVID-19, which included higher anxiety and depression. In the context of the closure of schools, college students, as a particular group in the transition from students to social adults, were more likely to be affected by bad attitudes and emotions regarding the pandemic from people on the Internet or around them. This could lead to psychological panic as they were in high-risk areas or lacked materials. Some college students also reduced the scope of free activities due to the closure and lack of entertainment. This was consistent with our hypothesis. Table 4 presents the sources of negative emotions selected by college students according to their actual conditions during the closure period.

Table 4 . Sources of negative emotions.

As shown in Table 5 , the correlation analysis revealed a significant positive correlation between anxiety, depression, the existence of potential threats, the pressure of public opinion, the pressure of self-growth, and the narrowing of the scope of social activities [ r (397) = 0.451–0.793, p < 0.01]. This indicated that the existence of potential threats, the pressure of public opinion, the pressure of self-growth, and the narrowing of the scope of social activities had a significant impact on college students' anxiety and depression.

Table 5 . Descriptive statistics and correlation analysis of the sources of anxiety and depression among college students.

Our research summarized the sources of negative emotions into three types. First, individuals could feel uneasy regarding whether the pandemic would affect their physical health and worried about their future, such as academic and employment issues after graduation. Second, the environmental impact could be influenced by a panicked atmosphere conveyed by people and the Internet, which made it easier to fall into a herd mentality due to social public opinion. Third, the comprehensive influence of behavior, environment, and individual internal factors could result in negative emotions. In a closed environment, individuals lacked social activities and entertainment methods, which made it difficult to relieve stress and more likely to exacerbate negative emotions. There were various sources of negative emotions among college students during the COVID-19 pandemic. These should be considered from multiple perspectives so that adequate measures can be taken to help students cope with and alleviate these emotions. This study provided a specific analysis of the sources that caused negative emotions, such as anxiety or depression, in students.

3.3.1 Existence of potential threats

Realistic anxiety represents an emotional response to potential challenges or threats to reality. This emotional response was adapted to the reality of threats, a general response when a person faced events or situations beyond their control ( 35 ). The characteristic was that the intensity of anxiety was consistent with the degree of the real threat and disappeared with the disappearance of the real danger ( 35 ). With the nationwide and global spread of the pandemic, college students in middle- and high-risk areas could face a significant potential disease threat. Conversely, the shortage of materials also caused college students' psychological panic and, thus, affected their health.

3.3.2 Pressure of public opinion

The rapid development of the network has led to an era of information. Ways of transmitting information have been diversified, and the speed of transmission has increased. Increasing information can be obtained from different sources of knowledge. During the outbreak of COVID-19, in addition to obtaining relevant information through the news media, people could also obtain information through social media, mobile media, mobile platforms, and other channels. Therefore, negative emotions transmitted by people easily increase and cause anxiety, depression, and other negative emotions. Furthermore, rumors and sensational information could also cause or aggravate anxiety and stress.

3.3.3 Pressure of self-growth

Influenced by the pandemic, colleges and universities adopted online teaching. Uncertainty of the situation, changes in teaching methods, and students' maladjustment could easily impact students' anxiety, impetuosity, worry, and other negative emotions. Our results showed that 64.4% of college students had academic pressure. In addition to completing routine study tasks, some college students faced other heavy tasks, such as preparing for the postgraduate entrance examination and obtaining CET-4/CET-6 or various qualification certificates. In addition to their academic performance, students also paid attention to employment. Almost 56.9% had employment/job-hunting pressure.

3.3.4 Narrowing social activities' range

School closure measures cause physical space restrictions among college students. Students were strictly confined to a limited range, and their recreation and social activities were significantly reduced. Nearly 75.4% had free activities on campus, and 7.0% were required to stay in dormitories. Activity spaces were also smaller than before. Students' interpersonal communication and interaction opportunities were reduced, and a lack of social support increased anxious or depressed feelings. College students also lost their usual diversified learning environment; their monotonous lives made them lack perception and experience. Furthermore, their inner anxiety led to large emotional fluctuations, which resulted in increased anxiety and depression.

In addition, 13.5% of college students' negative emotions came from the potential threat of the pandemic. On average, 17.3% reported negative emotions from the influence of destructive emotions on the Internet or those around them. Furthermore, 30.3% reported negative emotions from the pressure of their growth, such as the pressure of academics or seeking jobs. In addition, 26.8% reported negative emotions from the reduced scope of social activities. Hence, college students' negative emotions were affected in all aspects and cannot be ignored.

3.4 Strategies for regulating negative emotions

College students undertook various measures to manage and alleviate their negative emotions. They usually adopted cognitive changes and implemented positive behaviors and coping strategies to manage their feelings better. Table 6 presents the self-regulation strategies for negative emotions reported by college students according to their own experiences. Table 6 , 1, 2, 3, and 4 represent “I regulate my anxiety and depression through learning, reading, and collecting information about the pandemic situation,” “I relax appropriately through sports/online games/listening to music/watching videos,” “I choose remote psychological counseling (telephone or Internet) to adjust,” and “I communicate with my family and friends over the phone or on the Internet for help,” respectively.

Table 6 . Ways of regulating negative emotions.

3.4.1 Get scientific information through the right channels and staying away from harmful information

College students should use scientific methods to obtain relevant information from formal official websites or channels, master the necessary and correct pandemic-related knowledge, avoid contact with lousy information with strong feelings from the source, and prevent the psychological effects of information overload. In a psychological panic, people should cut off contact with lousy information and avoid being affected by the destructive emotions of people and those on the Internet. In our study, 54.3% of respondents adjusted their negative emotions by learning, reading, and collecting information. According to the ABC theory, the direct cause of negative emotions in individuals was not the event itself but the cognitive evaluation of the event ( 36 ). Efforts to change cognitive styles and establish an optimistic attitude could help reduce negative emotions and alleviate anxiety and depression among college students. When the network is mostly related to negative emotions, students should pay attention to the identification and screening of this information. In addition, they should spread positive energy to their friends and relatives around the network.

3.4.2 Get relaxation and reduce the level of anxiety and depression

Positive behavior and coping strategies could help college students alleviate negative emotions. During the COVID-19 pandemic, although college students' lives and learning styles underwent tremendous changes, they had more time to enjoy life and plan their own learning time ( 37 ). During this period, many funny shows and comedies emerged on network platforms. In our study, 84.7% chose to adjust their negative emotions through sports/online games/listening to music/watching videos, and other appropriate relaxation methods to relax and actively reduce their anxiety and depression levels. This result shows that it was a benign way to regulate negative emotions and reduce stress appropriately.

3.4.3 Seek psychological counseling from professionals

Many official psychological counseling institutions opened hotlines with the confidentiality of visitors' information and basic security guarantees. This method effectively avoided direct contact with professional psychological consultants and could provide professional guidance for visitors. College students could also seek help from professional counselors by making an appointment with the school's psychological counseling room. The professional could provide psychological counseling. When necessary, music therapy, muscle relaxation training, or biological feedback enabled students to fight against and quickly and effectively eliminate general psychological and emotional stress symptoms. In our study, 21% of college students chose remote psychological counseling (telephone or Internet) to regulate their negative emotions. Simple psychological catharsis methods could be applied to relieve mild anxiety and depression symptoms. In severe cases, it was essential to seek professional help.

3.4.4 Actively establish interpersonal communication

Maintaining regular interpersonal connections is an essential way for college students to obtain emotional support and avoid loneliness, depression, and other destructive emotions. In our study, 72.7% of college students chose to communicate and talk with their family and friends on the phone or the Internet and sought help to regulate their negative emotions. College students should establish good interpersonal relationships with their parents, teachers, and classmates. A positive communication circle was conducive to developing college students' mental health. Interpersonal communication was the first step to alleviating negative emotions, which could make students feel warm and help combat the impact of destructive emotions. Interpersonal care could provide spiritual enlightenment, obtain emotional support, harvest warmth and strength, enhance positive emotions, and increase confidence.

4 Discussion

The incidence of anxiety and depression among 399 undergraduates from seven colleges and universities was 23.3 and 20.1%, respectively, which was consistent with rates reported in previous studies ( 38 , 39 ). The incidence of negative emotions, such as anxiety and depression, dramatically increased among college students during the COVID-19 pandemic. This research has some suggestions to improve college students' negative emotions.

4.1 Sex differences in negative emotions

Recent studies found that the detection rate and degree of negative emotions, such as depression and anxiety, were higher among female college students than among male college students ( 40 ). Figure 1 presents the proportion of anxiety and depression among college students by sex. Levels of anxiety and depression among female college students were higher than among male college students. Female college students were more likely to have negative emotions, and their psychological status was more affected. This was consistent with previous studies. Li et al. found that women were greatly affected by the pandemic, and their negative emotions, anxiety, and depression levels were higher than those of men ( 41 ). The reason was that the physiological differences between women and men (such as congenital vulnerability, hormone and cortisol levels, etc.) were reflected in their emotions and behaviors. Women had more vital empathy than men ( 42 ), which made them more vulnerable to pandemic-related events and caused emotional fluctuations. In major public crisis events, women were usually more alert. Furthermore, female college students' stress susceptibility could induce negative emotional states, which lead to emotional problems such as anxiety ( 43 ). Moreover, traditional gender cognition affected their attitudes and behaviors toward life events. Men were more likely to adopt externalized behaviors to dispel emotions, while women generally showed internalized emotional fluctuations. Hence, they were more likely to have depressive symptoms ( 44 ).

4.2 Grade differences in negative emotion

Previous studies found differences in the detection rate of depressive symptoms in different grades. Furthermore, the higher the grade, the higher the detection rate of depressive symptoms ( 40 ). The degree of depression among college students in different grades was different. The rate of moderate and severe depression among senior students was higher, which could be related to their anxiety about facing new life choices ( 45 ). The incidence of depression and anxiety among senior college students was significantly higher than that of junior and middle-grade students ( 46 ). Levels of anxiety and depression were the highest among senior students. Furthermore, the level of depression was significantly different by grade. Further analysis found a significant difference in the level of depression between freshmen and sophomores. In addition, a substantial difference was also observed in the level of depression between freshmen and seniors, which was consistent with previous studies. The reason was that freshmen had just entered the university and were still in the adaptation period.

4.3 Strategies and suggestions for improving college students' negative emotions

4.3.1 engage in positive self-talk.

A psychological suggestion was to influence the psychology and behavior of others or oneself implicitly and indirectly, which often led others to take certain actions unconsciously, uncritically, or specific views or beliefs, respectively ( 47 ). It affected human psychology, behavior, and physiological function ( 36 ). Positive psychological hints could provide people with infinite faith and hope and, thus, mobilize people's endless potential and play into their internal strength. Negative psychological hints could lead to anxiety and fear of life, inhibit intelligence and ability, and damage physical health ( 48 ). Many psychological experiments proved that positive self-suggestion could eliminate tension and anxiety and establish an optimistic psychological state. Therefore, individuals should provide themselves with daily positive psychological hints and avoid negative hints ( 36 ).

4.3.2 Meditative mindfulness training

Mindfulness meditation is a group of meditation practices with mindfulness technology at its core. Mindfulness meditation training emphasizes being fully engaged in the present and paying attention to the immediate experience of the present. It was a free and open conscious attention process that advocated actively paying attention to painful experiences with an open and receptive attitude ( 48 ). Researchers from the University of Quebec in Canada suggested that practicing mindfulness meditation (such as body scanning) was feasible to reduce the possibility of experiencing such a crisis ( 49 ). Meditation gradually affects one's mental health. It developed one's intelligence and also relieved psychological pressure, improved individual attention, and promoted the ability to adapt to society through emotional influence.

4.3.3 Learn to pour out and ask for help

Learning to talk was an effective way for students to face difficulties in life, overcome the entanglement of negative emotions, and reduce psychological difficulties. It was also an effective way to help students find their lost confidence, restore good interpersonal relationships, enhance their resilience, help them understand themselves, develop their body and mind, and have a positive and healthy lifestyle.

5 Conclusion

This study conducted a stratified cluster sampling questionnaire to explore the source of college students' negative emotions and strategies of self-emotion regulation during the school closure period of the COVID-19 pandemic. The prevalence of anxiety and depression in college students was 23.3 and 20.1%, respectively. Furthermore, the level of anxiety and depression was higher among women than among men. The grade difference was significant in negative emotions, which showed that senior students had higher levels of anxiety and depression than freshmen. In addition, anxiety and depression came from the pressure of their growth and the narrowing of the scope of social activities. Relaxing properly through entertainment and communicating and talking to family and friends were the most popular ways to regulate negative emotions among college students. Our findings suggested that colleges and universities should pay attention to students' mental health when conducting pandemic prevention and control measures. Differences exist in the sources of negative emotions among college students. Furthermore, individuals did not fully master the self-regulation methods for negative emotions. College students should face and grasp the source of negative emotions, learn to use psychological methods and self-psychological evaluation, master self-regulation strategies for negative emotions, or actively seek professional help. Furthermore, they should aim to reduce anxiety and depression, weaken the negative impact of these emotions, enhance psychological flexibility, and undertake positive coping methods to solve problems.

5.1 Limitations

This study has some limitations. First, college students were a group highly concerned by society. Due to the limitations of data and manpower, seven universities, which included Nantong University, Ningbo University, and Wuhan University of Light Industry, were selected. Follow-up research should expand on the number of samples and scope of the research. Second, this study was a cross-sectional design, which could only present static development results.

5.2 Future research and recommendations

College students were more fragile than adults when faced with mental pressure, such as the COVID-19 pandemic and other public health crises. Future studies should focus on college students' mental health and add new data from questionnaires and interviews. Based on the relevant research literature, future studies should use new ideas and findings, conduct accurate experiments, and conduct larger studies with data. Additional results can be beneficial toward easing college students' mental pressure and helping them be beneficial to society.

Data availability statement

The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request. Requests to access the datasets should be directed to MP, ntupmf@163.com .

Ethics statement

The studies involving humans were approved by Nantong University Ethics Committee. The studies were conducted in accordance with the local legislation and institutional requirements. The participants provided their written informed consent to participate in this study. Written informed consent was obtained from the individual(s) for the publication of any potentially identifiable images or data included in this article.

Author contributions

HF: Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analysis, Funding acquisition, Investigation, Methodology, Project administration, Resources, Software, Supervision, Validation, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing. MP: Data curation, Investigation, Methodology, Resources, Software, Writing – original draft. ML: Funding acquisition, Project administration, Resources, Software, Supervision, Writing – review & editing.

The author(s) declare that no financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Publisher's note

All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

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Keywords: new coronary pneumonia epidemic situation, college students, negative emotions, emotional regulation strategies, COVID-19

Citation: Fu H, Pan M and Lai M (2024) Sources of negative emotions and tactics of self-emotion regulation among college students during COVID-19 school closure in China. Front. Public Health 12:1265350. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1265350

Received: 23 August 2023; Accepted: 27 February 2024; Published: 20 March 2024.

Reviewed by:

Copyright © 2024 Fu, Pan and Lai. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) . The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

*Correspondence: Mingdong Lai, laimingdong@nbu.edu.cn

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

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• v.99(39); 2020 Sep 25

Psychotherapy for depression in college students

a Department of Orthopedics, Second Hospital of Lanzhou University

Ming-Ming Niu

b Evidence-Based Nursing Center, School of Nursing, Lanzhou University

c Department of Nursing, Second Hospital of Lanzhou University

d School of Nursing, Lanzhou University

e The Third People's Hospital of Lanzhou city, Lanzhou, China.

Background:

Depression is a disease with a high incidence and easy to relapse. It not only affects the work and life of patients, but also brings a heavy economic burden. University is the peak of depression, and the prevalence of depression among college students is much higher than that of ordinary people. The purpose of this research is to evaluate depression symptoms, life satisfaction, self-confidence, substance use, social adjustment, and dropout rates of the use of psychological intervention for college students.

We will identify relevant trials from systematic searches in the following electronic databases: PubMed, Embase, Web of Science and The Cochrane Library. We will also search Clinical Trials.gov, the WHO International Clinical Trials Registry Platform for unpublished data. Additional relevant studies will be searched through search engines (such as Google), and references included in the literature will be tracked. All relevant randomized controlled trials (RCTs) will be included. There are no date restrictions. Use Cochrane Collaboration's Risk of bias tool to conduct risk of bias analysis. Use the Grades of Recommendation, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation to assess the quality of evidence. All statistical analysis will be performed using Stata (V.15.0.) and Review Manager (V.5.2.0).

A total of 6238 records were obtained by searching the database and 27 records were obtained by other sources. After removing duplicate records, there are 4225 records remaining. We excluded 3945 records through abstract and title, leaving 280 full-text articles.

Conclusion:

This will be the first study to compare the effects of different psychological treatments on depression in college students. We hope that this study will guide clinical decision-making of psychotherapy to better treat depression in college students.

Protocol Registration:

INPLASY202070134.

1. Introduction

Depression is a common mental health disorder, which is mainly manifested by significant and lasting depression, slow thinking, sleep disturbance, loss of appetite, etc. In severe cases, suicide attempts or behaviors may occur. [ 1 ] Each episode of depression lasts at least two weeks. In severe cases, it may last for several years. This has a serious impact on work and life, and has caused a heavy financial burden. According to the World Health Organization, more than 350 million people worldwide suffer from depression. [ 2 ] The current incidence of depression in China is 6.1%. [ 3 ] By 2020, depression may become the second largest disease after heart disease. [ 4 ] And depression has become the main reason for people's loss of social function and ranks third in the global burden of disease. [ 5 ] Studies have shown that in the United States alone, the annual cost exceeds $43.7 billion. [ 6 , 7 ] College students are faced with the pressure from interpersonal communication, arduous learning tasks and adaptation to the new environment and lifestyle, which makes them prone to produce strong psychological conflicts and lead to depression. [ 8 ] Therefore, compared with their peers, college students have a higher risk of depression. [ 9 ]

At present, the treatment of depression is mainly divided into medication and psychotherapy. Drug therapy mainly includes selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs), serotonin norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs), etc. [ 10 ] Psychotherapy is to establish a relationship with the patient through a structured and purposeful connection and use a series of specific techniques to improve the patient's mental state. [ 11 ] It plays an important role in the treatment of depression. At present, the common psychotherapy in clinical treatment methods include cognitive behavior therapy, group psychotherapy, interpersonal behavior therapy, mindfulness therapy, etc. Previous studies showed that there are few systematic reviews and meta-analysis of depression in college students. However, the relevant evidence for the effectiveness of psychotherapy is still unclear, and there is no evidence to directly compare different psychological interventions. Therefore, this field urgently needs a Bayesian network meta-analysis (NMA) method that combines direct evidence with indirect evidence from multiple treatment comparisons to estimate the correlation between all treatments. [ 12 ] In this study, we will conduct a systematic review and NMA to evaluate depression symptoms, life satisfaction, self-confidence, substance use, social adjustment, and dropout rates of the use of psychotherapy for college students.

2.1. Eligibility criteria

2.1.1. type of study.

We will include all relevant randomized controlled trials (RCTs) including crossover trials. There are no language restrictions.

2.1.2. Type of patient

The patients we will include are college students diagnosed with depression according to any diagnostic criteria, such as Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)-III, [ 13 ] DSM-IV, [ 14 ] and International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision (ICD-10). [ 15 ] Studies in which participants have a diagnosis of bipolar disorder, psychotic depression will be excluded. In addition, studies where participants are not clearly diagnosed with depression will also be excluded.

2.1.3. Type of interventions

We will include RCTs comparing one psychological intervention with another control conditions for depression in college students. For psychotherapy, mindfulness therapy, cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), meditation therapy, comprehensive self-control training (CSCT), [ 16 ] acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), [ 17 ] and behavioral activation (BA) will be included. There will be no limit to the treatment session. In terms of control conditions, waiting-list control (WLC), [ 18 ] non-treatment control, physical exercise, bibliotherapy, [ 19 ] treatment as usual (TAU) will be included.

2.1.4. Type of outcomes

Primary outcome

Depression symptoms that mean the change in severity of depression from baseline to end point which is measured by the depression scale, such as Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), [ 20 ] The Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CESD-R), [ 21 ] Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HRSD). [ 22 ]

Second outcomes

• 1. self-confidence, life satisfaction was assessed using visual rating scale
• 2. social adjustment was assessed using the Social Adaptation Self Evaluation Scale (SASS) [ 23 ] and the Social Adjustment Scale-Self Report for Youth. [ 24 ]
• 3. substance use was measured with 10 items to assess the use of eight substances, quantity per drinking and smoking day. [ 25 ]
• 4. Dropout rates from the beginning of the study to the end of the intervention.

2.2. Data source

We will identify relevant trials from systematic searches in the following electronic databases: PubMed, Embase, Web of Science and The Cochrane Library. We will also search Clinical Trials.gov, the WHO International Clinical Trials Registry Platform for unpublished data. The search terms will include “depression”, “depressive disorder”, “students”, “university student”, “college student”. Additional relevant studies will be searched through search engines (such as Google), and references included in the literature will be tracked. There is no date restriction. Detail of search strategy of PubMed is shown in Table ​ Table1 1 as well as detail of search strategy of Embase is shown in Table ​ Table2 2 .

Searching strategy in PubMed.

Searching strategy in Embase.

2.3. Study selection

All records identified in the databases will be collected in the reference management software EndNote X8 for data screening. Two (MMN and PFM) reviewers will use data extraction tables to extract data from the original report independently, including research characteristics (such author information, publication year, journal and country), patient characteristics, intervention and outcome. Any disagreements will be resolved by the third member of our review team.

2.4. Risk of bias analysis

According to Cochrane Collaboration's Risk of bias tool, we will assess risk of bias as ‘low risk’, ‘unclear risk’ or ‘high risk’. [ 26 ] The following items will be evaluated: sequence generation, allocation concealment, blinding of participants and personnel, blinding of outcome assessors, incomplete outcome data and selective outcome reporting and other sources of bias. [ 27 ] The evaluation will be conducted by two independent raters (PFM and LD). Any disagreements will be resolved by a third review author.

2.5. Statistical analysis

2.5.1. pairwise meta-analysis.

We will use Review Manager (V.5.2.0) to perform traditional pairwise meta-analysis. Dichotomous data will be expressed as relative risk (RR) with 95% confidence interval (CI), and continuous outcomes will be expressed as standard mean difference (SMD) with 95% CI. [ 28 ]

2.5.2. Network meta-analysis

To simultaneously assess the comparative effects of more than 2 psychotherapy, an NMA will be performed. An NMA synthesizes direct and indirect comparisons over an entire network of psychotherapy, allowing for all available evidence to be considered in one analysis. Based on the network development process as outlined above, the outcome variable for the NMA is the standardized mean change in the DSST (measured using Hedge's G) from baseline to end of study. The standardization is based on the pooled (across treatment arms within study) estimate of the SDs. The NMA will be carried out using a frequentist's approach, and a 2-way ANOVA model is used. As the residual variances between treatment groups are known, it is possible for random effect estimates to be produced, which account for the between-trial heterogeneity. The model is used to perform ordinary pairwise meta-analysis comparing the different psychotherapy based on direct evidence from the clinical studies. Ranking probabilities will be calculated based on the joint distribution of the estimates of relative efficacy. [ 29 ]

Consistency will be addressed through the principle of node splitting by using a network meta-regression model. The purpose of node-splitting is to investigate if the relative effect of 2 psychotherapy based on direct comparisons is comparable with the same effect based on indirect comparisons. Statistically, the model is an extension of the NMA, which allows for a different relative effect between the 2 psychotherapy that are being split in head-to-head trials compared with all other trials. NMA will be implemented by the mvmeta software package in Stata (15.0; Stata Corporation, College Station, TX, USA Stata), [ 30 ] If P value <.1 and I 2 > 50%, it is considered that there is heterogeneity in the study, and sensitivity analysis or subgroup analysis will be performed to detect the source of heterogeneity. Funnel plot and Egger linear regression analysis will be used to assess publication bias. Using Review Manager (V.5.2.0) to analyze the risk of bias in the included studies, where the green, yellow, and red in the image represent low, unclear, and high risks, respectively. [ 31 , 32 ]

2.5.3. Subgroup analysis

If statistical heterogeneity is evident, we will analyze the causes of heterogeneity, if there is enough data (such as differences between sexes, comparison between different countries, studies sponsored versus not sponsored by companies).

2.5.4. Sensitivity analysis

We will use the exclusion method to conduct sensitivity analysis:

• (1) exclude low-quality studies;
• (2) exclude studies with comorbid physical or mental illnesses;
• (3) exclude trials with missing data.

2.6. Quality of evidence

We will use Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) framework to assess the quality of evidence for the primary outcomes. [ 33 , 34 ] The quality of evidence is assessed as ‘high’, ‘moderate’, ‘low’ or ‘very low’. The following item will be evaluated: limitations, inconsistency, imprecision, indirectness, and publication bias. [ 35 ]

2.7. Summary of findings

A “summary of finding” table will be created for the major outcome. We will also add absolute and relative percentage changes to the “summary of finding”. For detailed information, see Table ​ Table3; 3 ; we have listed partial summary of findings for the main comparison.

Summary of findings for the main comparison.

3.1. Results of the search

A total of 6238 records were obtained by searching the database and 27 records were obtained by other means. After removing duplicate records, there are 4225 records remaining. We excluded 3945 records through abstract and title, leaving 280 full-text articles. The document screening flowchart is shown in Figure ​ Figure1 1 .

The flowchart of the screening process.

3.2. Characteristic of included studies

In a preliminary trial, we included 8 studies. The average age of patients was 18 to 26, with a maximum sample size of 181 and a minimum sample size of 32. The research period ranges from one month to 12 months. For more detailed information, see Table ​ Table4 4 .

Basic characteristics of some of the included studies.

4. Discussion

At present, although some studies have evaluated the intervention effects of psychotherapy, there is no NMA to compare the therapeutic effects of different psychological interventions for college students. Therefore, this systematic review and NMA will summarize the direct comparison and indirect comparison evidence to evaluate different psychological interventions. We hope that this study will help guide clinical decision-making for psychotherapy to better treat depression in college students.

Author contributions

Conceptualization: Xiu Zhang, Lin Wan.

Data curation: Xiu Zhang, Ming-Ming Niu, Pei-Fen Ma, Li Du, Lin Wan.

Methodology: Xiu Zhang, Lin Wan.

Software: Xiu Zhang, Ming-Ming Niu, Pei-Fen Ma, Li Du.

Writing – original draft: Xiu Zhang, Ming-Ming Niu, Lin Wan.

Writing – review & editing: Xiu Zhang, Lin Wan.

Abbreviations: ACT = acceptance and commitment therapy, BA = behavioral activation, BDI = beck depression inventory, CBT = cognitive-behavioral therapy, CESD-R = center for epidemiologic studies depression scale revised, CSCT = comprehensive self-control training, DSM = diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, HRSD = Hamilton Rating Scale for depression, ICD = International Classification of Diseases, NMA = network meta-analysis, RCTs = randomized controlled trials, SASS = social adaptation self-evaluation scale, SMD = standard mean difference, SNRIs = serotonin norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors, SSRIs = selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, SUCRA = surface under the cumulative ranking area, TAU = treatment as usual, TCAs = tricyclic antidepressants, WLC = waiting-list control.

How to cite this article: Zhang X, Niu MM, Ma PF, Du L, Wan L. Psychotherapy for depression in college students: a protocol for systematic review and network meta-analysis. Medicine . 2020;99:39(e22344).

XZ and M-MN contributed equally to this work.

This study is based on a network meta-analysis of published studies, so ethical approval and patient consent are not required. And this systematic review and network meta-analysis will be published in a peer-reviewed journal.

This study is supported by Gansu Province Health Industry Scientific Research Project (No. GSWSKY-2019-102), Lanzhou University Second Hospital Cuiying Technology Project (No. CY2018-HL18) and Development and promotion of mental health tracking and intervention database for pediatric medical staff in Gansu Province (No. 2018-RC-52).

There are no potential conflicts of interest to disclose.

Data sharing not applicable to this article as no datasets were generated or analyzed during the current study.

Students nationally continue to struggle with mental health. Here’s what support looks like at one Oregon high school

Addressing student mental health is now a part of the many services schools offer. a look at what’s available at david douglas, the school several students in the class of 2025 attend..

Soft lighting, comfy seats, a closed-off room away from the hard desks and fluorescent lights of the classroom.

This is where a handful of David Douglas High School students come for therapy. They might talk to Clarke Miller.

“In some ways, it’s like I’m a friend … I guess a real supporter, both emotionally and physically, just someone who’s there for them that they can rely on and talk to.”

Or Michael Cortez.

“This is a space where they can come in, they can relax, they can be vulnerable and open up,” he said.

Or Kai Hostetler.

“If you walk through this door, I’d like you to be able to go, ‘oh,’ and feel a little bit less heavy by the time you walk out.”

These three in-school therapists are contracted through Trillium Family Services to be at David Douglas, providing both therapy and more informal help to students who need it.

Recent research and stories tell of deteriorating mental health for students. According to the most recent Oregon student health survey , 70% of 11th graders reported feeling nervous, anxious, or on edge several days in a 30-day period. Almost a quarter of students felt those things nearly every day. One national study found child and adolescent mental health outcomes are declining even as other indicators are improving. A 2023 Washington Post story warned that teen girls are in crisis, and in 2021, a group of national organizations including the American Academy of Pediatrics declared a national emergency in child and adolescent mental health.

David Douglas High School junior Ali is one of 27 students OPB has been following since first grade in the long-term reporting project, Class of 2025 . She said she’s been affected by depression and anxiety in recent years.

“It was really hard because it didn’t allow me to do my best in school,” she said. “But I’m trying to overcome that and do better.”

Anna, another student in the Class of 2025, has also dealt with anxiety and heightened stress in high school.

“I’ve taken a lot of advanced classes, so there’s a lot of homework, a lot to worry about on tests,” she said.

High school students are dealing with challenges both in and out of the classroom. Schools across Oregon offer support for students' mental health from formal therapy sessions to check-ins and check-ups at school-based health centers.

Illustration by Rita Sabler / OPB

Ali, Anna, and several of the other students in OPB’s Class of 2025 attend David Douglas High School, one the largest high schools in the state. Like other schools across Oregon and nationwide, David Douglas has placed an emphasis on supporting students’ mental health by providing a network of adults throughout campus whose job it is to help students succeed.

Schools across Oregon provide critical mental health resources at no or low cost to students and their families. But funding challenges and staff turnover due to burnout and other factors threaten the future of these services, even as students continue to struggle.

Hostetler, Miller and Cortez hear from David Douglas students on a range of topics — from anxiety and depression to parent and peer relationships. Sometimes that depression is rooted in childhood trauma, or anxiety is tied to a student’s post-pandemic struggle to pass classes or turn in assignments on time.

Miller wasn’t initially expecting students to talk about serious issues.

“I went into it thinking that there would probably be a lot of petty drama, ‘Beverly Hills 90210′ kind of stuff, and I don’t really get any of that,” Miller said.

Instead, he said students are intelligent, insightful, and interested in grown-up conversations.

“The issues that we work on, I think, would be very similar to if they were 40 years old, maybe even more so, because their minds are so malleable and they’re growing so much, and they want to grow so much and they’re so motivated to learn and be better.”

Physical health connected to mental health

High school for many students means traveling in groups — to the bathroom, to the cafeteria, and at David Douglas, sometimes to the student health center, an on-campus medical clinic.

This isn’t a typical doctor’s office.

“You can’t walk into a primary care center with five girls,” said Kristin Case, a nurse practitioner at the David Douglas student health center.

But at the student health center, a small gray building on the high school campus, you can.

They’ll stand outside, or at the front desk, Case says.

“There’s sometimes a group of kids that are just standing at the door,” she said. The door stays locked for safety reasons, but sometimes students need that extra push before coming in.

“We might just open the door and say, ‘can we help you?’”

When a group comes in, Case or someone working at the front desk might try and figure out who the spokesperson of the group is, or who needs to make an appointment.

“I think sometimes there’s safety in numbers,” Case said.

There’s also a written form in English or Spanish at the front desk so students can privately explain what they’re looking for.

The health center serves young people districtwide, from kindergarten all the way to 12th grade. It’s part of a system that operates eight other student health centers in other Multnomah County school districts, including Portland and Reynolds. The David Douglas health center has an onsite behavioral health provider and therapist, in addition to Case.

These facilities, sometimes called school-based health centers, have been around in Oregon since 1986. Some are operated through partnerships between counties and school districts, while others are supported by local health systems or the Oregon Health Authority.

At David Douglas, the center served a little over 1,000 clients last school year, almost half of them ages 15-18. Most often, students show up for routine well-check visits and sports physicals. The second biggest reason? Anxiety and depression.

“The numbers have significantly gone up from what I can see,” Case said, " … Has our detection gone up? Have kids felt safer coming here? Probably all of the above.”

Over her 13 years at David Douglas, Case said she’s seen an increase in students seeking behavioral and mental health help. The rise was so significant she obtained an extra certification in pediatric mental health. She attributes some of the rise to students being more open to seeking support, as well as assessments that staff will do at every well visit and sports physical to screen students for anxiety, depression, substance abuse, and suicide.

Case said what might start out as a physical health visit often turns into a mental or behavioral health visit, but sometimes it takes time to build a relationship and build trust with a student.

“I might see a kid and they’re coming in for headaches, but really it’s sleep,” Case explained, noting the possible connections between physical symptoms like headaches and sleep problems, and behavioral or mental health.

Removing the barriers to getting help — starting in the counselor’s office

Not every student will have a reason to go to the health center. But they will at some point see a school counselor. That’s often the first person who hears a student mention a problem with mental health.

At David Douglas, eight counselors work with the whole student body. They meet with students a couple of times a year to discuss schedules and planning for the future. But sometimes, other things come up.

“School counselors are trained in mental health,” counselor Sarah Hunt said.

But time constraints make it difficult to have in-depth conversations with students.

“We certainly will sit and talk with a student that is going through, you know, ordinary teenage crises,” Hunt explained. “We have, ‘my best friend is moving’ or ‘we’re fighting,’ or ‘my boyfriend, my girlfriend,’ certainly all of those things are still things for teenagers and we still talk with them about that.”

But for things that are more serious, a student might get referred to one of the school’s two social workers. One of them is Caty Buckley.

“Last year I had a lot more kids who were feeling suicidal,” Buckley said. “Thankfully this year, I’m not hearing that quite as much, but right now … especially after the pandemic, we had a lot of kids with eating disorders.”

“And I think we continue to see drugs and alcohol increase with our students … I think that I’m also hearing a lot more trauma stories and I’m not sure if that’s because that’s being normalized in social media, but I think students are feeling more comfortable talking about what’s happened to them.”

But for all of these services that are offered, they’re only reaching a small number of students. Buckley has a caseload of about 40 students, less than 2% of the students that attend David Douglas.

While she’s happy she can help those students, Buckley is overwhelmed thinking about the many others who are not speaking to a counselor or other adult about what’s going on in their lives.

“Sometimes it can be like a little bit of a tsunami,” she said.

The limitations of in-school services

Even when fully staffed, working as a mental health provider can take a toll.

And sometimes, there’s not much a therapist can provide for students when there are bigger issues families are facing — like paying the bills.

“You can’t cope your way out of poverty,” Hostetler said.

“I feel like sometimes people do look to us to fix the problem, and the problem is the rest of the environment … That’s kind of where I hit a brick wall and I’ve noticed that a lot of other clinicians, that’s where they start to hit their burnout point too.”

Therapists say they can also have difficulty getting students to come to appointments, or engaging parents or family members in a student’s mental health journey.

“A lot of the things that our kids struggle with is their relationship with their parents. And it can be really tough for me sometimes to sit there and just to realize that like, they just don’t have a lot of options if their parents aren’t gonna be involved or supportive about these things and are not willing to make any changes,” Hostetler said.

Hostetler and Cortez, the Trillium therapists, are new to David Douglas this year, filling positions that were vacant at the beginning of the school year.

Waitlists of students seeking help filled up faster than usual. Counselors stepped in, playing a triage role helping students who might not need the level of support Buckley, school therapists, or a behavioral health professional can provide.

Not every school has all of the resources David Douglas has, and it is costly for Multnomah County to provide services to students. Despite a strong desire to support student health, sometimes staff turnover has prevented the student health center from fully being able to serve students.

But when it comes to mental health services, not a lot of Oregon students seek out formal help. According to the statewide student survey, only 4.1% of students go to a school-based health center when they have a physical or mental health problem or feel anxious during the school day.

Only 5.3% of students seek out a mental health therapist at school, while 18.7% go to their counselor. 33.2% talk to a parent, step parent, or guardian.

The vast majority of 11th graders surveyed, 62.2%, go to their friends.

Sometimes it just takes a group of your peers

Teenagers talking to their friends about the problems they’re having isn’t a bad thing. Improving mental health is not just about going to therapy. Spending time with friends, exercising, or getting enough sleep are all ways that have been proven to help teens and their mental health.

Class of 2025 student Ali said there haven’t been any adults at school who directly helped her when she’s struggled, other than a math teacher who helped her pass a class. She says her friends have played a big role.

“They make me want to come to school and they help me learn and when I need help, I know I can ask them and they’ll help me,” she said.

Also a big help? Her dog and her sister.

“I like to go out and spend time with everyone that I love and that helps me a lot,” she said.

In Oregon, grant funds have been doled out to school districts to help support youth-led projects that relate to mental health. From 2021 to 2023, youth-led projects included hosting movie nights and organizing mental health awareness weeks at schools. Additionally, there are regular groups where students can hang out with their peers, doing the things they enjoy, like Lane County Behavioral Health’s Dungeons & Dragons groups.

Sometimes dealing with anxiety or other mental health challenges might just come down to the individual finding their own coping strategies.

When Class of 2025 student Anna is stressed, she likes to break down the different things she’s stressed about into smaller, more manageable pieces.

“It doesn’t feel as worrying as this one big thing instead of a few small things,” she said.

OPB’s First Look newsletter

Related stories, oregon’s medicaid insurers will redirect $25m in profits to youth mental health needs.

Oregon has fewer beds available for youth with the most serious psychiatric needs than it did 20 years ago. The investments will go to four projects adding new psychiatric residential treatment beds, the governor says.

Linn County will launch mobile mental health services

The Mobile Crisis Intervention Team will be able to work with residents throughout the county and assist in a crisis situation.

Behavioral health crisis among top priorities for new OHA director

A physician by training, Dr. Sejal Hathi spent two years as a White House public health adviser and four months as one of New Jersey’s top health officials.

Most Americans with mental health needs don’t get treatment, report finds

Many Americans are diagnosed with mental health conditions, but most don't get professional help, even if they're insured. Obstacles include difficulties finding providers their plan covers.

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110 Depression Research Topics To Deal With

Table of Contents

Depressive disorder also known as depression is a common mental disorder that is different from the mood changes that an individual experiences in everyday life. It is characterized by a depressed mood, lack of interest in activities, or loss of pleasure for a long time. Due to various reasons, currently, a lot of people suffer from depression and this in turn has an impact on the social, health, and psychological well-being of a person. So, by working on interesting depression research topics, you can analyze the different aspects of mental illness and generate best the strategies and solutions to handle the issue.

In case, you are unsure what depression research topic to choose for your sociology or psychology thesis or dissertation, take a look at this blog post. Here, we have recommended 110 exclusive depression research questions. Also, we have shared some tips for selecting a good topic for your depression research paper.

Choosing a Good Depression Research Topic

Identifying a topic is the first and most important step in the research paper preparation process. So, to compose an outstanding research paper, you should make sure to pick a unique topic. When it comes to preparing a research paper on depression, you can choose a topic by following these tips.

• Find out a topic related to depression from your area of interest. For instance, you can choose to write about depression associated with fields such as psychology, sociology, law, health, etc.
• Select a topic that is convenient to conduct research within the deadline.
• Give preference to a research topic that contains several credible sources of references.
• Avoid picking a topic that is too broad or too narrow. Divide them into subtopics, if it is too wide to concentrate on.
• Never choose popular depression research topics that are frequently discussed. Go with a topic that has a unique thesis statement .
• Confirm the topic only if it satisfies the research paper writing guidelines of your university.

List of Depression Research Topics and Ideas

If you are confused about what topic to choose for your depression research paper, explore the list published below and pick any topic of your interest. In the list, we have analyzed and presented 110 excellent depression research paper topics and ideas to focus on.

Simple Depression Research Topics

• Explain how depression affects an individual’s quality of life.
• Examine why it is hard to overcome depression.
• Analyze how depression affects the brain’s function and chemistry.
• Discuss the major types of depression.
• Explain the difference between clinical depression and normal depression.
• Examine the role played by genetics in depression development.
• Explain how depression affects people of different age groups.
• Analyze the link between depression and other mental health disorders.
• Explain how major depression is different from bipolar depression.
• Examine how depression affects the teenage generation.
• Explain how depression can be diagnosed.
• Focus on depression in autistic children.
• Examine the health problems associated with depression.
• Analyze the effects of depression on school activities.
• Discuss the biopsychosocial model of depression
• Examine the effects of alcohol abuse on depression.
• Discuss the Limbic Cortical Model for diagnosing depression.
• Investigate the link between hypogonadism and depression.
• Analyze the differences between depression and dementia.
• Analyze the diathesis-stress model of depression

Depression Research Topics for Sociology Students

• Write about depression in adolescent females.
• Discuss the reasons why stress and depression should be taken seriously.
• Examine the impact of maternal depression on children.
• Prepare a research paper on mood disorders related to depression.
• Examine how depression affects the self-esteem of teens.
• Analyze the correlation between art therapy and depression.
• Write about the cognitive treatment of depression.
• Focus on the physical activity of kids with depression.
• Explain how music therapy affects depression.
• Explore how using smartphones influences depression and anxiety.
• Analyze the effects of depression on social interaction.
• Write about the depression among LGBTQ youth.
• Examine the link between weed and depression in young adults.
• Prepare a research paper on post-traumatic stress disorder and depression.
• Discuss the relationship between perfectionism and depression in young adults.

Depression Research Topics for Psychology Students

• Write about personality psychology and depression.
• Prepare a research paper on cognitive behavior and depression in adolescents.
• Analyze the psychological and emotional condition of suicide and depression.
• Discuss the psychological complications of mental illness, anxiety, and depression.
• Examine the psychology of depression among college students.
• Take a look at depression associated with cognitive dysfunction.
• Discuss the fundamental characteristics of anxiety disorder.
• Write about early-life stress and behavioral outcomes.
• Discuss the psychological approaches for treating depression.
• Explain the symptoms and treatment of major depressive disorder.
• Write about abnormal psychology in anxiety and depression cases.
• Prepare a psychology assessment report of a patient who suffers from depression.
• Take a look at aggression and depression in psychology.
• Assess the different psychological counseling methods for depression.
• Write about depression in older persons.

Also Read: 150+ Unique Psychology Research Topics and Ideas

Best Depression Research Topics on Health Care

• Explain how leading a healthy lifestyle prevents obesity, depression, and heart disease.
• Compare and contrast dementia, depression, and delirium.
• Write about the pharmacological prevention of postnatal depression.
• Discuss how depression and weight change after a kidney transplant.
• Analyze the impact of depression on our health.
• Explain how untreated depression changes the brain over time.
• Examine the reasons why depression is considered a major mental health problem.
• Write about the association of hormonal contraception with depression.
• Discuss a person’s functioning level and clinical symptoms and behaviors that reflect bipolar depression.
• Examine the link between cervical cancer treatment and the onset of depression.

Good Depression Research Ideas

• Discuss the various types of training in managing the symptoms of depression.
• Write about the depression caused by hormonal imbalance.
• Analyze the effect of divorce on the mental health of children.
• Prepare a research paper on workplace depression.
• Examine the consequences of postpartum depression.
• Analyze the depression associated with childhood trauma.
• Explain the depression among minority groups.
• Discuss depression management in adolescents.
• Explain the strengths and limitations of group therapy in psychology.
• Explain how to measure an individual’s level of depression.

Interesting Depression Research Questions

• Write about emotion regulation therapy for generalized anxiety disorder.
• Prepare a literature review on depression.
• Focus on the depression of human services workers.
• Write about depression disassembling and treatment.
• Explain the role of family in depression treatment.
• Prepare a research paper on child abuse and depression.
• Explain how to treat depression caused by bullying.
• Suggest some approaches to treat depression.
• Discuss the symptoms of dysthymic disorder depression therapy.
• Investigate polysubstance abuse among adolescent males with depression.
• Explain humanistic therapy for depression.
• Write about evidence-based screening for depression in acute care.
• Prepare a research paper on yoga therapy and depression symptoms in adults.
• Focus on cognitive behavioral therapy and its application for psychotic depression.
• Write about cognitive behavioral therapy for depression and anxiety attacks.

Unique Depression Research Paper Topics

• Write about metacognitive therapy for depression in adults.
• Analyze the effect of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy on depression.
• Prepare a research paper on depression and anxiety among adult children of alcoholics.
• Write about electroconvulsive therapy for severe depression.
• Explain how flower therapy helps to treat people with depression.
• Discuss the antidepressant treatment for depression.
• Write about talk therapy for depression.
• Examine the risk factors of adult depression.
• Analyze how music therapy improves depression among older adults.
• Write about life after depression with hypno psychotherapy.
• Explore the link between adult attachment classification and symptoms of depression.
• Discuss the new therapy technique for depression.
• Explain how massage therapy reduces pain, depression, and anxiety in hand osteoarthritis patients.
• Write about oriental therapy for depression.
• Examine the link between depression and memory loss.

Intriguing Depression Research Paper Ideas

• Explain the effects of emotional abuse on depression.
• Write about social anxiety and its effects on depression.
• Examine the changes in brain activity in people suffering from depression.
• Write about addiction problems associated with anti-depressive medication.
• Discuss the sleep problems caused by depression.
• Compare and contrast depression and cyclothymic disorder.
• Write about medications that cause depression among the elderly
• Explain the effects of medicinal marijuana on depression
• Focus on the emotions that trigger depression and anxiety attacks
• Analyze catatonic depression.

Also Read: 135 Unique Abnormal Psychology Essay Topics

Wrapping Up

From the above-suggested list, choose any depression research title of your choice and compose a brilliant academic paper. In case, you need help with writing a depression research paper, call us immediately.

At greatassignmenthelp.com, we have talented and experienced assignment helpers from different fields such as psychology, sociology, medicine, and more. By using their expertise, our scholarly writers will assist you in conducting research and composing a plagiarism-free thesis on any depression research topics. Furthermore, getting our assignment help online will aid you in submitting flawless depression research papers on time as per your needs.

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When Teens Visit Doctors, Increasingly the Subject is Mental Health

By Matt Richtel

Increasingly, doctor visits by adolescents and young adults involve mental health diagnoses, along with the prescription of psychiatric medications.

That was the conclusion of a new study that found that in 2019, 17 percent of outpatient doctor visits for patients ages 13 to 24 in the United States involved a behavioral or mental health condition, including anxiety, depression, suicidal ideation, self-harm or other issues. That figure rose sharply from 2006, when just 9 percent of doctor’s visits involved psychiatric illnesses.

The study , published Thursday in JAMA Network Open, also found a sharp increase in the proportion of visits involving psychiatric medications. In 2019, 22.4 percent of outpatient visits by the 13-24 age group involved the prescription of at least one psychiatric drug, up from 13 percent in 2006.

The Big Picture

The study is the latest evidence in a shift in the kinds of ailments affecting children, adolescents and young adults. For many decades, their health care visits involved more bodily ailments, such as broken bones, viruses and drunken-driving injuries. Increasingly, however, doctors are seeing a wide variety of behavioral and mental health issues.

The reasons are not entirely clear. Some experts have said that modern life presents a new kind of mental pressure, even as society has limited the risks of physical ailments.

The latest study does not posit a reason for the shift. But the pandemic alone was not to blame, it noted. “These findings suggest the increase in mental health conditions seen among youth during the pandemic occurred in the setting of already increasing rates of psychiatric illness,” wrote the authors, a pediatrician and psychiatrist at Harvard Medical School. “Treatment and prevention strategies will need to account for factors beyond the direct and indirect effects of the pandemic.”

The Numbers

The analysis was drawn from the National Ambulatory Care Survey, which asks a sample of clinicians from across the country about the reasons for patient visits. Between 2006 and 2019, patients aged 13 to 24 made 1.1 billion health care visits, of which 145 million involved mental health issues. But the share of mental-health-related visits rose each year, the study found, as did the prescription of psychiatric medications, including stimulants, antipsychotics, mood stabilizers and anti-anxiety drugs.

The study found that antidepressants had the greatest increase, but it did not specify the exact level, said Dr. Florence T. Bourgeois, a pediatrician at Boston Children’s Hospital, an associate professor of pediatrics at Harvard Medical School and a co-author of the paper.

The prescription patterns leave an open question, she said.

“We can’t differentiate whether this speaks to the severity of conditions or changes in prescribing attitudes and trends,” she said. Either way, she added, “We are treating these conditions aggressively.”

Matt Richtel is a health and science reporter for The Times, based in Boulder, Colo. More about Matt Richtel

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227 Depression Research Topics & Essay Titles + Examples

If you’re looking for a good depression research title, you’re at the right place! StudyCorgi has prepared a list of titles for depression essays and research questions that you can use for your presentation, persuasive paper, and other writing assignments. Read on to find your perfect research title about depression!

🙁 TOP 7 Depression Title Ideas

🏆 best research topics on depression, ❓ depression research questions, 👍 depression research topics & essay examples, 📝 argumentative essay topics about depression, 🌶️ hot depression titles for a paper, 🔎 creative research topics about depression, 🎓 most interesting depression essay topics, 💡 good titles for depression essays.

• Depression and Solutions in Psychiatry
• Depression as It Relates to Obesity
• Depression: Case Conceptualization and Treatment Planning
• Teenage Depression: Causes and Symptoms
• The Concept of Postpartum Depression
• History and Treatment of Depression
• Components of the Treatment of Depression
• Social Media as a Cause of Anxiety and Depression Anxiety and depression are considerable problems for world society. Numerous studies have linked high social media use with high levels of anxiety and depression.
• Geriatric Depression Scale, Clock Drawing Test and Mini-Mental Status Examination Depression is a common condition among geriatric patients. Around 5 million older adults in the US experience significant morbidity from depression.
• Does Social Media Use Contribute to Depression? Social media is a relatively new concept in a modern world. It combines technology and social tendencies to enhance interaction through Internet-based gadgets and applications.
• Transition Phase of Depression and Its’ Challenges Providing psychoeducation to people with mild to moderate depression, strategies for recognizing and addressing conflict and reluctance are discussed in this paper
• Adolescent Mental Health: Depression This paper includes depression background discussion, including its signs, prevalence, diagnosis, and treatment, and a plan of treatment with three interventions to address this chronic health disease.
• Action Research in Treating Depression With Physical Exercise Depression is one of the most common mental health disorders in the United States. The latest statistics showed that depression does not discriminate against age.
• Impact of Depression on a Family The article makes a very powerful argument about the effects of depression on the relatives of the patient by identifying the major factors that put the family into a challenging position.
• Depression and Depressive Disorders Depression is one of the leading causes of disability in the world. Symptoms are feelings of sadness and guilt, changes in sleeping patterns changes in appetite, and other.
• The Rise of Depression in the Era of the Internet Understanding how the Internet affects human lives is essential in ascertaining the reasons for the growing loneliness in the intrinsically connected world.
• Application of Analysis of Variance in the Analysis of HIV/AIDS-Related Depression Cases Analysis of variance (ANOVA) is a commonly used approach in the testing of the equality of various means using variance.
• Major Types of Depression This paper will review and analyze two scholarly articles concerning depression, its sings in male and female patients, and its connection and similarity to other disorders.
• Major Depression’ Symptoms and Treatment – Psychology A continuous sense of tiredness, unhappiness, and hopelessness are key signs of clinical or major depression. Such mood changes alter the daily life programs of an individual for sometimes.
• Depression: Psychoeducational Intervention This paper considers the peculiarities of the application of psychoeducation in depression, including advantages, limitations, and ethical aspects.
• Mitigating Postnatal Depression in New Mothers: A Recreational Program Plan Post-natal depression is a popular form of depression in women. This paper presents an activity plan for the use of leisure as a therapeutic response to post-natal depression.
• Baby Blues: What We Know About Postpartum Depression The term Postpartum Depression describes a wide variety of physical and emotional adjustments experienced by a significant number of new mothers.
• Self-Esteem and Depression in Quantitative Research The topic that has been proposed for quantitative research pertains to the problem of the relationship between self-esteem and depression.
• Smoking Cessation and Depression It was estimated that nicotine affects the human’s reward system. As a result, smoking cessation might lead to depression and other mental disorder.
• Predicting Barriers to Treatment for Depression Mental health issues such as depression and drug abuse are the most frequent among teenagers and young adults. In this age range, both disorders tend to co-occur.
• Relation Between the COVID-19 Pandemic and Depression The paper is to share an insight into the detrimental effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of thousands of people and provide advice on how to reduce its impact.
• Post-operative Breast Cancer Patients With Depression: Annotated Bibliography This paper is an annotated bibliography about risk reduction strategies at the point of care: Post-operative breast cancer patients who are experiencing depression.
• Is Creativity A Modern Panacea From Boredom and Depression? Communication, daily life, and working patterns become nothing but fixed mechanisms that are deprived of any additional thoughts and perspectives.
• Depression and Other Antecedents of Obesity Defeating the inertia about taking up a regular programme of sports and exercise can be a challenging goal. Hence, more advocacy campaigns focus on doing something about obesity with a more prudent diet.
• Depression in Adolescence as a Contemporary Issue Depression in adolescents is not medically different from adult depression but is caused by developmental and social challenges young people encounter.
• Depression and Workplace Violence The purpose of this paper is to provide an in-depth analysis how can workplace violence and verbal aggression be reduced or dealt with by employees.
• Treating Mild Depression: Psychotherapy and Pharmacotherapy The project intends to investigate the comparative effectiveness of the treatments that are currently used for mild depression.
• Anxiety, Depression, and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Currently, many people experience anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder that affect their general health.
• Depression and Anxiety: Mary’s Case Mary’s husband’s death precipitated her depression and anxiety diagnosis. She feels lonely and miserable as she struggles with her daily endeavors with limited emotional support.
• What Are the Characteristics and Causes of Depression?
• Why Are Athletes Vulnerable to Depression?
• Why and How Adolescents Are Affected by Generalized Anxiety Disorder and Clinical Depression?
• Does Depression Assist Eating Disorders?
• What Should You Know About Depression?
• How Can Mother Nature Lower Depression and Anxiety?
• How Can Video Games Relieve Stress and Reduce Depression?
• When Does Teacher Support Reduce Depression in Students?
• Why Are Teenagers Affected by Depression?
• How Teens and Depression Today?
• Are Mental Health Issues Like Depression Related to Race?
• What Does Depression Mean?
• How Did the Depression Affect France?
• How Does Depression Stop?
• When Postpartum Depression Leads to Psychosis?
• How Do Medication and Therapy Combat Depression?
• What Are the Leading Causes of Depression?
• What About Drugs for Anxiety and Depression?
• What’s the Big Deal About Anxiety and Depression in Students?
• How Should Childhood Depression and Anxiety Be?
• How Do Gender Stereotypes Warp Our View of Depression?
• What Are the Signs of Teenage Depression?
• Are Testosterone Levels and Depression Risk Linked Based on Partnering and Parenting?
• How Psychology Helps People With Depression?
• How Should Childhood Depression and Anxiety Be Treated or Dealt With?
• African American Children Suffering From Anxiety and Depression Depression and anxiety are common among African American children and adolescents, and they face significant barriers to receiving care and treatment.
• Effects of Music Therapy on Depressed Elderly People Music therapy has been shown to have positive effects among people, and thus the aim was to assess the validity of such claims using elderly people.
• Depression in the Contemporary Society Public awareness about depression has increased in recent years, with more attention dedicated to the need for addressing this serious mental health illness and less stigmatization.
• Physiological Psychology. Postpartum Depression Depression is a focal public health question. In the childbearing period, it is commoner in females than in males with a 2:1 ratio.
• Adolescent Depression: Modern Issues and Resources Teenagers encounter many challenging health-related issues; mental health conditions are one of them. This paper presents the aspects of depression in adolescents.
• Depression Among Rich People Analysis Among the myriad differences between rich and poor people is the manner in which they are influenced by and respond to depression.
• Theories in Depression Treatment This study analyzes the theories pertinent to depression treatment, reviews relevant evidence, defines key concepts of the project, and explains the framework chosen for it.
• The Postnatal (Postpartum) Depression’ Concept Postnatal or postpartum depression (PPD) is a subtype of depression which is experienced by women within the first half a year after giving birth.
• The Efficacy of Medication in Depression’ Treatment This paper attempts to provide a substantial material for the participation in an argument concerning the clinical effectiveness of antidepressant medications.
• Depression and Cognitive Psychotherapy Approaches Cognitive psychotherapy offers various techniques to cope with emotional problems. This paper discusses the most effective cognitive approaches.
• Women’s Mental Health Disorder: Major Depression The mental health disorder paper aims to explore major depression, its symptoms, assessment, and intervention strategies appropriate for women.
• Early Diagnosis of Depression Among Young Adults The purpose of this study was to discover sociodemographic and health traits related to depression sufferers’ usage of various mental health services.
• Depression in Middle-Aged African Women The research study investigates depression in middle-aged African women because the mental health of the population is a serious concern of the modern healthcare sector.
• Early Diagnosis of Depression Among Young Adults The paper shows a need for early identification of depression symptoms in primary care practice. PHQ-2 and PHQ-9 are useful tools for portraying symptoms.
• Early Diagnosis of Depression: Public Health Depression in young adults has become a significant health problem across the US. It causes persistent feelings of loss of interest in activities and sadness.
• Depression and Social Media in Scientific vs. Popular Articles The damage can come in the form of misinformation, which can result in an unjustified and unnecessary self-restriction of social media.
• Depression in Adolescence: Causes and Treatment Depression amongst young adults at the puberty stage comes in hand with several causes that one cannot imagine, and depression happens or is triggered by various reasons.
• Addressing Depression Among Native Youths The current paper aims to utilize a Medicine Wheel model and a social work paradigm to manage depression among Native American Indian youths.
• Psychological Assessments and Intervention Strategies for Depression The article presents two case studies highlighting the importance of psychological assessments and intervention strategies for individuals experiencing depression.
• The Impact of Postpartum Maternal Depression on Postnatal Attachment This paper examines the influence of postpartum maternal depression on postnatal infant attachment, discusses the adverse effects of depression on attachment.
• Marijuana Effects on Risk of Anxiety and Depression The current paper aims to find out whether medical cannabis can positively affect anxiety and depression and the process of their treatment.
• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Anxiety and Depression Cognitive behavioral therapy analyzes the unconscious processes influencing the normal functioning of the human body, causing different pathologies.
• Hypnotherapy as an Effective Method for Treating Depression This paper explores the use of hypnotherapy as a treatment for depression and highlights the advantages of hypnosis in addressing depressive symptoms.
• Postpartum Depression in Women and Men The focus of the paper is health problems that affect women after giving birth to a child, such as depression. The author proposes that men also experience postpartum depression.
• Repression and Depression in “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman In “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, the author highlighted the connection between repression and depression.
• Men and Depression: Signs, Symptoms, Causes, and Treatment Depression in men and women has several incompatibilities as males suffer from health problems more often than women as they rarely express their emotions.
• Promotion of Change Regarding Adolescent Depression In the essay, the author describes the methods to evaluate the symptoms of a patient who has been referred for counseling with depression.
• Interventions to Cope With Depression Depression is characterized by sadness, anxiety, feelings of worthlessness, and helplessness. These feelings do not necessarily relate to life events.
• Bipolar Depression and Bipolar Mania Although all bipolar disorders are characterized by periods of extreme mood, the main difference between them is the severity of the condition itself.
• Post-Stroke Anxiety and Depression The purpose of the given study is to ascertain how cognitive behavior therapy affects individuals with post-stroke ischemia in terms of depression reduction.
• Depression and Anxiety Management The medical staff will investigate the treatment modalities currently being utilized for the large population of patients experiencing symptoms of anxiety and depression.
• Depression in Hispanic Culture There are different ways in which culture or ethnicity can impact the treatment of the development of mental health disorders.
• Impacts of Stress of Low Income on the Risk of Depression in Children Socioeconomic hardships lead to a decline in the quality of parenting and the development of psychological and behavioral problems in children.
• The Causes of Depression and How to Overcome It In this self-reflection essay, the author describes the causes of his depression and the steps he is taking to overcome it.
• Is depression a biological condition or a result of unrealistic expectations?
• Should employers be legally required to provide support to workers with depression?
• Do the media portrayals of depression accurately reflect people’s experiences?
• Social media contributes to depression rates by eliciting the feeling of loneliness.
• Should mental health screening be mandatory in schools?
• Should depression be reclassified as a neurological disorder?
• Antidepressants are an overused quick-fix solution to depression.
• Should non-pharmacological treatments for depression be prioritized?
• Should depression be considered a disability?
• The use of electroconvulsive therapy for depression should be banned.
• Depression: Diagnostics and Treatment Depression, when it remains unchecked, can cause detrimental effects to individuals, such as suicide, which will eventually equate to mental disorders.
• Depression and Anxiety in Mental Health Nurses Depression and anxiety are the most common mental diseases in humans. Nurses who work in mental health are at significant risk of getting psychiatric illnesses.
• Psychedelics in Depression and Anxiety Treatment Mental illnesses have become an essential part of health in the last few decades, with sufficient attention being devoted to interventions that resolve them.
• Depression and Anxiety Among African-American Children Depression and anxiety are common among African-American children and adolescents, but they face significant barriers to receiving care and treatment due to their age and race.
• Why Are Physical Activities Treatments for Depression? In this paper, the connection between physical activities and depression will be analyzed, and the common counterargument will be discussed.
• Depression in the Older Population The paper discusses depression is an actual clinical disorder for older people with specific reasons related to their age.
• Nutrition and Depression: A Psychological Perspective When discussing nutrition in toddlers and certain behavioral patterns, one of the first standpoints to pay attention to is the humanistic perspective.
• Social Media and Depression in Adolescents: The Causative Link This paper explores how social media causes depression in adolescents during the social-emotional stage of life.
• Physical Activities as Treatment for Depression This paper will discuss what factors are improved via physical exercise and how they help with treating depression.
• “Yoga for Depression” Article by The Minded Institute One can say that depression is both the biological and mental Black Death of modern humanity in terms of prevalence and negative impact on global health.
• Therapeutic Interventions for the Older Adult With Depression and Dementia The paper researches the therapeutic interventions which relevant for the older people with depression and dementia nowadays.
• Depression Among Patients With Psoriasis Considering psoriasis as the cause of the development of depressive disorders, many researchers assign a decisive role to the severe skin itching that accompanies psoriasis.
• Qi Gong Practices’ Effects on Depression Qi Gong is a set of physical and spiritual practices aimed at the balance of mind, body, and soul and the article demonstrates whether it is good or not at treating depression.
• The Effects of Forgiveness Therapy on Depression for Women The study analyzes the impact of forgiveness therapy on the emotional state of women who have experienced emotional abuse.
• How Covid-19 Isolation Contributed to Depression and Adolescent Suicide The pandemic affected adolescents because of stringent isolation measures, which resulted in mental challenges such as depression and anxiety, hence suicidal thoughts.
• Depression and Anxiety in Older Generation Depression and anxiety represent severe mental disorders that require immediate and prolonged treatment for patients of different ages.
• Coping with Depression After Loss of Loved Ones This case is about a 60-year-old man of African American origin. He suffered from depression after his wife’s death, which made him feel lonely and isolated.
• Postpartum Depression Screening Program Evaluation In order to manage the depression of mothers who have just delivered, it is important to introduce a routine postpartum depression-screening program in all public hospitals.
• Depression: Symptoms, Causes and Treatment Depression interferes with daily routine, wasting valuable time and lowering production. Persistent downs or blues, sadness, and anger may be signs of depression.
• Adolescent Males With Depression: Poly-Substance Abuse Depression is the most crucial aspect that makes young males indulge in poly-substance abuse. There are various ways in which male adolescents express their depression.
• The Health of the Elderly: Depression and Severe Emotional Disturbance This study is intended for males and females over the age of 50 years who are likely to suffer from depression and severe emotional disturbance.
• Suicidal Ideation & Depression in Elderly Living in Nursing Home vs. With Family This paper attempts to compare the incidence of suicidal ideation and depression among elderly individuals living in nursing homes and those living with family in the community.
• Major Depression: Symptoms and Treatment Major depression is known as clinical depression, which is characterized by several symptoms. There are biological, psychological, social, and evolutionary causes of depression.
• Health Disparity Advocacy: Clinical Depression in the U.S. Recent statistics show that approximately more than 10 million people suffer from severe depression each year in the U.S..
• Serum Neurotrophic Factors in Adolescent Depression by Pallavi et al. The research hypothesis of the article is to compare the serum concentration of neurotrophic factors in depression patients and healthy control.
• The Treatment of Anxiety and Depression The meta-analysis provides ample evidence, which indicates that CES is not only effective but also safe in the treatment of anxiety and depression.
• Depression Intervention Among Diabetes Patients The research examines the communication patterns used by depression care specialist nurses when communicating with patients suffering from diabetes.
• Postnatal Depression in New Mothers and Its Prevention Leisure activities keep new mothers suffering from postnatal depression busy and enable them to interact with other members of the society.
• Literature Evaluation on the Depression Illness The evaluation considers the articles that study such medical illness as depression from different planes of its perception.
• Treatment of Major Depression The purpose of the paper is to identify the etiology and the treatment of major depression from a psychoanalytic and cognitive perspective.
• Edinburgh Depression Screen for Treating Depression Edinburgh Depression screen is also known as Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale which is used to screen pregnant and postnatal women for emotional distress.
• Depression Treatment Variants in the US There is a debate regarding the best formula for depression treatment whereby some argue for using drugs, whereas others are advocating for therapy.
• Depression in the Elderly: Treatment Options Professionals may recommend various treatment options, including the use of antidepressants, psychotherapy such as cognitive-behavioral therapy.
• Depression Treatments and Therapeutic Strategies This article examines the effectiveness of different depression treatments and reviews the therapeutic strategies, which can be helpful if the initial treatment fails.
• Can physical exercise alone effectively treat depression?
• Art therapy as a complementary treatment for depression.
• Is there a link between perfectionism and depression?
• The influence of sleep patterns on depression treatment outcomes.
• Can exposure to nature and green spaces decrease depression rates in cities?
• The relationship between diet and depression symptoms.
• The potential benefits of psychedelic-assisted therapy in treating depression.
• The role of outdoor experiences in alleviating depression symptoms.
• The relationship between depression and physical health in older adults.
• The role of workplace culture in preventing employee depression.
• Depression and the Nervous System Depression is a broad condition that is associated with failures in many parts of the nervous system. It can be both the cause and the effect of this imbalance.
• Depression: Types, Symptoms, Etiology & Management Depression differs from other disorders, connected with mood swings, and it may present a serious threat to the individual’s health condition.
• The Effect of Music Therapy on Depression One major finding of study is that music therapy alleviates depression among the elderly. Music therapy could alleviate depression.
• Post-Natal Depression as an Affective Disorder Postpartum or post-natal depression (PPD) is a serious issue that can potentially be destructive to both infant and mother.
• “Neighborhood Racial Discrimination and the Development of Major Depression” by Russell The study investigates how neighborhood racial discrimination influences this severe mental disorder among African American Women.
• Adolescent Depression and Physical Health Depression in adolescents and young people under 24 is a factor that affects their physical health negatively and requires intervention from various stakeholders.
• Family Support to a Veteran With Depression Even the strongest soldiers become vulnerable to multiple health risks and behavioral changes, and depression is one of the problems military families face.
• Alcohol and Depression Article by Churchill and Farrell The selected article for this discussion is “Alcohol and Depression: Evidence From the 2014 Health Survey for England” by Sefa Awaworyi Churchill and Lisa Farrell.
• Negative Effects of Depression in Adolescents on Their Physical Health Mental disorders affect sleep patterns, physical activity, digestive and cardiac system. The purpose of the paper to provide information about adverse impacts of depression on health.
• Elderly Depression: Symptoms, Consequences, Behavior, and Therapy The paper aims to identify symptoms, behavioral inclinations of older adults, consequences of depression, and treatment ways.
• Depression in Feminist Literature of the 1890s The aim of the work is to analyze the cause of female sickness, which is their inability to express themselves and the pitiful place of a female in the society of that time.
• Major Depression Disorder: Causes and Treatment Loss in weight and appetite are some of the symptoms that a patient diagnosed with Major Depression Disorder could manifest.
• Mood Disorders: Depression Concepts Description The essay describes the nature of depression, its causes, characteristics, consequences, and possible ways of treatment.
• Geriatric Depression Diagnostics Study Protocol The research question is: how does the implementation of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines affect the accuracy of diagnosing of depression?
• Mental Health Association of Depression and Alzheimer’s in the Elderly Depression can be a part of Alzheimer’s disease. Elderly people may have episodes of depression, but these episodes cannot be always linked to Alzheimer’s disease.
• Protective Factors Against Youthful Depression Several iterations of multiple correlation, step-wise and hierarchical regression yielded inconclusive results about the antecedents of youthful depression.
• Depression and Related Psychological Issues Depression as any mental disorder can be ascribed, regarding the use of psychoanalysis, to a person`s inability to control his destructive or sexual instincts or impulses.
• Television Habituation and Adolescent Depression The paper investigates the theory that there is a link between heavy TV viewing and adolescent depression and assess the strength of association.
• Occupational Psychology: Depression Counselling The case involves a 28-year-old employee at Data Analytics Ltd. A traumatic event affected his mental health, causing depression and reduced performance.
• Psychotherapeutic Group: Treatment of Mild-To-Moderate Depression The aim of this manual is to provide direction and employ high-quality sources dedicated to mild-to-moderate depression and group therapy to justify the choices made for the group.
• “Depression and Ways of Coping With Stress” by Orzechowska et al. The study “Depression and Ways of Coping With Stress” by Orzechowska et al. aimed the solve an issue pertinent to nursing since depression can influence any patient.
• Postpartum Depression: Evidence-Based Practice Postpartum or postnatal depression refers to a mood disorder that can manifest in a large variety of symptoms and can range from one person to another.
• Effectiveness of Telenursing in Reducing Readmission, Depression, and Anxiety The project is dedicated to testing the effectiveness of telenursing in reducing readmission, depression, and anxiety, as well as improving general health outcomes.
• Adult Depression Treatment in the United States This study characterizes the treatment of adult depression in the US. It is prompted by the findings of earlier studies, which discover the lack of efficient depression care.
• Nurses’ Interventions in Postnatal Depression Treatment This investigation evaluates the effect of nurses’ interventions on the level of women’s postnatal depression and their emotional state.
• Postpartum Depression: Evidence-Based Care Outcomes In this evidence-based study, the instances of potassium depression should be viewed as the key dependent variable that will have to be monitored in the course of the analysis.
• Postpartum Depression: Diagnosis and Treatment This paper aims to discuss the peculiarities of five one-hour classes on depression awareness, to implement this intervention among first-year mothers, and to evaluate its worth during the first year after giving birth.
• Homelessness and Depression Among Illiterate People There are various myths people have about homelessness and depression. For example, many people believe that only illiterate people can be homeless.
• Postpartum Depression In First-time Mothers The most common mental health problem associated with childbirth remains postpartum depression, which can affect both sexes, and negatively influences the newborn child.
• The Diagnosis and Treatment of Postpartum Depression Postpartum depression has many explanations, but the usual way of referring to this disease is linked to psychological problems.
• What Is Postpartum Depression? Causes, Symptoms, and Treatment The prevalence of postpartum depression is quite high as one in seven new American mothers develops this health issue.
• Predictors of Postpartum Depression The phenomenon of postpartum depression affects the quality of women’s lives, as well as their self-esteem and relationships with their child.
• Depression and Self-Esteem: Research Problem Apart from descriptively studying the relationship between depression and self-esteem, a more practical approach can be used to check how interventions for enhancing self-esteem might affect depression.
• The Relationship Between Depression and Self-Esteem The topic which is proposed to be studied is the relationship between depression and self-esteem. Self-esteem can be defined as individual’s subjective evaluation of his or her worth.
• The Impact of Depression on Motherhood This work studies the impact of depression screening on prenatal and posts natal motherhood and effects on early interventions using a literature review.
• Depression in Female Cancer Patients and Survivors Depression is often associated with fatigue and sleep disturbances that prevent females from thinking positively and focusing on the treatment and its outcomes.
• Depression in Cardiac or Diabetic Patients The paper develops a framework through which risk factors associated with the development of MDD among adult patients with heart disease or diabetes can be easily identified.
• The Geriatric Population’s Depression This paper discusses how does the implementation of National Institute for Health and Care guidelines affect the accuracy of diagnosing of depression in the geriatric population.
• Problem of Depression: Recognition and Management Depression is a major health concern, which is relatively prevalent in the modern world. Indeed, in the US, 6.7 % of adults experienced an episode of the Major Depressive Disorder in 2015.
• Health and Care Excellence in Depression Management The introduction of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines can affect the accuracy of diagnosing and quality of managing depression.
• Impact of COVID-19 on Depression and Suicide Rates among Adolescents and Young People The purpose of this paper is to explore the influence of coronavirus on these tragic numbers.
• Mild Depression: Psychotherapy or Pharmacotherapy The research question in this paper is: in psychiatric patients with mild depression, what is the effect of psychotherapy on health compared with pharmacotherapy?
• Postpartum Bipolar Disorder and Depression The results of the Mood Disorder Questionnaire screening of a postpartum patient suggest a bipolar disorder caused by hormonal issues and a major depressive episode.
• Bipolar Disorder or Manic Depression Bipolar disorder is a mental illness characterized by unusual mood changes that shift from manic to depressive extremes. In the medical field, it`s called manic depression.
• The Improvement of Depression Management The present paper summarizes the context analysis that was prepared for a change project aimed at the improvement of depression management.
• Depression Management in US National Guidelines The project offers the VEGA medical center to implement the guidelines for depression management developed by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence.
• Women’s Health and Major Depression Symptoms The client’s complaints refer to sleep problems, frequent mood swings (she gets sad a lot), and the desire to stay away from social interactions.
• Predictors of Postpartum Depression: Who Is at Risk? The article “Predictors of Postpartum Depression” by Katon, Russo, and Gavin focuses on the identification of risk factors related to postnatal depression.
• Depression and Its Treatment: Racial and Ethnic Disparities The racial and ethnic disparities in depression treatment can be used for the development of quality improvement initiatives aimed at the advancement of patient outcomes.
• Lamotrigine for Bipolar Depression Management Lamotrigine sold as Lamictal is considered an effective medication helping to reduce some symptoms that significantly affect epileptic and bipolar patients’ quality of life.
• Citalopram, Methylphenidate in Geriatric Depression Citalopram typically ranges among 10-20 antidepressants for its cost-effectiveness and positive effect on patients being even more effective than reboxetine and paroxetine.
• Depression and Self-Esteem Relationship Self-esteem can be defined as an “individual’s subjective evaluation of his or her worth as a person”; it does not necessarily describe one’s real talents.
• Postpartum Depression: Methods for the Prevention Postpartum depression is a pressing clinical problem that affects new mothers, infants, and other family members. The prevalence of postpartum depression ranges between 13 and 19 percent.
• Anxiety and Depression Among Females with Cancer The study investigated the prevalence of and the potential factors of risk for anxiety and/or depression among females with early breast cancer during the first 5 years.
• Post-Partum Depression and Perinatal Dyadic Psychotherapy Post-partum depression affects more than ten percent of young mothers, and a method Perinatal Dyadic Psychotherapy is widely used to reduce anxiety.
• VEGA Medical Center: Detection of Depression Practice guidelines for the psychiatric evaluation of adults, and they can be employed to solve the meso-level problem of the VEGA medical center and its nurses.
• Depression in Obstetrics and Gynecology: Research This essay analyzes a clinical research article “Improving care for depression in obstetrics and gynecology: A randomized controlled trial” by Melville et al.
• Postpartum Depression, Prevention and Treatment Postpartum depression is a common psychiatric condition in women of the childbearing age. They are most likely to develop the disease within a year after childbirth.
• Smoking Cessation and Depression Problem The aim of the study is to scrutinize the issues inherent in the process of smoking cessation and align them with the occurrence of depression in an extensive sample of individuals.
• Evidence-Based Pharmacology: Major Depression In this paper, a certain attention to different treatment approaches that can be offered to patients with depression will be paid, including the evaluation of age implications.
• Treatment of Depression in Lesbians The aim of this paper is to review a case study of 45 years old lesbian woman who seeks treatment for depression and to discuss the biophysical, psychological, sociocultural, health system.
• Women’s Health: Predictors of Postpartum Depression The article written by Katon, Russo, and Gavin is focused on women’s health. It discusses predictors of postpartum depression (PPD), including sociodemographic and clinic risk factors.
• Depression Treatment and Management Treatment could be started only after patient is checked whether he has an allergy to the prescribed pills or not. If he is not allergic, he should also maintain clinical tests for depression.
• Depression and Thyroid Issues in Young Woman Young people are busy at studies or at work and do not pay much attention to primary symptoms unless they influence the quality of life.
• Counseling Depression: Ethical Aspects This paper explores the ethical aspects required to work with a widower who diminished passion for food, secluding himself in the house, portraying signs of depression.
• Postpartum Depression as Serious Mental Health Problem The research study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a two-step behavioral and educational intervention on the symptoms of postpartum depression in young mothers.
• European Alliances, Wars, Dictatorships and Depression The decades leading to World War I had unusual alignments. The European nations were still scrambling for Asia, Africa and parts of undeveloped Europe.
• Women’s Health: Depression as a Psychological Factor Women who identify themselves as lesbian are likely to experience depression. Biophysical, psychological, sociocultural, behavioral, and health system factors should be taken into consideration.
• Childhood Obesity and Depression Intervention The main intervention to combat depressive moods in adolescents should be linked to improving the psychological health of young people in cooperation with schools.
• Postnatal Depression Prevalence and Effects The paper analyzes the prevalence and risk factors of Postnatal (Postpartum) Depression as well as investigates the effect on the newborns whose mothers suffer from this condition.
• Depression in Older Adults Depression is one of the most common mental illnesses in the world. Evidence-based holistic intervention would provide more effective treatment for elderly patients with depression.
• Placebo and Treatments for Depression Natural alternative treatments for depression actually work better than the biochemical alternatives like antidepressants.
• Care for Depression in Obstetrics and Gynecology This work analyzes the article developed by Melville et al. in which discusses the theme of depression in obstetrics and gynecology and improving care for it.
• Depression Screening in Primary Care Screening for depression in patients suffering from long term conditions (LTCs) or persistent health problems of the body, could largely be erroneous.
• Patients with Depression’ Care: Betty Case Betty, a 45 years old woman, is referred to a local clinic because of feeling depressed. She has a history of three divorces and thinks that she is tired of living the old way.
• Clinical Depression Treatment: Issues and Solvings The paper describes and justifies the design selected for research on depression treatment. It also identifies ethical issues and proposes ways of addressing them.
• Depression in Older Persons – Psychology This article presents the research findings of a study conducted in Iran to assess how effective integrative and instrumental therapies are in the management of depression in older persons.
• Depression in the Elderly – Psychology This paper discusses how a person would know whether a relative had clinical depression or was sad due to specific changes or losses in life.
• Depression in the Elderly Depression can be defined as a state of anxiety, sadness, hopelessness, and worthlessness. It can affect people across all ages, who present with diverse signs and symptoms
• Postnatal Depression: Prevalence of Postnatal Depression in Bahrain The study was aimed at estimating the prevalence of postnatal depression among 237 Bahraini women who attended checkups in 20 clinical centres over a period of 2 months.

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StudyCorgi . "227 Depression Research Topics & Essay Titles + Examples." September 9, 2021. https://studycorgi.com/ideas/depression-essay-topics/.

StudyCorgi . 2021. "227 Depression Research Topics & Essay Titles + Examples." September 9, 2021. https://studycorgi.com/ideas/depression-essay-topics/.

These essay examples and topics on Depression were carefully selected by the StudyCorgi editorial team. They meet our highest standards in terms of grammar, punctuation, style, and fact accuracy. Please ensure you properly reference the materials if you’re using them to write your assignment.

This essay topic collection was updated on January 22, 2024 .