College students are vulnerable to depression since it can be a huge transition in one’s life. This transition could be the first time they’re moving away from their family, they have this newly found freedom to eat and sleep whenever they decide, and they have to build new relationships. Students also need to decide what they want to do with their life, which can be extremely stressful if you aren’t entirely sure. The great thing about college is that you can explore different options and find who you are. With the already stressful situation, depression can impact a student’s life in various ways such as negative academic performance and disrupt their physical health. Students who do suffer from depression may have a lack of energy to complete school work, be feeling sad, or have a loss of interest in their daily tasks. Families can increase the risk of a student to develop depression. Factors such as a family's socioeconomic class, parents that didn’t have a lot of education, parent unemployment, spending long periods of time away from your family, and family tension caused students to a higher likelihood of suffering from depression (Zhai et al., 2016).
The top ten reasons for students to develop depression include the workload of school, the pressure to be successful, plans after graduating, financial concerns, sleep, health, social relationships with friends and family, self-esteem, and how they look. (Beiter et al., 2015).
In the study by Beiter et al., it also found that upperclassmen were more likely to experience depression as plans after graduation and wanting to be successful were concerns (2015). It is important to understand what can cause the student to become depressed as it can impair an individual's ability to perform everyday tasks. According to a study by the American College Health Association, 45.1% of students felt they were unable to function because of depression in the last twelve months (2019).
In a study by Alonso, et al., students experience impairments in aspects of their lives from depression (2018). The four domains that the study analyzed were managing the home/ chores, academic work or other, personal relationships, and a student’s social life. In the research, 18.5% of participants experienced depression and of those, 51.2% had severe impairment in all four domains (Alonso, et al., 2018). The greatest impairments occurred in a student’s personal relationships and social life. Being able to build and maintain relationships is an important aspect of our everyday lives that can be hindered by depression. Depression can wreak havoc on a student's academic work, job, housework, and relationships. If you or a loved one is experiencing depression, help is available. For more information, please check out our resources above and remember, you are not alone.
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