Western Mindanao State University

Diplahan External Studies Unit

Poblacion, Diplahan Zamboanga Sibugay

Depression: Cause and Effect among Students

Mary Flor d. Culango

Judith P. Danoy

Arniel Sevillano

March 2019
Depression: Cause and Effect among Students

A Research

Presented to

Roland D. Agraviador

Instructor

English III

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements

For the Degree of Elementary Education

Major in General Education

By:

Mary Flor d. Culango

Judith P. Danoy

Arniel Sevillano

March 2019
 ABSTRACT

Depression: Cause and Effect among Students

Researchers
Mary Flor d. Culango
Judith P. Danoy
Arniel Sevillano

Depression has been identified as a silent disease that affects all individual irrespective
of his or her physical and biological health. The condition openly affects more than 40% of the
society. Depression has become a worrying trend that does not only affect the psychological
wellbeing of an individual but also the physical wellbeing of a person. It has often been
idealized as a mental illness Looking into questionnaires analysed, the data collected it is quite
clear that there is need to look into the methods in which it can be prevented as well as treated
within the university setup as well as the immediate society that is affected. The data was
analysed using thematic analysis that helped establish the specific view of the respondents
without the researchers point of view.
 Acknowledgement

We would like to thank, first and foremost our Almighty God who gave us our daily
life and he who guides in all our journey and imparted us knowledge throughout the duration
of this study.

We also thank the parents who wholeheartedly offer their support and extend financial
needs to make this research paper into reality. As well as the instructor, Mr. Roland D.
Agraviador , for imparting us the needed skills and knowledge in making this research paper.

Our warmest gratitude may extend to all of you. Thank you for presence, ideas and
cooperation. This research would not be make possible without your help, thank you once
again.

God bless!

- Researchers
 Chapter I

Background of the Study

Depression is one of the emotional problems, and hopelessness and helplessness are its
main causes. Depression is a prevalent problem among college's students across the world and
it effect on a students' ability to perform activities of daily life. Depression is marked by sad
feelings among college students which are known as a common mental illness." National
Institute of Mental Health found that during their college life many students experience the
first symptoms of depression. Depressed people ignore their own successes and good traits,
while exaggerating their faults and failures. Student's Academic performance which every
individual have to perform in all cultures has become an important goal of the educational
process. Student's personality, education, motivation, mental health and training also effect
academic performance. Depression is a state which a person feels very sad, hopeless and
unimportant and often is unable to live in a normal way. According to Bansal, Gayal, and
Srivastava (2009), a lot of physicians did not believe that depressive disorders existed in the
youth 40 years ago. Nowadays, the youth are very prone to depression due to many factors that
can affect their emotional, mental, psychological state of mind in their everyday life especially
being a student. This study about depression is quite strange topic because it is very mysterious
yet the majority of people especially in school settings lacks knowledge about this topic

In the recent time, depression occurred more and more often to almost all of the teens.
The statistics of National Institute of Mental Health (2014) states that depression is the most
often mental disorder that teens and adults in United States have. According to their study, over
2.8 million youth with age of 12-17 have experienced at least one major depression. Another
study from faculty.washington.edu (2013) states that depression can last longer and may last
for a year or so. Depression can be triggered in several of ways like failures, lost loved ones,
identity loss, and many more. They clear that not everyone who experience these negative
events catch on depression. On the contrary, there are factors that make them vulnerable to into
it is a severe mental disorder that may last longer, but there are some people who can endure it
because they are aware of themselves.

According to World Health Organization-Philippines (2017), in the whole Philippines

alone, they stated that about 3.9 million people are living with depression and about 3.07million
people are living with anxiety. They added that depression is one of the most leading factor
that makes one person to commit suicide. They further explained that a serious national talk
regarding depression in which every Filipino is engaged is urgently needed. They also
concluded on their research that depression is a mental disorder that spread in a whole wide
world and it can affect our daily living. Unlike many large-scale international problems, a
solution for depression is at our hand.

Depression is a topic that is studied by a lot of researches from time to time but the past
studies failed to explore or interpret the experiences of a youth student that undergo the process
of depression and the themes of it in a classroom setting. Furthermore, World Health
Organization did not specify the age range of people who suffer from it. The American
Psychological Association have failed to elaborate and further explain the definition of
depression. They only stated the reason behind `1-`depression. It focuses more on the people
who are grown up. They did not mention about the teenagers that experience the depression.
Anyone can be a victim of depression as suggested to a related study, it can be a teen or an
adult. That study failed to explain the difference of experiences between the teen and adult
depression.

Conceptual Framework

Depression

Students

Anxitey Stress Low-self

esteem

Statement of the problem

 The study discussed the Cause and effect of depression among students

Specifically, the following questions will be answered::

1. What are the risk factors/triggers for student depression?

2. What are the caused why students are depressed?

3 How prevalent is teen depression?

4. How do you tell your family that are you in stage of depression?

Significance of the study

The significance of this study is to distinguish who is at risk of developing depression

and who is not going to develop depression so we can prevent these problems before they
occur. The researchers help to better understand the causes of suicidal behavior and
depression and help others who suffer from depression in the future.

Scope and limitation of the study

This study focuses on the cause and effects of depression among students. This study
will not cover other problems that are not consider as one of the stress and depression. The
study would be done through the utilization of questionnaire to the students as a survey and
reference. By their strategy the researchers will be able to know the cause and effects of
depression among students

Operational definition of terms

Depression - is a common and serious medical illness that negatively affects how you feel, the
way you think and how you act.
 Chapter II

Review of Related Literature

According to the fall 2007 American College Health Association-National College

Health Assessment a national survey of approximately 20,500 college students on 39
campuses, 43.2% of the students reported "feeling so depressed it was difficult to function" at
least once in the past 12 months. More than 3,200 university students reported being diagnosed
as having depression, with 39.2% of those students diagnosed in the past 12 months, 24.2%
currently in therapy for depression, and 35.8% taking antidepressant medication. Among the
students surveyed, 10.3% admitted "seriously considering attempting suicide" within the past
12 months and 1.9% actually attempted suicide during that period.

Although the above data may seem surprising to some, it is not to most mental health
clinicians and administrators at U.S. colleges. According to the 2008 National Survey of
Counseling Center Directors, 95% of respondents believe that there has been a trend in recent
years of an increase in the number of students with serious psychological problems. In 2008 an
estimated 26% of counseling center clients were taking psychiatric medication, up from 20%
in 2003, 17% in 2000, and 9% in 1994 . And although the rate of suicide among college students
may have decreased in recent decades suicide remains the third leading cause of death among
adolescents and young adults .

Many college administrators have begun to appreciate the effect that a student's depression can
have on overall functioning in the college community. Depression has been linked to academic
difficulties as well as interpersonal problems at school, with more severe depression correlated
with higher levels of impairment. The treatment of depression among college students has been
associated with a protective effect on these students' grade point averages . In an effort to
diagnose and treat early and effectively, and thus decrease the excess morbidity and risk of
suicide associated with depression, some U.S. colleges have even begun to screen students for
depression in the primary care setting .

There are unique challenges of providing treatment to college students. These challenges
include significant academic pressure in semester-based cycles, extensive semester breaks that
result in discontinuities of care, and heavy reliance on community supports that can be
inconsistent. Given the prevalence and impact of depression on college campuses and the
varying services offered by university mental health centers throughout the United States, there
is a significant need to evaluate successful models of treatment and their related outcomes.

In 2007 Kelly and colleagues conducted a nonexperimental study that recruited from
introductory psychology classes university students with depression who were not currently in
treatment, offering both financial compensation and class credit for research involvement.
Sixty college students (66% Caucasian, 57% female) with major depression were followed for
nine weeks without any treatment to assess for sudden gains (that is, precipitous improvements
in depressive symptomatology), remission of depressive symptoms, and reversal of
improvements. The authors found that 60% of the college students with major depression
experienced sudden gains over the nine weeks of not receiving treatment. However, before the
end of the nine-week observation period, more than half of these sudden gains reversed. At the
end of the period of not receiving treatment, depression was in remission for 20% of the
students. The authors concluded that sudden gains may be part of the natural course of
depression for some college students, irrespective of treatment, and that self-evaluation
processes may play an important role in recovery.

In 2000 Lara and colleagues conducted a nonexperimental study in which

undergraduate students taking psychology classes who had a recent-onset major depressive
episode were paid or received course credit for their research participation. Eighty-four
students (51% Caucasian, 86% female) were followed for 26 weeks to assess whether various
psychosocial factors predicted the short-term course of major depression. The authors found
that within the 26-week period of no treatment, 68% of the college students who were initially
depressed recovered. Among those who recovered, 21% relapsed by the end of the 26-week
period into another major depressive episode. Lara and colleagues concluded that college
students with depression may sometimes spontaneously recover and relapse and that harsh
discipline in childhood was significantly associated with higher mean levels of depression at
follow-up and relapse but not with recovery.

In 2006 Geisner and colleagues conducted a four-week randomized controlled trial of

depression treatment and recruited undergraduates with depression who were enrolled in
psychology courses to participate for course credit. The study enrolled 177 students with
depression (49% Caucasian and 48% Asian, 70% female) who were randomly assigned either
to an intervention group that received personalized mailed feedback or to a control group. The
authors found that depressive symptoms improved for both the intervention and control groups,
but in the intervention condition there was a significantly greater improvement of depressive
symptoms, as measured by the DSM-IV-Based Depression Scale. There was no significant
difference between the intervention and control groups on symptoms measured by the Beck
Depression Inventory (BDI). Geisner and colleagues concluded that an intervention using
personalized mailed feedback may be useful for reducing depressive symptoms among college
students.

In 1993 Pace and Dixon conducted a four- to seven-week randomized controlled trial
to assess the treatment effectiveness of individual cognitive therapy for college students with
depressive symptoms. Participating undergraduate students earned course credit for their
research involvement. Seventy-four students (100% Caucasian, 81% female) who met strict
criteria for study inclusion were randomly assigned to either a group that received individual
cognitive therapy or a control condition where participants did not receive treatment and were
put on a waiting list for cognitive therapy. Pace and Dixon found that 74% of participants in
the cognitive therapy group (versus 33% in control group) were classified as nondepressed with
BDI scores of less than 10 after four to seven weeks of treatment. At the one-month follow-up,
81% of participants in the cognitive therapy group (versus 64% of control group) were
classified as nondepressed. Outcomes at both time points were statistically significant in favor
of cognitive therapy. The authors concluded that brief individual cognitive therapy may
effectively reduce mild to moderate depressive symptoms as well as depressive self-schemata
among college students.

Chapter III
Methodology of Research
The present study is based on survey method,particularly, the normative survey research
method.

Locale of the study

Conclusions

In light of the high prevalence of depression among college students today and the risks and
sequelae this illness poses if not diagnosed and treated early and effectively, it is imperative
that research funding be increased for both naturalistic and intervention studies of depression
and treatment outcomes in the college health setting. First, research documenting depression
and treatment outcomes in this cohort should be identified in order to evaluate the adequacy of
current care. Second, research should be directed to assessing specific short-term or semester-
based interventions for students with depression. Models that explore the effectiveness of
integration with primary care, care management, medication, and short-term psychotherapy are
all important targets for future study. By conducting such research, effective treatment models
and benchmarks of treatment outcome in the college population can be developed and
integrated into college mental health practice.

Acknowledgments and disclosures

The authors thank Michael Klein, Ph.D., for his assistance in the development of this brief
report.

Dr. Chung has served on advisory boards for Takeda Pharmaceuticals and Lundbeck
Pharmaceuticals and has served as a speaker for Pfizer and Jazz Pharmaceuticals. Dr. Miller
reports no competing interests.

At the time of this report, Dr. Miller was a Public Psychiatry Fellow at New York State
Psychiatric Institute and Columbia University, New York City. Dr. Chung is associate vice-
president of student health at New York University Student Heath Center, New York City.
Send correspondence to Dr. Miller at the New York State Psychiatric Institute, Columbia
University, 1051 Riverside Dr., Box 111, New York, NY 10032 (e-mail:
drelissamiller@gmail.com).