A Study on Gender Difference in Depression, Anxiety, and Stress (DAS) among College Students

Description

Page: 76-80

Ibtisam Abdullah Mohammed AL-Mahrazi¹, Nafja Khamis Rashid AL-Senide², Yaqeen Adel Khusaif AL-Mahrezi³, Sufian Mohammed AL-Mahruqy⁴, Jamila Khatoon⁵, and Mohammmad Akram⁶ (Humanities Department, Mazoon College, Muscat, Oman^1,2,3,4,5 and Department of Psychology, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh⁶)

Depression, anxiety, and stress are common problems that have existed in society for a long period. It may be said that the student’s life is often considered very stressful, which affects not only their academic performance but also their physical well-being. They receive education in schools/colleges/institutions/universities and feel incompatible with the changes causing health-related issues. Students with depression, anxiety, and stress may be at risk of distress from low and poor levels of academic performance and resistance to anything related to college/university. Hence, it is very important to screen students for “depression, anxiety, and stress” for early detection of such conditions. This study aimed to assess and measure the levels of depression, anxiety, and stress among undergraduate students and find the significance of differences among them. The study was measured through DASS-21 on a sample of 148 (74 male & 74 female) students, selected through non-probability convenience sampling from Mazoon College, Oman. The obtained data was analyzed by SPSS-20. Statistically significant differences between the responses of respondents were analyzed by descriptive statistics such as mean; standard deviation and percentage were used. Data analysis was performed using the independent sample test and a p-value of <0.01 and < 0.05 were considered statistically significant. A significant difference existed between male and female college students concerning the dimensions of depression, anxiety, and stress. Overall DAS score and factors were found significant at the level of significance. The findings reflect that both genders are influential factors in depression, anxiety, and stress.