Dimensions

PlumX

How to Cite
Ghaedi, L., & Mohd Kosnin, A. binti. (2014). Prevalence of depression among undergraduate students: gender and age differences. International Journal of Psychological Research, 7(2), 38–50. https://doi.org/10.21500/20112084.657
License terms
The work that is sent to this journal must be original, not published or sent to be published elsewhere; and if it is accepted for publication, authors will agree to transfer copyright to International Journal of Psychological Research. 

To give up copyright, the authors allow that, International Journal of Psychological Research, distribute the work more broadly, check for the reuse by others and take care of the necessary procedures for the registration and administration of copyright; at the same time, our editorial board represents the interests of the author and allows authors to re-use his work in various forms. In response to the above, authors transfer copyright to the journal, International Journal of Psychological Research. This transfer does not imply other rights which are not those of authorship (for example those that concern about patents). Likewise, preserves the authors rights to use the work integral or partially in lectures, books and courses, as well as make copies for educational purposes. Finally, the authors may use freely the tables and figures in its future work, wherever make explicit reference to the previous publication in International Journal of Psychological Research. The assignment of copyright includes both virtual rights and forms of the article to allow the editorial to disseminate the work in the manner which it deems appropriate. 

The editorial board reserves the right of amendments deemed necessary in the application of the rules of publication.

Abstract

Depressive disorders are the most typical disease affecting many different factors of humanity. University students may be at increased risk of depression owing to the pressure and stress they encounter. Therefore, the purpose of this study is comparing the level of depression among male and female athletes and non-athletes undergraduate student of private university in Esfahan, Iran. The participants in this research are composed of 400 male and female athletes as well as no-athletes Iranian undergraduate students. The Beck depression test (BDI) was employed to measure the degree of depression. T-test was used to evaluate the distinction between athletes and non-athletes at P≤0.05. The ANOVA was conducted to examine whether there was a relationship between level of depression among non-athletes and athletes. The result showed that the prevalence rate of depression among non-athlete male undergraduate students is significantly higher than that of athlete male students. The results also presented that level of depression among female students is much more frequent compared to males. This can be due to the fatigue and lack of energy that are more frequent among female in comparison to the male students. Physical activity was negatively related to the level of depression by severity among male and female undergraduate students. However, there is no distinct relationship between physical activity and level of depression according to the age of athlete and non-athlete male and female undergraduate students. This study has essential implications for clinical psychology due to the relationship between physical activity and prevalence of depression.

Keywords:

References

Al-Busaidi, Z. (2010). A qualitative study on the attitudes and beliefs towards help seeking for emotional distress in Omani women and Omani general practitioners: Implications for post-graduate training. Oman Medical Journal, 25, 189-198.

Ammouri, A. A., Kaur, H., Neuberger, G. B., Gajewski, B. & Choi, W. S. (2007). Correlates of exercise participation in adolescents. Public Health Nursing, 24, 111-120.

Apfel, J.L. (2004). Depresison and Its Treatments: A College Sample. Journal of College Student Psychotherapy, 18, 67-81.

Armstrong, S.A. & Oomen-Early, J. (2009). Social connectedness, self-esteem, and depression symptomatology among collegiate athletes versus nonathletes. Journal of American College Health, 57, 521-526.

Athari, P., Ghaedi, L. & Kosnin, A.b.M. (2013). Mothers’ depression and stress, severity of autism ‎among children and family income. International Journal of Psychology, 6(2): 98-106‎

Avison, W.R. & McAlpine, D.D. (1992). Gender differences in symptoms of depression among adolescents. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 33, 77-96.

Bagherpour, T. & Shojaei, M. (2010). Comparing depression degrees in first and last two years of starting and finishing college education among athletic and none athletic students international. Journal of Sports Science and Engineering, 4, 174-180.

Beck, A.T., Steer, R.A., & Brown, G.K. (1996). Manual for the Beck Depression Inventory-II. San Antonio, TX: Psychological Corporation.

Beck, A.T. & Greenberg, R.L. (1974). Available from: The center of Cognitive Therapy. Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.

Bhave, S. & Nagpal, J. (2005). Anxiety and depressive disorders in college youth. Pediatric Clinics of North America, 52, 97-134.

Bitsika, V., Sharpley, C.F. & Melhem, T.C. (2010). Gender Differences in Factor Scores of Anxiety and Depression among Australian University Students: Implications for ounselling Interventions. Canadian Journal of Counselling, 44, 51-64.

Bland, R.C. (1997). Epidemiology of affective disorders: A review. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 42, 367-377.

Brooks, T.L., Harris, S.K., Thrall, J.S. & Woods, E.R. (2002). Association of adolescent risk behaviors with mental health symptoms in high school students. J Adolesc Health, 31, 240-246.

Buber, I. & Engelhardt, H. (2008). The relation between depressive symptoms and age among older Europeans Findings from SHARE. VDI, 01, 1-21.

Cohen, S. (2004). Social relationships and health. American Psychologist, 59, 676-684.

Compass, B.E., Oppedisano, G., Connor, J.K., Gerhardt, C. A., Hinden, B.R., Achenbach, T.M. & Hammen, C. (1997). Gender Differences in Depressive Symptoms in Adolescence: Comparison of National Samples of Clinically Referred and Youths. J. Consult Clinical Psychol, 65, 617-626.

Coopeland, J.R., Beekman, A.T. & Dewey, M.E. (1999). Depression in Europe Geographical. Distribution among Older People. British Journal of Psychiatry, 174, 312-321.

Craft, L.L., Freund, K.M. & Perna, F.M. (2007). Intervention study of exercise for depressive symptoms in women. Journal of Women's Health, 16, 1499-1509.

Dishman, R.K., Hales, D.P., Pfeiffer, K.A., Felton, G., Saunders, R., Ward, D.S., … Pate, R.R. (2006). Physical self-concept and self-esteem mediate cross-sectional relations of physical activity and sport participation with depression symptoms among adolescent girls. Health Psychol, 25, 396-407.

Dunn, A.L., Trivedi, M.H., Kampert, J.B., Clark, C.G. & Chambliss, H.O. (2005). Exercise treatment for depression Efficacy and dose response. Am J Prev Med, 28, 1-8.

Franck, E., De Raedt, R., Dereu, M.R. & Abbeele, V.D. (2007). Implicit and explicit selfesteem in currently depressed individuals with and without suicidal ideation. J Behav Ther Exp Psy, 38, 75-85.

Galambos, N.L., Leadbeater, B.J. & Barker, E.T. (2004). Gender differences in and risk factors for depression in adolescence: A 4-year longitudinal study. Int J Behav Dev, 28, 16-25.

Gargari, A.S., Jorkesh, M., Dehghanpor, M. & Asadollahi, A. (2012). Influence of aerobic exercises to music on the depression women non-athletes. Eur J Sport and Exe Sci, 1, 24-28.

Hawthorne, G., Goldney, R. & Taylor, A.W. (2008). Depression prevalence: Is it really increasing? Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 42, 606-616.

Hisli, N. (1989). Beck Depresyon Envanteri’nin üniversite ögrencileri için geçerligi güvenirligi [Validity and Reliability of Beck Depression Inventory for University Students]. Psikoloji Dergisi, 23, 3-13.

Ibrahim, G. (1989). Serum Concentrations of Circulating Thyroid Hormones in a Group of Depressed Men. Neuropsychobiology, 22, 8-10.

Jerstad, S.J., Boutelle, K.N. & Ness, K.K. (2010). Prospective Reciprocal Relations between Physical Activity and Depression in Adolescent Females. J Consult Clin Psychol, 78, 268-272.

Johnson, K.E., Kubik, M.Y. & McMorris, B.J. (2011). Prevalence and social-environmental correlates of sports team participation among alternative high school students. J Phys Act Health, 8, 606-612.

Johnson, K.E. & Taliaferro, L.A. (2011). Relationships between physical activity and depressive symptoms among middle and older adolescents: A review of the research literature. J Spec Pediatr Nurs, 16, 235-251.

Karen, E., Johnson, B.S. & Lindsay, A.T. (2011). Relationships between physical activity and depressive symptoms among middle and older adolescents: A review of the research literaturejspn. Journal for Specialists in Pediatric Nursing, 16, 235-251.

Khalil, A.H., Rabie, M.A. & Abdou, T.A. (2010). Clinical characteristics of depression among adolescent females: a cross-sectional study. Child and Adolescent. Psychiatry and Mental Health, 4, 1-7.

Le, H., Munoz, R.F., Ippen, C.G. & Stoddard J.L., (2003). Treatment is not enough: we must prevent major depression in women. Prevent Treat, 6, 187-194.

Lucas, M., Mekary, R. & Pan, A. (2011). Relation Between Clinical Depression Risk and Physical Activity and Time Spent Watching Television in Older Women: A 10-Year Prospective Follow-up Study. American Journal of Epidemiology, 174, 1017-1027.

Mobily, K.E., Rubinstein, L.M., Lemke, J.H. & Wallace, R.B. (1996). Walking and depression in a cohort of older adults: The Iowa 65+ Rural Health Study. Journal of Aging and Physical Activity, 4, 119-135.

Okyay, P., Atasoylu, G., Onde, M., Dereboy, C. & Beşer, E. (‎2012‎). How is Quality of Life Affected in Women in The Presence of Anxiety and Depression Symptoms? Turk Psikiyatri Derg. 23, 178-88.

Paffenbarger, R.S., Lee, I.M. & Leung, R. (1994). Physical activity and personal characteristics associated with depression and suicide in American college men. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 377, 16-22.

Paluska, S.A. & Schwenk, T.L. (2000). Physical activity and mental health: current concepts. Sports Medicine, 29, 167-180.

Pataki, C.S. (2000). Mood disorders and suicide in children and adolescents. In: Sadock, B.J., Freedman, A.M., Kaplan, H.I. (Eds.). Comprehensive Textbook of Psychiatry. 7th ed. (pp. 2740-2767). Philadelphia: Williams and Wilkins.

Patten, C. A., Choi, W. S., Vickers, K. S., & Pierce, J.P. (2001). Persistence of depressive symptoms in adolescents. Neuropsychopharmacology, 25, S89-S91.

Soet, J. & Sevig, T. (2006). Mental health issues facing a diverse sample of college students: Results from the College Student Mental Health Survey. NASPA Journal, 43, 410-431.

Stordal, E., Krüger, B.M., Dahl, N.H., Krüger, O., Mykletun, A., & Dahl, A.A. (2001). Depression in relation to age and gender in the general population: the Nord-Trondelag Health Study (HUNT). Acta Psychiat Scand, 104, 210–216.

Strohle, A. (2009). Physical activity, exercise, depression and anxiety disorders. J Neural Transm, 116, 777–784.

Talebzadeh, F. (2014). Comparing the Mental Health of Female Athlete and Non-Athlete Students in the City of Indica. Medicine and Public Health Journal, 1, 11-15.

Ustun, T.B., Ayuso-Mateos, J.L., Chatterji, S., Mathers, C. & Murray, C.J.L. (2004). Global burden of depressive disorders in the year 2000. British Journal of Psychiatry and Mental Health, 184, 386-392.

Wardle, J., Steptoe, A., Gulis, G. & Sartory, G. (2004). Depression, perceived control, and life satisfac tion in university students from Central-Eastern and Western Europe. International Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 11, 27-36.

Weissman, M.M. & Klerman, G.L. (1985). Gender and depression. Trends in Neurosciences, 8, 815-819.

Yang, J., Peek-Asa, C., Corlette, J.D., Cheng, G., Foster, D.T. & Albright, J. (2007). Prevalence of and risk factors associated with symptoms of depression in competitive collegiate student athletes. Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine, 17, 481-487.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Cited by

Publication Facts

Metric
This article
Other articles
Peer reviewers 
0
2.4

Reviewer profiles  N/A

Author statements

Author statements
This article
Other articles
Data availability 
N/A
16%
External funding 
N/A
32%
Competing interests 
N/A
11%
Metric
This journal
Other journals
Articles accepted 
9%
33%
Days to publication 
349
145
Editor & editorial board
profiles
Publisher 
Universidad San Buenaventura - USB (Colombia)