Comparison of Depression among freshmen and Last Year College Students

Background: Going off to college is a unique point in time for young adults. It forces independence from a developed comfort zone that folks may have had through the end of high school, and at the same time drives home the point that there is no one around to clean up one’s mistakes anymore. The purpose of this study was to measure the depression among college freshmen and last year college students. Methods: Two groups were selected one is of freshmen and the other is of last year, both groups have 60 students. Each group has 30 students. Data were collected from the Delhi and National capital Region College students. In this research paper “Cognitive Self-Statements in Depression: Development of an Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire.” by Dr. Steven Hollon and Philip Kendall was used. “t” test was used for analysis. Results: There is no significance difference in the level of depression among freshmen and last year college students, but last year students are more depressed. Last year students have more pressure of making career than freshmen and to maintain their grades on regular basis and no fun activity with monotonous lifestyle can be a major cause of depression in today’s youth. Conclusion: In the present research study it is found that there is no significant difference among freshmen and last year college students. Freshmen are more enthusiastic and new to college which makes them interested to attend classes and less stress regarding the making of career as compared to last year college students. Last year students have more pressure to cope up with family issues and societal

Depressive symptoms can negatively impact the lives of college students. Students experiencing depressive symptoms report greater amounts of emotional suffering. This suffering may impact life satisfaction and academic performance (Brown & Schiraldi, 2004).
[1]Depression is one of the most frequent psychiatric mood disorders in both developed and low-income countries. Major depression affects approximately 16% of the general population one or more times during their lives (Lee et al 2010, Kessler et al 2005. [2] College students face unique stressors intrinsic to the academic system that differ from their peers who are not in college. These stressors include fear of failure, demands on time, loneliness, financial pressures, low self-esteem, and poor coping strategies (Hirsch & Ellis, 1996).
[3] Depression often has an onset during the adolescent and young adult years and is associated with negative health and social outcomes. [4] Depression among university students is extremely prevalent and widespread problem across the country [5][6][7]. University students are a special group of people that are enduring a critical transitory period in which they are going from adolescence to adulthood and can be one of the most stressful times in a person's life. Trying to fit in, maintain good grades, plan for the future, and be away from home often causes anxiety for a lot of students [8].
As a reaction to this stress, some students get depressed. They find that they cannot get themselves together. They may cry all of the time, skip classes, or isolate themselves without realizing they are depressed. Previous studies reported that depression in university students is noted around the world [9-11] and the prevalence seems to be increasing [12] . The World Health Organization has identified depressive disorders of adolescence as "priority mental health disorder." Globally, its prevalence rate is 15-20% and recurrence rate is 60-70%, whereas in India it is reported as 11.2%. However, studies have reported that 50% of cases remain undiagnosed. The consequences of depression are serious, causing suicide, school dropout, and drug abuse.
[13] It is important to study depression among university students because most lifetime mental disorders have their first onset during the typical university age [14], and the mental health of university students has major implications for campus health services and mental health policy making [15,16]. Depression is a common mental health problems among student population. At any given time 25% of student population report symptoms of Depression. (Beck and Young 1978)[17].

REVIEW OF LITERATURE
Chen L, Wang L, Qiu XH, Yang XX, Qiao ZX, Yang YJ, et al. (2013) examined that moderate depression is prevalent in Chinese university students. The students who were older, dissatisfied with their major, had a lower family income, poor parental relationships, and a lower level of mother's education were susceptible to depression.
[18] Another study conducted by K. Grant, P. Marsh, G. Syniar et al.(2002), examined that no evidence of gender differences in rates of depressed mood in either samples or of depressive syndrome in the non-referred sample. However, in both samples, gender differences in rates of depressive disorder were found, with male students more likely than female students to be depressed.
[19] Another study conducted by N. Bayram and N. Bilgel(2008) , Depression, anxiety and stress levels of moderate severity or above were found in 27.1, 47.1 and 27% of our respondents, respectively. Anxiety and stress scores were higher among female students. First-and second-year students had higher depression, anxiety and stress scores than the others. Students who were satisfied with their education had lower depression, anxiety and stress scores than those who were not satisfied.

Objectives Of Study
• To know the difference between the level of depression among freshmen and last year college students.

Hypothesis
• There is no difference in the level of depression among the freshmen and last year college students.

Aspect Name Of The Test Authors
DEPRESSION LEVEL "Cognitive Self-Statements in Depression: Development of an Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire."

METHOD
This study took place between January and March 2017. Data were collected from the Delhi and National capital Region College students. Two groups were selected one is of freshmen and the other is of last year, both groups have 60 students. Each group has 30 students.. Freshmen students who participated in this study (N = 30). Last year students who participated in this study (N = 30). Individuals completing Cognitive Self-Statements in Depression: Development of an Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire they had an age of range 18-25, and consisted of both males and females. "t" test was used for analysis

RESULT
The overall purposes of this study were to compare the levels of depression among freshmen and last year college students.
The first group of freshmen has standard deviation 17.21 and last year group has standard deviation 18.35 hence the value of "t" test is 0.31.It shows that value is insignificant at both the levels ,i.e.0.05 and 0.01.There is no significance difference in the level of depression among freshmen and last year college students, but last year students are more depressed as compared to freshmen.

CONCLUSION
In the present research study it is found that there is no significant difference among freshmen and last year college students. Freshmen are more enthusiastic and new to college which makes them interested to attend classes and less stress regarding the making of career as compared to last year college students. Last year students have more pressure to cope up with family issues and societal pressure. The colleges should encourage a warm and affective learning environment for students. There is no significance difference in the level of depression among freshmen and last year college students, but last year students are more depressed. College stress includes attending classes on regular basis and no fun activity with monotonous lifestyle can be a major cause of depression in today's college students. Support and mentoring are required so that depression can be identified early and dealt with appropriately. Health education programs, mentorship and a reduction in information overload in the course curriculum can be important strategies to enable freshmen as well as last year to cope up better with the demands of tertiary education. It is concluded that depression is prevalent in both freshmen and last year because both the group of students have different goals and things to work on which leads to stress and ultimately depression.

LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY
1) The finding of the study is based on very sample.
2) The sample was restricted to Delhi (NCR).
3) The study was restricted to only college students. 4) The study was restricted students only 18-25 years only.