EFFECTS OF DEPRESSION ON COLLEGE STUDENTS' ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE
Introduction
Depression is one of the emotional challenges, and its key issues include hopelessness and helplessness. Depression is a prevalent challenge amongst the students undergoing college studies across the globe and it impact the ability of students to engage in their daily life activities. Depression is characterized by the feeling of sadness amongst the students pursuing college education which are known as a “universal mental illness.” The results from studies conducted by National Institute of Mental Health show that during college life most students encounter the first symptoms of depression. Student under depression always feel sad and display dismal performance in academics. Undiagnosed depression often impedes the daily activities and last for a long duration. People under depression ignore their personal successes and good traits, while embellishing their faults and shortcomings.
The academic performance of a student which each person is obliged to perform in all cultures has become a significant goal of the process of education. The personality, education, mental health, training and motivation of the student also impact the academic performance. Life in college can be referred to as an essential period of transition, where students experience numerous things for their first time in their life. For instance, exposure to new; allies, lifestyle, roommates as well as new cultures. This is also not limited to different ways of thinking as well as dealing with unusual stress. The first two years of college life are usually stressful to most students. When students fail to manage these new experiences they undergo depression. There are several negative impacts of depression on the success of students; spending minimum time on homework, exposure to lower average points.
Literature review
Depression can be defined as psychiatric disorder and the common mental diseases of the current century which is known as psychiatric cold. There are negative impacts of depression on the way human behaves such as loss of; interest, productivity, as well as loss of social contact. Studies have shown that depression is the eleventh cause of death in US. We feel good when having positive mood, which has meritorious impacts and motivates us to do what we are in need of. When a newborn is segregated from a primary attachment figure, in relation to Harlow studies of rhesus monkeys, the finding is not commonly despair and passivity, immune system will also get impaired, resulting to depressive illness.
The history of depressed people can be linked to separation, rejections as well as insecure attachments. Depressed people show a negatively explanatory style as compared to non-depressive people. Depression is associated with a negative, pessimistic way of explaining and interpreting failure. Negative emotions caused by stress may bear several impacts on health. This is especially so far depressed of anger vulnerable people. People often become friendlier, their thought processes open up, when they feel elated, they want to approach others and become helpful to others. When people are tired they usually get depressed. Students undergoing college studies suffer from symptoms of depression, which impact their performance academically. Mood that is depressed also impact human behavior. Depressed mood is the forefront cause of suicide amongst the adolescents (McCarthy et al, 2008). Women are more depressed as compared to men, and this is as a result of social and environmental condition.
The relationship between depression and performance on academics has been investigated by various scholars and the results have shown that; depression has negative impact on students’ academic performance, exposure to low average points, as well as spending limited time on homework. In most universities in America, depression is a topic of major concern; this has enabled them to become successful in executing college careers such as; health and counseling careers. Increased risk for academic impairment can be manifested by college students bearing average depression levels (Heiligenstein.E & Guenther.G, 1996)
