Depression and Suicidal Ideation as a Consequence of Academic Stress among Adolescent Students

Abstract

Many factors contribute to the stress being experienced by students but one common cause of academic
stress in India is School. Such stress comes from too much homework, unsatisfactory academic performance,
preparation for tests, lack of interest in a particular subject, and teacher’s punishment. Stress from high
expectations of teachers, parents, and self is usually an agony for students studying in schools1
.
Objectives: The study was conducted (i) to assess the level of academic stress and its consequences of
academic stress among adolescent students (ii) to find the association between depression and demographic
characteristics of adolescent students and (iii) to find out the correlation between academic stress and its
consequence among adolescent students.
Material and Methods: 1204 adolescent students studying in schools of Belagavi city were selected by
using stratified cluster sampling technique and were assessed for academic stress by using ESSA scale. The
adolescents were assed for depression and suicidal ideation by using Kutchers depression scale appropriate
statistical methods were used to interpret the data. Results: The results shown that the mean of the sample on
the total academic stress score was 49.38 (SD=13.00) and 273 (i.e.22.67%) reported high level of academic
stress. The depression assessment shown that 381 students (i.e. 31.64%), 625 (i.e. 51.91%) and 198 (i.e.
16.45%) have mild, moderate and severe levels of depression respectfully and the scores have shown that
among N=1204 students 1021 students (i.e. 84.80%) have responded No and 183 students (i.e. 15.20%) have
responded Yes for the suicidal ideation. Conclusion: The academic stress among students causes depression
and suicidal ideation among adolescent and knowing and handling this stress may prevent adolescents from
having difficult situations.