Depression, Academic Self-efficacy, and Achievement among College Students

Depression is one of the most common psychiatric diseases, which occur irrelevant of time and location, and impact all groups of the society. This study aimed to explore the relationship between depression and academic self-efficacy, and achievement among college students in the Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences (KUMS), in the west of Iran. This cross-sectional study was conducted among 373 students. Participants selected in random sampling and data were collected by using self-report questionnaire (Beck depression inventory test and academic self-efficacy scale). The data were analyzed by the SPSS-21 software using t-test and logistic regression at 95% significance level. According to the Beck depression inventory, 73.5, 13.4, 9.8, and 3.3% of the respondents suffered from normal, mild depression, moderate depression, and severe depression, respectively. Among the socio-demographic variables, age (students aged above 25 years) and sex (female students) were the most influential predictive determinants for depression. Academic achievement included significant correlation with the academic self-efficacy (r=0.216), inversely and significantly associated with the depression (r=−0.469). Eventually, academic self-efficacy and depression accounted for 24% of the variation in academic achievement (adjusted R squared=0.24, F=49.270, P<0.001). Considering the results of the present study, presumably, depression plays a negative role in the academic self-efficacy and achievement.