Prevalence of depression among Turkish University Students and related factors

Objective: This investigation was performed to determine the prevalence rate of depression and its correlates in students at Erciyes University. Method: A total of 1003 university students at the Medical, Theology and Engineering Faculties of Erciyes University in Kayseri, Turkey were included in the study. A socio–demographic questionnaire and a Beck Depression Inventory were completed by the students. An unpaired t test, a one way ANOVA test and a logistic regression analysis were used for the statistical analyses. Results: Total numbers of male and female students in the study group were similar and the mean age was 20.3±1.8. The mean Back Depression Inventory Beck Depression Inventory score was 11.3±8.6 points and prevalence rate of depression (Beck Depression Inventory ≥17) was 21.2%. The Mean Beck Depression Inventory score and depression prevalence were found higher among the students who had a physical illness, who were not satisfied with their body image or their faculty and who rated the economic level of their families as poor. Conclusion: It was concluded that approximately one–fifth of the students had depression. For the students, studying in a faculty which they are not satisfied is a major factor affecting depression. A better leadership should be provided for the students during the faculty selection procedure. Key Words: University student, depression, Beck Depression Inventory üniversite rencilerinde depresyon prevalans ve ili kili fakt rler Ama : Bu al ma, Erciyes üniversitesi rencilerinde depresyon prevalans n ve bununla ili kili fakt rleri belirlemek amac yla yap lm t r. Y ntem: Erciyes üniversitesinin T p, lahiyat ve Mühendislik fakültelerinde okuyan toplam 1003 renci ara t rma kapsam na al nd . rencilere sosyo-demografik anket ve Beck Depresyon l e i uyguland . Verilerin istatistiksel analizinde unpaired t testi, tek y nlü ANOVA testi ve logistik regresyon analizi uyguland . Bulgular: Ara t rma grubundaki erkek ve k z renci say lar birbirine yak nd ve ya ortalamas 20.3±1.8 olarak belirlendi. Ortalama BD puan 11.3±8.6 ve depresyon prevalans (Beck Depresyon l e i puan ≥17) % 21.2 bulundu. Fiziksel hastal olanlarda, beden g rünümünden memnun olmayanlarda, okudu u fakülteden memnun olmayanlarda ve ailesinin ekonomik durumunu k tü olarak belirtenlerde ortalama Beck Depresyon l e i puan ve depresyon prevalans daha yüksek bulundu. Sonu : rencilerin yakla k be te birinde depresyon vard r. rencilerin, ho lanmad bir fakültede okumalar depresyon s kl n etkileyen en nemli fakt rlerden biridir. Fak