The Relationship between Academic Stress and Depressive Tendencies in Final Project Students at University X

Abstract

The mental health of final year students is becoming an increasingly important issue because the high academic demands during the final project preparation process have the potential to increase academic stress and trigger the emergence of depressive tendencies. This study aims to analyze the relationship between academic stress and depressive tendencies in students who are preparing their final projects at University X. The study uses a quantitative approach with a cross-sectional correlational analytical design. A total of 377 students were selected through purposive sampling the collected using  the Academic Stress and Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) scale, then analyzed using the Pearson correlation test. The results showed that the majority of respondents experienced moderate academic stress (median = 97) and depressive tendencies in the moderate depression category  (median = 10). Correlation analysis showed a strong and significant positive association between academic stress and depressive tendencies (r = 0.659; p < 0.001), suggesting that the higher the academic stress, the higher the tendency to depression. These findings confirm that academic stress is a factor closely related to depressive tendencies, universities need to strengthen academic mentoring services, psychological counseling, and stress management programs to support students' mental health during final projects.