The Impact of Between Depression, Anxiety, And Stress on Academic Performance among University Students

Authors

  • Az Athirah Zubairi Fakulti Pendidikan dan Sains Sosial, Universiti Selangor, 45600 Bestari Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia
  • Nurul Ain Salshabilla Nasharudin Fakulti Pendidikan dan Sains Sosial, Universiti Selangor, 45600 Bestari Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia
  • Mohammad Kamil Ibrahim Fakulti Pendidikan dan Sains Sosial, Universiti Selangor, 45600 Bestari Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.37134/bitara.vol17.1.3.2025

Keywords:

depression, anxiety, stress, mental well-being, academic performance, students

Abstract

Depression, stress, and anxiety can all have an impact on academic performance through influencing students' cognitive functioning, self-esteem, and social isolation. The objective of this study is to examine the relationship between depression, anxiety, and stress with academic performance among university students. A total of 166 university students participated in this study, responding to two key questionnaires. The Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS-21) comprising 21 items developed by Lovibond, P. F., and S.H. Lovibond (1995) was utilized alongside 8 questions related to academic performance. The findings revealed there was a negative correlation between depression, stress, and anxiety levels and academic performance. The findings underscore the detrimental impact of psychological distress on students’ educational outcomes. The implications of these findings call for a holistic approach to student wellbeing by monitoring students’ mental health regularly and aiding students in overcoming life’s challenges.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Agadzhanyan, K. (2022, June 11). Anxiety, depression, and academic performance: The role of working memory capacity. Psychology In Action. https://www.psychologyinaction.org/psychology-in-action-1/2022/6/11/a nxiety-depression-and-academic-performance-the-role-of-working-memory-capacity

American Psychology Association (2020, January). Students Experiencing Low Self-esteem or Low Perceptions of Competence. https://www.apa.org/ed/schools/primer/self-esteem

Andrade C. (2020). Sample Size and its Importance in Research. Indian journal of psychological medicine, 42(1), 102–103. https://doi.org/10.4103/IJPSYM.IJPSYM_504_19

Arnaiz-Sánchez, P., de Haro, R., Alcaraz, S., & Mirete Ruiz, A. B. (2019). Schools that promote the improvement of academic performance and the success of all students. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, 2920. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02920

Asif, S., Mudassar, A., Shahzad, T. Z., Raouf, M., & Pervaiz, T. (2020). Frequency of depression, anxiety and stress among university students. Pakistan Journal of Medical Sciences Quarterly, 36(5), 971–976. https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.36.5.1873

Awadalla, S., Davies, E.B. & Glazebrook, C. A longitudinal cohort study to explore the relationship between depression, anxiety and academic performance among Emirati university students. BMC Psychiatry 20, 448 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-020-02854-z

Ayang, A., & Richard, N. (2022). A preliminary study on the factors affecting academic performance of foundation students during online learning. Malaysian Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities (MJSSH), 7(4), e001409. https://doi.org/10.47405/mjssh.v7i4.1409

Bains, N., & Abdijadid, S. (2022). Major Depressive Disorder. In StatPearls [Internet]. StatPearls Publishing.

Bas, G. (2021). Relation between Student Mental Health and Academic Achievement Revisited: A Meta-Analysis. Health and Academic Achievement - New Findings. doi: 10.5772/intechopen.95766

Bhardwaj P. (2019). Types of sampling in research. Journal of the Practice of Cardiovascular Sciences, 5(3), 157. DOI: 10.4103/jpcs.jpcs_62_19

Blanco, V., Salmerón, M., Otero, P., & Vázquez, F. L. (2021). Symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress and prevalence of major depression and its predictors in female university students. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(11), 5845. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18115845

David A. Story, Alan R. Tait (2019) Survey Research. Anesthesiology; 130:192–202 doi: https://doi.org/10.1097/ALN.0000000000002436

Davies, C. (2020). A quick guide to quantitative research in the social sciences. https://repository.uwtsd.ac.uk/id/eprint/1540/18/A%20quick%20guide% 20to%20quantitative%20research%20in%20the%20social%20sciences.pdf

Daviu, N., Bruchas, M. R., Moghaddam, B., Sandi, C., & Beyeler, A. (2019). Neurobiological links between stress and anxiety. Neurobiology of stress, 11, 100191.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ynstr.2019.100191

du Plessis, S. (2021). Cognitive Skills and their Impact on Academic Achievement. Edublox Online Tutor | Development, Reading, Writing, and Math Solutions. https://www.edubloxtutor.com/cognitive-skill-academic-achievement/

Fauzi, M. F., Anuar, T. S., Teh, L. K., Lim, W. F., James, R. J., Ahmad, R., Mohamed, M., Abu Bakar, S. H., Mohd Yusof, F. Z., & Salleh, M. Z. (2021). Stress, anxiety and depression among a cohort of health sciences undergraduate students: The prevalence and risk factors. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(6), 3269. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18063269

Gallardo, P. N. (2022). The relationship between self-esteem and burnout among college students amidst the online learning modality. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/ZENODO.6654371

Goldman, L. (2022, July 15). Depression: What it is, symptoms, causes, treatment, and more. Medicalnewstoday.com. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/8933

Grøtan, K., Sund, E. R., & Bjerkeset, O. (2019, January 8). Mental health, academic self-efficacy and study progress among college students – the shot study, Norway. Frontiers. Retrieved February 23, 2023, from https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00045.

Hayat, A. A., Shateri, K., Amini, M., & Shokrpour, N. (2020). Relationships between academic self-efficacy, learning-related emotions, and metacognitive learning strategies with academic performance in medical students: a structural equation model. BMC Medical Education, 20(1), 76. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-020-01995-9

Higuera, V. (2021, September 3). Social anxiety and depression: Triggers and treatments. Healthline. https://www.healthline.com/health/anxiety/social-anxiety-and-depression

Kassarnig, V., Mones, E., Bjerre-Nielsen, A., Sapiezynski, P., Dreyer Lassen, D., & Lehmann, S. (2018). Academic performance and behavioral patterns. EPJ Data Science, 7(1). https://doi.org/10.1140/epjds/s13688-018-0138-8

Leal Filho, W., Wall, T., Rayman-Bacchus, L., Mifsud, M., Pritchard, D. J., Lovren, V. O., Farinha, C., Petrovic, D. S., & Balogun, A.-L. (2021). Impacts of COVID-19 and social isolation on academic staff and students at universities: a cross-sectional study. BMC Public Health, 21(1), 1213. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-021-11040-z

Limone, P., & Toto, G. A. (2022). Factors that predispose undergraduates to mental issues: A cumulative literature review for future research perspectives. Frontiers in Public Health, 10, 831349. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2022.831349

Liu, Y., Zhang, N., Bao, G., Huang, Y., Ji, B., Wu, Y., Liu, C., & Li, G. (2019). Predictors of depressive symptoms in college students: A systematic review and meta-analysis of cohort studies. Journal of affective disorders, 244, 196–208. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2018.10.084

Loades, M. (2018). The overlap between low self-esteem and anxiety/depression in CAMHS. ACAMH; The Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health. https://www.acamh.org/research-digest/self-esteem-anxiety-depression/

Malhi, G. S., & Mann, J. J. (2018). Depression. Lancet, 392(10161), 2299–2312. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0140-6736(18)31948-2

Masud, S., Mufarrih, S. H., Qureshi, N. Q., Khan, F., Khan, S., & Khan, M. N. (2019). Academic performance in adolescent students: The role of parenting styles and Socio-demographic factors - A cross sectional study from Peshawar, Pakistan. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, 2497. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02497

Maurya, C., Muhammad, T., Dhillon, P. et al. (2022). The effects of cyberbullying victimization on depression and suicidal ideation among adolescents and young adults: a three year cohort study from India. BMC Psychiatry 22, 599 . https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-022-04238-x

Meyer, M. (n.d.). Tough day? Stress can predict social interaction. Dartmouth.edu. Retrieved January 4, 2023, from https://home.dartmouth.edu/news/2021/10/tough-day-stress-can-predict- social-interaction

Minev, M., Petrova, B., Mineva, K., Petkova, M., & Strebkova, R. (2018). Self-esteem in adolescents. Trakia Journal of Science, 16(2), 114–118. https://doi.org/10.15547/tjs.2018.02.007

Mirawdali, S., Morrissey, H., & Ball, P. (n.d.). Academic anxiety and its effects on academic performance academic anxiety and its effects on academic performance academic anxiety and its effects on academic performance. Journalcra.com. Retrieved February 1, 2023, from https://www.journalcra.com/sites/default/files/issue-pdf/30653.pdf

Okano, K., Kaczmarzyk, J. R., Dave, N., Gabrieli, J. D. E., & Grossman, J. C. (2019). Sleep quality, duration, and consistency are associated with better academic performance in college students. Npj Science of Learning, 4(1), 16. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41539-019-0055-z

Olson, K., Smyth, J. D., & Ganshert, A. (2018). The Effects of Respondent and Question Characteristics on Respondent Answering Behaviors in Telephone Interviews. Journal of Survey Statistics and Methodology, 7(2), 275–308.https://doi.org/10.1093/jssam/smy006

Penninx, B. W., Pine, D. S., Holmes, E. A., & Reif, A. (2021). Anxiety disorders. Lancet, 397(10277), 914–927. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0140-6736(21)00359-7

Rahman, A. A., Zaidi, F., Razak, A., & Hassim, A. (2021). Stress, anxiety and depression among private higher education student during movement control order (MCO) in Malaysia. http://journalarticle.ukm.my/18478/1/50991-170237-1-PB.pdf

Ramón-Arbués, E., Gea-Caballero, V., Granada-López, J. M., Juárez-Vela, R., Pellicer-García, B., & Antón-Solanas, I. (2020). The prevalence of depression, anxiety and stress and their associated factors in college students. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(19), 7001. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17197001

Samsudin, K., Sulaiman, N. N. S. B., & Kamarudin, A. H. (2022). Depression, anxiety, and stress during pandemic covid-19 among university first-year students. Malaysian Journal of Public Health Medicine, 22(2), 87–94. https://www.mjphm.org/index.php/mjphm/article/view/1558

Shi, Y., & Qu, S. (2021). Cognition and academic performance: Mediating role of personality characteristics and psychology health. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 774548. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.774548

Simkus, J. (2022). What is a pilot study? Simply Psychology. www.simplypsychology.org/pilot-studies.html

Soong,J. (2021) Depression traps: Social withdrawal, rumination, and more. WebMD.https://www.webmd.com/depression/features/depression-traps-and-pitfal ls

Stockemer, D., Stockemer, G., & Glaeser. (2019). Quantitative methods for the social sciences (Vol. 50, p. 185). Quantitative methods for the social sciences: Springer International Publishing.

Ströhle, A., Gensichen, J., & Domschke, K. (2018). The diagnosis and treatment of anxiety disorders. Deutsches Arzteblatt International, 155(37), 611–620. https://doi.org/10.3238/arztebl.2018.0611

Tadese, M., Yeshaneh, A., & Mulu, G. B. (2022). Determinants of good academic performance among university students in Ethiopia: a cross-sectional study. BMC Medical Education, 22(1), 395. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-022-03461-0

Tus, J. (2021). The new normal of education: Depression, anxiety, stress and academic performance of tertiary students. figshare. https://doi.org/10.6084/M9.FIGSHARE.15086250.V1

Vasugi, S., & Hassan, N. C. (n.d.). Depression, anxiety and stress among postgraduate students. Edu.My. Retrieved January 25, 2023, from http://www.medic.upm.edu.my/upload/dokumen/2019042915584313_03 87(Final)13.pdf

Vighnarajah, S., & Jolene, L. S. Y. (2018). Assessment of diversity through student isolation: Qualitative investigation of academic, social, and emotional isolation. International Journal of Teacher Education and Professional Development, 1(2), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.4018/ijtepd.2018070101

Wong, S. S., Wong, C. C., Ng, K. W., Bostanudin, M. F., & Tan, S. F. (2023). Depression, anxiety, and stress among university students in Selangor, Malaysia during COVID-19 pandemics and their associated factors. PloS One, 18(1), e0280680. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0280680

Zahir Osman, Wardah Mohamad, Ratna Khuzaimah Mohamad, Liana Mohamad and Tuan Fatma Tuan Sulaiman (2019). Enhancing students’ academic performance in Malaysian online distance learning institutions. Asia Pacific Journal of Educators and Education, 33, 19–28. https://doi.org/10.21315/apjee2018.33.2

Zahit, R. A., Omar Lim, S. L., & Ling, J. L. Y. (2022). COVID-19: Mental Health and Academic Performance Among University Students. Trends in Undergraduate Research, 5(1), e1-9. https://doi.org/10.33736/tur.3861.2022

Downloads

Published

2025-05-27

How to Cite

Zubairi, A. A., Nasharudin, N. A. S. ., & Ibrahim, M. K. . (2025). The Impact of Between Depression, Anxiety, And Stress on Academic Performance among University Students. Jurnal Pendidikan Bitara UPSI, 18(1), 22-29. https://doi.org/10.37134/bitara.vol17.1.3.2025