Abstract

A STANDARDIZED ANALYSIS OF REGULARITY OF DEPRESSION AMONG THE ENGINEERING STUDENTS

Naveed Ali Siddiqui*, Ayesha Zafar, Tauseef Ahmed, Faiz Bakhtawar, Muhammad Hamza Dawood, Rayyan Ali and Nadia Hussain

ABSTRACT

Objective: To study the regularity of depression among undergraduate engineering students of private engineering colleges in Karachi, Pakistan. Study design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: The study was conducted at different private engineering colleges, Karachi in May 2019 till October 2019. Material and Methods: A cross-sectional study was organized on randomly selected private engineering colleges of Karachi. Sample size of 181 was calculated by using software SPSS version 22. A close ended, self-administered, modified form of standardized questionnaire was used which was comprised of 2 parts. First part included collection of socio-demographic data, second part had questions for the assessment of depression. Hamilton Depression Scale (HAM-D) was utilized in scoring the depression level in the study subjects. Results: Among 181 engineering students, 31(17.1%) were normal. 61(33.7%) presented with mild depression, 37 (20.4%) had moderate depression, 24 (13.3%) had severe and 28 (15.5%) were found to be severely depressed. Conclusion: In the present study, level of depression was higher in engineering students. It is advised in future that depression reducing intervention needs to be encouraged in professional program.

Keywords: Depression, Hamilton Depression Scale (HAM-D), Medical students, Student mental health.