Depression in College Students: Personality and Experiential Factors

The study examined the nature of student depression & its relation to personality variables & to experiences unique to college life (N=35 depressed & 39 nondepressed students). Results revealed student depression represents a serious problem: 3/4 of depressed students had been depressed > 3 months & half had contemplated suicide. Personality characteristics & experiences were found to be significantly related to depression. Implications of the findings for counseling & research are discussed.