The Associations between Depression, Anxiety, Stress, and Academic Performance: A Cross-Sectional Study among University Students

Home > 2025, Vol. 11 No. 02 > The Associations between Depression, Anxiety, Stress, and Academic Performance: A Cross-Sectional Study among University Students

Published: October 30, 2025

Download PDF

Download HTML

Authors

Mutaz Maawia Osman and Esraa Abdelrahman Alim

DOI Number
https://doi.org/10.15415/jmrh.2025.112006

Keywords
Academic performance, University students, Depression, Anxiety, Stress

Abstract

Background: Depression, anxiety, and stress are common mental health challenges among university students that may negatively influence their academic performance.

Purpose: This study aims to examine the association between depression, anxiety, stress, and academic performance among university students.

Methods: A quantitative cross-sectional design was employed to gather data from 85 students from De Montfort University (Leicester and Dubai campuses) selected through purposive sampling (77.6% female; M_age = 20.4 years). Participants completed the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS-21) and the Academic Performance Scale (APS). Pearson correlation analyses were used to assess relationships among variables, and simple linear regressions examined the predictive effects of depression, anxiety, and stress on academic performance.

Results: Academic performance showed significant negative correlations with depression (r = −0.50, p < .01), anxiety (r = −0.47, p < .01), and stress (r = −0.47, p < .01). Depression, anxiety, and stress were strongly interrelated (r = 0.74–0.84), suggesting these psychological difficulties commonly co-occur. Simple linear regression analysis revealed that depression (β = −0.50, p < .001), anxiety (β = −0.47, p < .001), and stress (β = −0.47, p < .001) each significantly predicted poorer academic performance.

Conclusions: Mental health difficulties are prevalent among university students and can adversely impact their academic performance. The results highlight the importance of university-based interventions in supporting students’ emotional well-being and academic success. The findings can be relevant for psychologists, counselors, clinicians, educators, and parents; these stakeholders are encouraged to use strategies that address both cognitive and emotional challenges faced by students.

References

Adeoye-Agboola, D. I., & Evans, H. (2015). The relationship between anxiety and academic performance of postgraduate students in Nigeria. Journal of Education and Practice, 6(24), 125–130. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sjph.20150303.15
Almalki, S. A. (2019). Influence of motivation on academic performance among dental college students. Open Access Macedonian Journal of Medical Sciences, 7(8), 1374–1381. https://doi.org/10.3889/oamjms.2019.319
Almarzouki, A. F. (2024). Stress, working memory, and academic performance: A neuroscience perspective. Stress, 27(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/10253890.2024.2364333
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
Bandura, A. (1986). Social foundations of thought and action: A social cognitive theory. Prentice-Hall.
Biggs, A., Brough, P., & Drummond, S. (2017). Lazarus and Folkman’s psychological stress and coping theory. In G. Fink (Ed.), The handbook of stress and health: A guide to research and practice (pp. 349–364). Wiley Blackwell. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118993811.ch21
Birchmeier, C., Levy, S. R., & Gentry, M. (2015). The Academic Performance Scale: Development, validation, and administration. Journal of Educational Psychology, 107(4), 1136–1151.
Brumariu, L. E., Waslin, S. M., Gastelle, M., Kochendorfer, L. B., & Kerns, K. A. (2022). Anxiety, academic achievement, and academic self-concept: Meta-analytic syntheses of their relations across developmental periods. Development and Psychopathology, 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0954579422000323
Caruana, E. J., Roman, M., Hernández-Sánchez, J., & Solli, P. (2015). Longitudinal studies. Journal of Thoracic Disease, 7(11), E537–E540.
Chevalère, J., Cazenave, L., Wollast, R., & Dumont, M. (2023). The influence of socioeconomic status, working memory, and academic self-concept on academic achievement. European Journal of Psychology of Education, 38, 287–309. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10212-022-00599-9
Cho, S., & Hayter, C. S. (2020). Under pressure: A systematic review of stress and its impact among graduate students. Science and Public Policy, 47(6), 758–771. https://doi.org/10.1093/scipol/scaa053
Creswell, J. W., & Creswell, J. D. (2018). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (5th ed.). SAGE Publications.
Depression prevents many of us from leading healthy and productive lives, being the no. 1 cause of ill health and disability worldwide. (2018, May 18). World Economic Forum. https://www.weforum.org/stories/2018/05/depression-prevents-many-of-us-from-leading-healthy-and-productive-lives-being-the-no-1-cause-of-ill-health-and-disability-worldwide/
Elhag, H., Hassan, A. A., Alharbi, H. Y., & Adam, I. (2025). Correlation between anxiety scores and academic performance among adolescent schoolchildren in Northern Sudan: A cross-sectional study. World Journal of Psychiatry, 15(7), 107446. https://doi.org/10.5498/wjp.v15.i7.107446
Etikan, I., Musa, S. A., & Alkassim, R. S. (2016). Comparison of convenience sampling and purposive sampling. American Journal of Theoretical and Applied Statistics, 5(1), 1–4. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajtas.20160501.11
Fathiyah, N. (2022). Causes and impact of stress among university students. Journal of Educational Psychology Studies, 15(2), 65–78.
Feng, T., Jia, X., Pappas, L., Zheng, X., Shao, T., & Sun, L. (2022). Academic performance and the link with depressive symptoms among rural Han and minority Chinese adolescents. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(10), 6026. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19106026
Govindaraju, V. (2021). A review of social cognitive theory from the perspective of interpersonal communication. Multicultural Education, 7(12), 488–492. http://dx.doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5802235
Karakaya, S. P. Y., & Alparslan, Z. N. (2022). Sample size in reliability studies: A practical guide based on Cronbach’s alpha. Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, 12(3), 150–157. https://doi.org/10.5455/pbs.20220127074618
Kircanski, K., LeMoult, J., Ordaz, S., & Gotlib, I. H. (2017). Investigating the nature of co-occurring depression and anxiety: Comparing diagnostic and dimensional research approaches. Journal of Affective Disorders, 216, 123–135. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2016.08.006
Lovibond, S. H., & Lovibond, P. F. (1995). Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS-21, DASS-42). APA PsycTests. https://doi.org/10.1037/t01004-000
Muhammed, N. M. (2018). Depression and academic achievement: An exploration into coping mechanisms among university students. International Journal of Education and Psychological Research, 7(2), 45–52.
O’Connor, D. B., Thayer, J. F., & Vedhara, K. (2021). Stress and health: A review of psychobiological processes. Annual Review of Psychology, 72, 663–688. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-062520-122331
Park, Y. S., Konge, L., & Artino, A. R. Jr. (2020). The positivism paradigm of research. Academic Medicine, 95(5), 690–694. https://doi.org/10.1097/ACM.0000000000003093
Regehr, C., Glancy, D., & Pitts, A. (2013). Interventions to reduce stress in university students: A review and meta-analysis. Journal of Affective Disorders, 148(1), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2012.11.026
Roldán-Espínola, L., Riera-Serra, P., Roca, M., García-Toro, M., Coronado-Simsic, V., Castro, A., Navarra-Ventura, G., Vilagut, G., Alayo, I., Ballester, L., Blasco, M. J., Almenara, J., Cebrià, A. I., Echeburúa, E., Gabilondo, A., Lagares, C., Piqueras, J. A., Soto-Sanz, V., Mortier, P., … Gili, M. (2024). Depression and lifestyle among university students: A one-year follow-up study. European Journal of Psychiatry, 38(3), Article 100250. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejpsy.2024.100250
Rudland, J. R., Golding, C., & Wilkinson, T. J. (2020). The stress paradox: How stress can be good for learning. Medical Education, 54(1), 40–45. https://doi.org/10.1111/medu.13830
Sheldon, E., Simmonds, A., & Singh, A. (2021). Depression in higher education: A meta-analytic review. Journal of Affective Disorders, 294, 322–331.
Vu, T., & Boswell, S. S. (2021). Revisiting the Yerkes–Dodson law: Moderate stress as a catalyst for student performance. Educational Psychology Review, 33(1), 123–139. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-020-09555-1
Waterhouse, P., & Samra, R. (2025). University students’ coping strategies to manage stress: A scoping review. Educational Studies. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131911.2024.2438888
Yerkes, R. M., & Dodson, J. D. (1908). The relation of strength of stimulus to rapidity of habit formation. Journal of Comparative Neurology and Psychology, 18(5), 459–482. https://doi.org/10.1002/cne.920180503

How to Cite

Mutaz Maawia Osman and Esraa Abdelrahman Alim. The Associations between Depression, Anxiety, Stress, and Academic Performance: A Cross-Sectional Study among University Students. J. Multidiscip. Res. Healthcare. 2025, 11, 46-53

The Associations between Depression, Anxiety, Stress, and Academic Performance: A Cross-Sectional Study among University Students

Current Issue

Periodicity	Biannually
Issue-1	June
Issue-2	December
ISSN Print	2393-8536
ISSN Online	2393-8544
RNI No.	CHAENG/2014/57978

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Articles in Journal of Multidisciplinary Research in Healthcare by Chitkara University Publications are Open Access articles that are published with licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution- CC-BY 4.0 International License. Based on a work at https://jmrh.chitkara.edu.in/. This license permits one to use, remix, tweak and reproduction in any medium, even commercially provided one give credit for the original creation.

View Legal Code of the above-mentioned license, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode

View Licence Deed here https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/