Frequency of anxiety and its relation with depression and other individual characteristics in nursing students

Anxiety is among the most prevalent mental disorder which people in any society may encounter. This vague and uncomfortable feeling may affect all aspects of one's life and also can accompany unlimited number of disorders such as depression. The aim of this study was to determine the frequency of anxiety in college students and its relation with depression and other personal characteristics. This is a descriptive co- relational study. The study population included all nursing college students of Azad university of Lahijan and East Guilan Nursing &Midwifery Faculty from which 150 students were randomly selected. Data collection instrument consisted of a questionnaire. Data were analyzed using descriptive and analytical statistics such as Chi-square and Fisher's test by SPSS software. This study included 121 female and 29 male students. Results showed that %68 of college students were anxious and in regard to depression, 52% showed no sign of depression. Results showed significant relationship between anxiety and depression (p<0.05), also between anxiety and depression and sex, marital status, satisfaction with major, positive attitude of family to major, well fair and family history of depression (p<0.05). But there was no significant relationship between anxiety and depression with age, place of living and living parents. According to research results, it seems more focus must be on this population and favorable condition should be provided for their success in education. Anxiety and depression can influence college students’ functions in various aspects of personality and social life.