See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

net/publication/302406671

Depression & Academic Performance: A Case Study

Conference Paper · May 2016

CITATIONS READS

0 45,559

5 authors, including:

Faizah Khalid
Universiti Tenaga Nasional (UNITEN)
12 PUBLICATIONS   30 CITATIONS   

SEE PROFILE

Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects:

Muamalat View project

All content following this page was uploaded by Faizah Khalid on 23 November 2016.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

International Symposium & Exhibition on Business and Accounting 2016 (ISEBA 2016) ISBN: 978-983-42982-8-9

Depression & Academic Performance: A Case Study

Faizah Mohd Khalida*, Noor Amizah Abu Sumanb, Norfarhan Abd Rasidc,
Nur Amalina Mohamadd & Nor Nurul Nadzirah Ghazalie
a
Department of Accouting, Universiti Tenaga Nasional
b, c, d, e
Universiti Tenaga Nasional

Keyword ABSTRACT
Human revolution has propelled rapid economic growth,
Mental health sophisticated technology and arguably better social status.
Depression However, these developments are like moving targets for most,
Students and probably more so for students. Demands from tertiary
Accounting students education and employers seeking only the best graduates may
give rise to more pressures for students to close the expectation
gap. A student’s excellence may be based on academic
performance and soft skills, communication skills (for
example); and may be linked to factors such as mental state, age,
tasks assigned to them and much more. Thus, this research seeks
to study the relationship between students’ academic
performance with these factors. Students from two universities
were sampled to obtain relevant data that may help shed light
into the issue. Results show that depression level and age affect
students’ performance while gender and financial background
do not affect their performance.

Copyright © 2016 Universiti Tenaga Nasional.

All rights reserved.
* Corresponding Author. Email address: Faizah@uniten.edu.my

1. INTRODUCTION
Health is important to be preserved as without good health we will not be able to live in
harmony. According to World Health Organization (WHO) (2014) mental health is “a state of well-
being in which the individual realises his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of
life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to his or her community".
Mental health is about how we feel about ourselves, others, and also how we are able to meet
the demands of life (WHO, 2014). It is an escalating issue among professional accountants
internationally, which requires serious attention from the community (Griffin, 2014). Mental health
may impact the development and productivity of people, and will ultimately affect a person’s
lifelihood at home, at work and with others (Eisenberg, Golberstein, & Hunt, 2009).
A student may experience mental health problem due to academic related demands such as
transitions to university, demands of various tasks by lecturers, getting essential skills; the student
may not be able to handle the pressures of these expectations (Carveth, Gesse, & Moss, 1996).
Eventhough it is difficult to suggest that mental health is measurable; it would be useful to
know the association between mental health problem and academic performance as this provide
information about the importance of mental health to students’ performance. The purpose of this
research is to determine the level of depression among accounting students and examine the
relationship of mental health, financial background, age and gender with students’ academic
performance.

1
2. LITERATURE REVIEW
Mental health problems were highly prevalent among college students, according to several
data sources (Hunt, 2010). According to a study of 26,000 students from 70 colleges and universities
in 2006, 6% of undergraduates and 4 % of graduate students were reported to having seriously
considering committing suicide in the previous 12 months due to their inability to handle mental
health relevantly (Denmark, 2009).
Noteworthy, mental health main components (depression, anxiety and stress) were considered
as the most important factors in human promotion and evolution. Although students were usually
considered from socially elected individuals, various studies had shown that students are also
affected by various emotional abnormalities and difficulties (Fowles, Meyer, Johnson & Winters,
2001).
Previous studies have also related mental health issues with academic performance. In a
previous case, the research shows that there was a positive relationship between mental health and
academic performance (Showalter, 2010). He found that depression, age, gender, and financial issues
influenced academic performance. Depression shows the largest effect on the mental health problem
that influenced the academic performance of the students compared to other factors (Showalter,
2010). Other related studies are available in Table 1.
Table 1. Previous literature
Dependent Independent
No Authors Findings
Variable Variable
1 Eide (2007) Academic Children’ Girls scored better than boys in Math test. Girls
achievement mental health taking more time to study for the exam rather
than boys.
2 Francesca Academic Mental health Teenagers have a strong negative examination
(2013) performance performance during this age. They are more
focused on exploring new things in other field
such as sport and entertainment.
3 Charvat Level of University Students who received social-emotional support
(2012) academic student’s and prevention services achieve better
performance mental health academically in school. Enhanced social and
emotional behaviors can have a strong impact on
success in school and ultimately in life.
4 Merikangas Academic Youth mental The paper showed youth that had high mental
(2010) grades health health issues would have low academic
achievement achievement.Secondary school students who
suffer from mental illness were more likely to
earn failing grades across all subjects and were
retained at grade level more often than youth
with disabilities as a whole.
5 Cicchetti et. Academic Mental health These children had good academic achievement
al (1998) achievement because they attend school completion.

3. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK & HYPOTHESES

The theoretical framework for this research is based on the premise by Showalter that
academic performance is influenced by mental health, financial background, gender and age (refer
Figure 1).
Depression

Financial Background
Academic Performance
Gender

Age
Figure 1. Schematic Diagram
2
3.1 Hypotheses Development
3.1.1 Relationship between financial background and academic performance of accounting
students.
The American College Health Association survey (2009) found strong evidence that financial
background influenced academic performance at 11.1% only compared to other factors, such as
gender, age and anxiety with higher percentage. According to the Marshall (2006), university
students who had bad financial background were having high level of stress and indirectly affected
their academic performance. The evidence collected shows there was a relationship between
financial and academic performance. Thus, this study aimed to find evidence to support the
hypothesis.
H1: There is positive relationship between financial background and academic performance.

3.1.2 Relationship between gender and academic performance of accounting students.

Previous studies measured how mental health of male and female students could affect their
academic performance. Recent study showed female students may be more susceptible than male
students to the negative consequences of “fear of success” (Leitenberg, 1990; Rothblum & Cole,
1988). Such motivational differences between the sexes could lead to differences in academic
performance and, more specifically, to female students “underperforming” their male counterparts.
High depression, anxiety and financial problem in females tend to result poor academic performance
than males (Govinda & Varghese, 1993; Arora, 2014). Talawar, (2011) claims that female have high
mental health problem and this leads to poor academic performance than the male counterparts.
Therefore, the second hypothesis generated is:
H2: There is significant relationship between gender and academic performance.

3.1.3 Relationship between age and academic performance of accounting students.

Mental growth and maturity are necessary for students to perform well. It also affects human
performance (Ukueze, 2007). Ukueze found that mental development did not affect performance.
This was supported by Piaget theory (1932) an individual’s brain development changes as he goes
through changes in life. Tounger students tend to be more focused in academics and may do better
than older students because older students have many other things to focus on at the same time and
may affect their capability (Okoh, 2010). Thus, this study aimed to find evidence to support the
hypothesis.
H3: There is a significant relationship between age and academic performance.

3.1.4. Relationship between depression and academic performance of accounting.

Previous studies found that depression was a form of mental health problem (Zivin, 2009).
Depression interferes with daily life and causes pain to the depressed and people around him.
Depression is a common but serious illness (National Institute of Mental Health, 2009). University
students face many problems such as separation from their families, entrance into a new environment
and adaptation to educational standards causes high level of depression (Nasrin, 2010). When a
student was too worried about his exams’ result, he/she would be depressed. If this depression
continues, it would affect his/her performance in education (Achar, 2000). Therefore, the hypothesis
generated to investigate this is:
H4: There is a negative relationship between depression and academic performance.

4. RESEARCH METHOD, MEASUREMENTS & STATISTICAL ANALYSES

This research uses primary data as the source, with questionnaire distribution as the data
collection method. We focused on two universities (one private and one public) that offer accounting
courses. Pilot test was run prior to distribution. We administered convenience sampling method due
to the limited time to collect data for analysis. The questionnaire was divided into demographics and
depression. The demographics consist of gender, age, financal background and academic
performance. Depression questions were adopted from Goldberg Depression Qestionnaire (2014), a
well established and widely used tool to analyse the level of depression (measured by a 5-point Likert
scale).
3
 Statistical Package Social Science (SPSS) was used to convert and analyze raw data from the
questionnaires collected. The reliability of questionnaire was tested through Cronbach’s alpha. The
normality test measurement used was the Kolmogorov-Smirnov, and due to the non normality of
data, Spearman Rank Order Correlation was used to measure the relationship between two variables
and it involves measuring the strength of relationship between that variables. The research also used
ANOVA to test the significance difference between groups.

5. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

5.1 Demographic Profile
Out of the questionnnaires distributed to both universities, only 200 were completed and
usable. Firstly, descriptive statistics were generated from the data. It was found that majority of the
respondents were female (76%), 84% of the respondents were Malays and 85% of the respondents
were Muslims. Most of the respondents’ age ranged between 21 to 23 years old (56.6%). Majority
(74%) of the respondents’ education was financed by study loans or sponsors, with 66% respondents
having CGPA between 3.00 to 4.00. Majority of the respondents’ CGPA were within the range of
2.01-3.00, which represent 62.5% and the remaining 37.5% were in the 3.01-4.00 range.

5.2 Reliability & Normality Tests

We tested the reliability of depression questions’ consistency. The Cronbach’s Alpha was
0.985, which means that the question set is considered good (a reliability of over 0.8 is considered
good (Field, 2009). The Shapiro- Wilk test shows that all the variables (financial background, CGPA,
age, gender and depression) were not normally distributed since all were significant (p<0.005).

5.3 Depression Level

The respondents from both universities score mean range of 2.95 to 3.02. It seems that
the respondents either agree or disagree on the depression situation in their daily routine.

5.4 Correlation analysis

Spearman’s Rho correlation was used to test relationship between independent variables
(financial background and depression) and dependent variables (student’s academic performance)
(refer Table 2). The results show that the relationship between financial background and student
performance is very weak as r is near -0.00 and negatively correlated. This relationship is
statistically not significant (p>0.001). However, there was a very strong, negative correlation
between depression and student performance at -0.8391. This relationship is statistically significant
(p<0.001).
Table 2: Correlation between Independent Variable and Dependent Variable
Correlations
Student Performance
Financial background Spearman’s rho Correlation -.099
Sig. (2-tailed) .165
N 200
Depression Spearman’s rho Correlation -.839**
Sig. (2-tailed) .000
N 200
**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).
5.5 Test Significant Difference between GENDERS
There were a total of 200 accounting students classified into male and female (48:152). The
mean rank achieved by male students on CGPA is 2.48 and female students are 2.34. Mean of CGPA
for male students is higher than female students (i.e. Male students’ CGPA are higher than female
students). To test the significance between these groups, Independent Samples Test was used. The
result shows that, there is no significant difference between male and female students on their
academic performance, CGPA (T=1.714, p>0.05).

1
According to Field (2009), 0.8 is considered as strong.
4
 Table 3. Independent sample t-test
N Mean Std. Deviation
Male 48 2.48 .505
Female 152 2.34 .476
t-test298 -.227
Note: *significant at p<0.05, **significant at p<0.01
5.6 Test Significant Difference between AGES
The mean rank achieved by 18-20 years old category on CGPA is 2.02, 21-23 years old
category on CGPA is 2.29 and 24-26 years old category on CGPA is 2.89. The mean rank of 24-26
years old category is higher than the other two categories, which signifies that older students CGPA
compared to younger students. To test the significance between these groups, ANOVA Test was
used. Result shows that there is a statistically significant difference between the three age categories
with student performance (F (2, 197) =61.847, p<0.05).
Table 4. ANOVA/ TUKEY HSD - AGE
Variable F Sig. (I) Age (J) Age Mean Diff SE
(I-J)
Age 61.847 .000 18-20 years old 21-23 years old -.268* .070
24-26 years old -.867* .082
21-23 years old 18-20 years old .268* .070
24-26 years old -.599* .067
24-26 years old 18-20 years old .867* .082
21-23 years old .599* .067

5.7 Discussions on Hypotheses

This section highlights the information and results obtained and justification the acceptance
over the hypotheses outlined and compared the results to past research done.
5.7.1 Financial Background
The results show that financial background of an accounting student is negatively related to
their academic performance at -0.099. Similar results was documented in this study between financial
background and stress, where university students who has low financial level were having high level
of stress and indirectly affected their academic performance (Marshall, 2006; Misra et al, 2008).
Therefore, H1 is not supported.
5.7.2 Gender
Based on the research findings, gender of an accounting student has no significant relationship
with their academic performance at 0.26. The research finding indicates that there is no significant
relationship between gender and academic performance, consistent with previous study that tested
whether motivational differences between sexes could lead to differences in academic performance
(Hoeksema, 2001). Therefore, H2 is not supported.
5.7.3 Age
It was found in the analysis that age of an accounting student is related to their academic
performance. We can conclude that age may affect an accounting student’s academic performance.
It is consistent with previous study which claims that age of the individual, as it increases, usually
affects the various development changes. It also affects every area of human performance (Ukueze,
2007). Therefore, H3 is supported.
5.7.4 Depression
Based on the research findings, depression is negatively related to the academic performance
at -0.839 (p<0.05). This research is consistent with Zivin (2009) who claims that depression as one
of the factors that contributed to academic performance. The finding is also consistent with Francesca
(2015) who concluded that 94.8% of university students who were too concerned of their
performance had been so depressed in their educational year that they show no motivation or function
to strive for success. Therefore, H4 is supported.

6. CONCLUSION & RECOMMENDATION

There are two research objectives which have been answered throughout the research. The
first research objective is to measure the level of mental health of accounting students. We can
5
conclude that the level of mental health among the accounting undergraduates is moderate based on
the premise that the mean score for level of depression is between 2.9 – 3.00.
The second research objective is to test the relationship of mental health towards academic
performance. The result shows that there is a very strong, negative correlation between depression
factor and academic performance whereas for financial background, the correlation is negative and
weak. For gender and age factors, the result shows that there is no significant difference between
male and female students, and also the three categories of age, on academic performance.
Caution must be taken when using the research findings as it is only representative of 200
accounting students, thus cannot be used to generalise the entire Malaysian accounting students
population. Further, this research was based on 2 universities.
To make the research more generalisable, future research should target a larger population and
with a larger sample. An experienced researcher may upgrade the population from undergraduates
accounting students to accounting professionals who faces daily tasks at the workplace. In terms of
managing depression, accounting professionals should seek help from therapists, psychologists,
counsellors and may also take prescriptions in order to deal with mental health issues effectively.

REFERENCES
Achar, H. (2000). The Effect of Depression on Adolescent Academic Achievement. Southern Health
Journal, 73, 871–900.
American College Health Association (2009), American College Health Association – National
College Health Assessment: Reference Group Data Report (abridged), Spring 2008, Journal
of American College Health, 57, 477-88.
Arora, J.M. (2014), The Relation of Depression and Anxiety to Life-Stress and Achievement in
Students, British Journal of Psychology, 95 (4), 509-21.
Carveth, M., Gesse, P., & Moss, M. (1996). Barriers to Higher Education for Individuals with
Educational Demand. Psychiatry Rehabilitation J. 217–31.
Charvat, J. (2012). Research on the relationship between mental health and academic achievement.
National Association of School Psychologist.
http://www.nasponline.org/advocacy/Academic-MentalHealthLinks.pdf
Cicchetti, D. & Toth, S. L. (1998). The Development of Depression in Children and Adolescents.
American Psychology. 53(2), 221–241.
Denmark, S. (2009), Graduate Student Mental Health: Needs Assessment and Utilization of
Counselling Services towards Suicide Issues, Journal of College Student Development, (3),
247-66.
Eide, J. P. (2007). Health Behavior and Academic Achievement in Icelandic School Children. Health
Education Research, 22, 70–80.
Eisenberg, D., Golberstein, E., & Hunt, J.B. (2009). Mental Health: Peer Contracting as a Response
to Potential Depression and Productivity in Adolescents. 169–87.
Field, A (Ed) (2009). Discovering Statistics Using SPSS. Third Edition. London: Sage Publication
Ltd.
Francesca, S. N. (2013). Children’s Social Behaviors as Predictors of Academic Achievement: A
longitudinal Analysis. School Psychology Quarterly. 17, 1-23.
Fowles, G., Meyer, W,. Johnson, M., & Winters, D. (2001). Emotionality, Emotion Abnormalities
and school performance in middle school children. Journal of School Psychology, 40, 395–
413.
Govinda, G., & Varghese, M., (1993). The Relation of Depression and Anxiety to Life-Stress and
Achievement in Students. British Journal of Psychology. 95, 509–521.
Griffin, L. A. (2014). The Role of Psychosocial Stress among Professional Accountants in the Onset
and Progression of Bipolar Disorder and Its Comorbidities: The Need for Earlier and
Alternative Modes of Therapeutic Intervention. Developing Psychopathology. 18-21.
Hoeksema, S (2001). Academic Performance in Young Men and Women and Subsequent
Depression. The Johns Hopkins Precursors Study. American Journal of Epidemiology. 146,
105–114.

6
 Hunt, J., & Eisenberg, D. (2009). Mental Health Problem and Help-Seeking Behaviour among
College Students. Retrieved from: http://www.acha.org/
Hunt, J. (2010). The Relationship between Depression and College Academic Performance. College
Student Journal. 43, 325-334.
Leitenberg, R., (1970). Sex Differences in Childhood Psychopathology: A Review. Psychology
Bulletin. 86, 574–595.
Marshall, M.J. (2006). Financial Depression, School Performance and the Veridicality of Perceived
Grades and Causal Attributions. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 28(10), 1441-
1449.
Merikangas (2010). Lifetime Prevalence of Mental Disorders in U.S. Youth: Results from the
National Comorbidity Study-Youth Supplement (NCS-A). Journal of the American Academy
of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 49(10), 980-9.
Misra V, Cahir J, Leverett J, Morris J, & Robotham, A. (2008). The Relationship between Financial
Sources and College Academic Performance. College Student Journal. 43, 325-334.
Nasrin, I., (2010). The Development of Depression in Children and Adolescents. American
Psychology. 53, 221–241.
Okoh, J.M., (2010). Adolescent Depression: Diagnosis, Treatment, and Educational Attainment.
Health Econ. 17 (11), 1215–1235.
Sekaran, U., & Bougie, R. (Ed) (2013). Research Methods for Business. Sixth Edition. Italy: Printer
Trento Srl.
Showalter, T. (2010). Mental Health Problems and Help-Seeking Behavior among College Students.
Elsevier. Journal of Adolescent Health. 23, 195-301.
Talawar, S.L. (2011), College Student Mental Health: Effective Services and Strategies across
Campus, NASPA Inc., Baltimore, MD.
Ukueze, W.D. (2007), “Academic Impacts Of Health Conditions: Results From The ACHA National
College Health Assessment”, Paper Presented At The 2007 American College Health
Association (ACHA) Annual Conference, Orlando, FL. 31 May.
West, R. (2008). Child and Adolescent Depression: Short-Term Treatment Effectiveness and Long-
Term Opportunities. Intern J Methods Psychiatry, 12-44.
Zivin, J. (2009). Adolescents with Depressive Symptoms and Their Challenges with Learning in
School. The Journal of School Nursing. 26(5), 377-392.
What is The Goldberg Depression Test. (2014). Retrieved from: http://goldbergdepressiontest.com/

View publication stats