Analysis Comparison of Depression Levels Based on Gender and Academic Factors of Students

Abstract

This study aims to analyze the level of depression among university students by examining gender and several academic indicators. The dataset includes responses from 27,901 students across various regions, with variables covering age, gender, academic pressure, study satisfaction, work/study hours, CGPA, and depression status. The analytical methods applied in this study include the chi-square test to evaluate the association between gender and depression status, point-biserial correlation to examine the relationship between numeric variables and depression, and logistic regression to develop a prediction model. The chi-square test results revealed no significant relationship between gender and depression (p = 0.774), indicating that depression affects both genders. In contrast, academic pressure exhibited the strongest correlation with depression status (r = 0.47), followed by work/study hours (r = 0.209) and study satisfaction (r = -0.168). The Logistic Regression model constructed using the four most relevant variables demonstrated satisfactory performance, achieving 75.5% accuracy and 82.1% recall in identifying students experiencing depression. These findings highlight the critical role of academic-related factors—particularly academic pressure—in influencing students' mental health. Therefore, targeted academic support strategies are essential to mitigate depression risks in higher education environments.