3.3. Factors impacting depression
A series of independent t-tests were used to examine how the participants experienced of depression were impacted by their gender, semester and perception of family environment. The mean score of depression for men and women students was examined. Although there was trend that women were more depressed than men, it was not statistically significant. However, a statistically significant difference was found between semester II and semester III students of the university (p < 0.05). Semester II students were reported to suffer from a higher degree of depression. Semester II students who are in the second half of the first year of university education reported a higher level of depression than those who were in semester III students, that is, first half of the second year.
Likewise, perceived family environment was found to have a positive impact of the levels of depression, that is, the students who perceived the family environment to be congenial were found to be suffering from low depression compared to their counterparts (p < 0.01). Similarly, the students who shared a positive relationship with their parents suffered from low depression compared to students whose relationship with their parents was reported to be “not so good” (p < 0.01) (Table 3).