The Prevalence of Anxiety and Depression Symptoms among Brazilian Computer Science Students

Abstract

The mental health of undergraduate students has become a focus of attention for health experts and for society. Several studies have considered students from the Health Sciences, predominantly medical students. Lately, discussions about the mental health of Computer Science (CS) students have become increasingly common. This paper presents a study about the prevalence of anxiety and depression symptoms among CS students. This study was conducted at Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro (UFRRJ), a Brazilian public university. The aim of this study was to verify the prevalence and associated factors of anxiety and depression symptoms among Brazilian CS students. Students were randomly selected ($n=131$) from the CS program at UFRRJ, aged between 18 and 30 years. The participants completed a sociodemographic questionnaire and two inventories -- the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) -- that were used to measure levels of anxiety and depression symptoms. Statistical analysis was performed using the TIBCO Statistica\textsuperscript#8482; software (version 13.5). The prevalence of anxiety and depression symptoms among the students were, respectively, $51.9%$ and $64.9%$, which are higher than previous findings in the Brazilian general population and among medical students. Additionally, the BDI and BAI scores were higher among female students, and we observed statistically significant relationships between BAI, BDI, and sleep quality, among others. This paper describes our study and findings and addresses ways in which CS students may be able to reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression.