Risk factors associated with depressive symptoms among undergraduate students

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to examine the relationship of several cognitive and emotional variables including perfectionism, rumination, and attachment quality with depressive symptoms in a sample of Iranian undergraduate students. Two hundred and ninety nine undergraduate students (144 males, 156 females) from Urmia University of Technology, Urmia University, and Urmia University of Medical Sciences participated in this study. Participants were asked to complete Tehran Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (TMPS), Ruminative Responses Scale (RRS), Revised Adult Attachment Scale (RAAS), and Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). The results demonstrated that insecurity of attachment, socially prescribed perfectionism, and rumination could significantly predict the depressive symptoms in undergraduate students. Confirming predictive risk factors of depressive symptoms, results of the present study can produce an empirical basis for designing educational and health programs for people at risk. Accordingly, proper assessment of the risk factors of depressive symptoms in health care settings may provide invaluable information for prevention and management programs.

Keywords: Attachment quality; Depressive symptom; Perfectionism; Rumination.