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Correlation of Clinical Depression, Anxiety and Academic Performance of Adolescents in Selected Secondary Schools in Kenya

Received: 18 February 2020     Accepted: 28 February 2020     Published: 6 March 2020
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Abstract

Depression and anxiety are associated with lower academic performance among adolescents. In Kenya, up to 26.4% of school going adolescents have been reported to present with symptoms of depression and anxiety. This study aimed at testing the correlation between academic performance, clinical depression and anxiety among adolescents in selected secondary schools in Homabay County, Kenya. In a quasi-experimental study, nonequivalent pretest-posttest design was adopted to test correlation between clinical depression, anxiety and academic performance among the adolescents. Two schools were selected with one being the experimental group and the other being the control group. Data was collected from 126 adolescents who were screened for depression and anxiety symptoms using Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II), Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) and researcher generated questionnaire. Respondents aged 14-16 were 54% (68) while those aged 17-19 were 46% (58). In order to examine the relationship between depression and anxiety, and academic performance, bivariate analysis was employed. Spearman Correlation Coefficient was used to show correlation between depression, anxiety and academic performance. The study found that the correlation test between Y1 (depression) and µX (academic performance) using Distance Correlation Coefficient indicated a significant correlation (p=0.010). However, the correlation test between Y2 (anxiety) and µX (academic performance) was not significant (p=0.651). Moreover, µX (academic performance) was also used as predictor to test the dependence of Y1 (depression) and Y2 (Anxiety) in correlation. Depression and anxiety were found to correlate with academic performance which should be treated as a clinical concern for mental health service providers and secondary school heads.

Published in American Journal of Applied Psychology (Volume 9, Issue 1)
DOI 10.11648/j.ajap.20200901.13
Page(s) 14-21
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2020. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Depression, Anxiety, Academic Performance, Adolescents, Correlation, Selected Secondary Schools, Kenya

References
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  • APA Style

    Moureen Adhiambo Nyayieka, Stella Kemuma Nyagwencha, Solomon Nzyuko. (2020). Correlation of Clinical Depression, Anxiety and Academic Performance of Adolescents in Selected Secondary Schools in Kenya. American Journal of Applied Psychology, 9(1), 14-21. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajap.20200901.13

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    ACS Style

    Moureen Adhiambo Nyayieka; Stella Kemuma Nyagwencha; Solomon Nzyuko. Correlation of Clinical Depression, Anxiety and Academic Performance of Adolescents in Selected Secondary Schools in Kenya. Am. J. Appl. Psychol. 2020, 9(1), 14-21. doi: 10.11648/j.ajap.20200901.13

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    AMA Style

    Moureen Adhiambo Nyayieka, Stella Kemuma Nyagwencha, Solomon Nzyuko. Correlation of Clinical Depression, Anxiety and Academic Performance of Adolescents in Selected Secondary Schools in Kenya. Am J Appl Psychol. 2020;9(1):14-21. doi: 10.11648/j.ajap.20200901.13

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ajap.20200901.13,
      author = {Moureen Adhiambo Nyayieka and Stella Kemuma Nyagwencha and Solomon Nzyuko},
      title = {Correlation of Clinical Depression, Anxiety and Academic Performance of Adolescents in Selected Secondary Schools in Kenya},
      journal = {American Journal of Applied Psychology},
      volume = {9},
      number = {1},
      pages = {14-21},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ajap.20200901.13},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajap.20200901.13},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajap.20200901.13},
      abstract = {Depression and anxiety are associated with lower academic performance among adolescents. In Kenya, up to 26.4% of school going adolescents have been reported to present with symptoms of depression and anxiety. This study aimed at testing the correlation between academic performance, clinical depression and anxiety among adolescents in selected secondary schools in Homabay County, Kenya. In a quasi-experimental study, nonequivalent pretest-posttest design was adopted to test correlation between clinical depression, anxiety and academic performance among the adolescents. Two schools were selected with one being the experimental group and the other being the control group. Data was collected from 126 adolescents who were screened for depression and anxiety symptoms using Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II), Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) and researcher generated questionnaire. Respondents aged 14-16 were 54% (68) while those aged 17-19 were 46% (58). In order to examine the relationship between depression and anxiety, and academic performance, bivariate analysis was employed. Spearman Correlation Coefficient was used to show correlation between depression, anxiety and academic performance. The study found that the correlation test between Y1 (depression) and µX (academic performance) using Distance Correlation Coefficient indicated a significant correlation (p=0.010). However, the correlation test between Y2 (anxiety) and µX (academic performance) was not significant (p=0.651). Moreover, µX (academic performance) was also used as predictor to test the dependence of Y1 (depression) and Y2 (Anxiety) in correlation. Depression and anxiety were found to correlate with academic performance which should be treated as a clinical concern for mental health service providers and secondary school heads.},
     year = {2020}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Correlation of Clinical Depression, Anxiety and Academic Performance of Adolescents in Selected Secondary Schools in Kenya
    AU  - Moureen Adhiambo Nyayieka
    AU  - Stella Kemuma Nyagwencha
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    AB  - Depression and anxiety are associated with lower academic performance among adolescents. In Kenya, up to 26.4% of school going adolescents have been reported to present with symptoms of depression and anxiety. This study aimed at testing the correlation between academic performance, clinical depression and anxiety among adolescents in selected secondary schools in Homabay County, Kenya. In a quasi-experimental study, nonequivalent pretest-posttest design was adopted to test correlation between clinical depression, anxiety and academic performance among the adolescents. Two schools were selected with one being the experimental group and the other being the control group. Data was collected from 126 adolescents who were screened for depression and anxiety symptoms using Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II), Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) and researcher generated questionnaire. Respondents aged 14-16 were 54% (68) while those aged 17-19 were 46% (58). In order to examine the relationship between depression and anxiety, and academic performance, bivariate analysis was employed. Spearman Correlation Coefficient was used to show correlation between depression, anxiety and academic performance. The study found that the correlation test between Y1 (depression) and µX (academic performance) using Distance Correlation Coefficient indicated a significant correlation (p=0.010). However, the correlation test between Y2 (anxiety) and µX (academic performance) was not significant (p=0.651). Moreover, µX (academic performance) was also used as predictor to test the dependence of Y1 (depression) and Y2 (Anxiety) in correlation. Depression and anxiety were found to correlate with academic performance which should be treated as a clinical concern for mental health service providers and secondary school heads.
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Author Information
  • Department of Psychology and Counseling, Daystar University, Nairobi, Kenya

  • Department of Psychology, United States International University, Nairobi, Kenya

  • Institute of Leadership and Professional Development, Daystar University, Nairobi, Kenya

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