Anxiety and depression: Their incidence on the academic performance of university students

Abstract

Within the educational context, anxiety is one of the most frequent spectra in students, and it could be related to their academic performance. However, there is no empirical evidence in El Salvador that proves this association. The objectives of this research were the following: to describe the anxiety symptoms and the indicators of academic performance present in the Salvadoran university sample; to verify whether there are differences in the dimensions of anxiety and academic performance depending on the age range, gender and perception of academic load; finally, to establish whether there is an association between anxiety and the dimensions of academic performance. This is an ex post facto study with a cross-sectional and retrospective design. A total of 200 questionnaires were collected through non-probabilistic convenience sampling. The sample was divided in 123 women and 77 men. The mean age was 22.92 years. The technique to obtain the information was the selfdirected survey. The results confirmed that those who showed higher anxiety levels included people in three groups: women, those between 18 and 20 years old, and individuals with a high academic load. It was also evident that older students were those who were perceived to contribute more to academic activities. Likewise, a negative and low association was detected between anxiety and academic performance. It is concluded that anxiety and academic performance are indeed associated and it was determined that those who perceive that they have a high academic performance, usually have low anxiety symptoms. It is suggested that this study be replicated with representative university samples and involve other psychological and social variables.