There is a high prevalence of anxiety and depression in university students as they face overwhelming pressures to succeed academically. A relationship between academic stress and academic...Show moreThere is a high prevalence of anxiety and depression in university students as they face overwhelming pressures to succeed academically. A relationship between academic stress and academic resilience, among students can be found in the literature However, there has not been as much exploration into the extent to which academic resilience can operate as a moderating factor between academic stress and its effect on depressive and anxiety symptoms manifested by students. Τhis cross-sectional study focused on the role of academic resilience in moderating the depression and anxiety symptoms in university students. A total of 221 university students completed a battery of self-report questionnaires; 1) Law Student Perceived Stress scale (LSPSS, modified version for students in general), 2) Generalized Anxiety Scale-7 (GAD-7) for anxiety, 3) Patient-Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) for depression, and 4) Academic Resilience Scale (ARS-30) for academic resilience. Results showed that that academic stress significantly impacted depression and anxiety symptoms. However, the results did not support the hypothesis that academic resilience can operate as a moderating factor between academic stress and the manifestation of symptoms of anxiety and depression. Though the initial hypothesis was rejected, the findings of this study underline the need for implementing stress management programs within the academic settings in order to facilitate students to achieve their goals with no psychological burden, as higher academic stress was related to higher symptoms of anxiety and depression.Show less
