ORIGINAL RESEARCH

published: 16 June 2022

doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2022.869337

Family and Academic Stress and

Their Impact on Students’
Depression Level and Academic
Performance
Yuwei Deng 1,2 , Jacob Cherian 3 , Noor Un Nisa Khan 4 , Kalpina Kumari 5 ,
Muhammad Safdar Sial 6*, Ubaldo Comite 7 , Beata Gavurova 8 and József Popp 9,10
1
School of Mechatronics Engineering, Daqing Normal University, Daqing, China, 2 School of Marxism, Heilongjiang University,
Harbin, China, 3 College of Business, Abu Dhabi University, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, 4 Faculty of Business
Administration, Iqra University Karachi Pakistan, Karachi, Pakistan, 5 Faculty of Department of Business Administration,
Greenwich University Karachi, Karachi, Pakistan, 6 Department of Management Sciences, COMSATS University Islamabad
(CUI), Islamabad, Pakistan, 7 Department of Business Sciences, University Giustino Fortunato, Benevento, Italy, 8 Faculty of
Mining, Ecology, Process Control and Geotechnologies, Technical University of Kosice, Kosice, Slovakia, 9 Hungarian
National Bank–Research Center, John von Neumann University, Kecskemét, Hungary, 10 College of Business and Economics,
Edited by:
University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa
Wing Fai Yeung,
Hong Kong Polytechnic University,
Hong Kong SAR, China
Current research examines the impact of academic and familial stress on students’
Reviewed by:
depression levels and the subsequent impact on their academic performance based on
Raquel Artuch Garde,
Public University of Navarre, Spain Lazarus’ cognitive appraisal theory of stress. The non-probability convenience sampling
Syed Far Abid Hossain, technique has been used to collect data from undergraduate and postgraduate students
International University of Business
Agriculture and using a modified questionnaire with a five-point Likert scale. This study used the SEM
Technology, Bangladesh method to examine the link between stress, depression, and academic performance. It
John White,
was confirmed that academic and family stress leads to depression among students,
Eastern Mediterranean
University, Turkey negatively affecting their academic performance and learning outcomes. This research
Misbah Habib, provides valuable information to parents, educators, and other stakeholders concerned
Forman Christian College, Pakistan
about their childrens’ education and performance.
*Correspondence:
Muhammad Safdar Sial Keywords: academic stress, depression, university students, academic performance, academic learning, higher
safdarsial@comsats.edu.pk education, structural equation modeling (SEM)

Specialty section:
This article was submitted to INTRODUCTION
Public Mental Health,
a section of the journal Higher education institutions (HEIs) are believed to be one of the strongest pillars in the growth
Frontiers in Psychiatry of any nation (1). Being the principal stakeholder, the performance of HEIs mainly relies on
Received: 04 February 2022 the success of its students (2). To successfully compete in the prevailing dynamic industrial
Accepted: 19 April 2022 environment, students are not only supposed to develop their knowledge but are also expected to
Published: 16 June 2022 have imperative skills and abilities (3). In the current highly competitive academic environment,
Citation: students’ performance is largely affected by several factors, such as social media, academic
Deng Y, Cherian J, Khan NUN, quality, family and social bonding, etc. (4). Aafreen et al. (2) stated that students continuously
Kumari K, Sial MS, Comite U,
experience pressure from different sources during academic life, which ultimately causes stress
Gavurova B and Popp J (2022) Family
and Academic Stress and Their
among students.
Impact on Students’ Depression Level Stress is a common factor that largely diminishes individual morale (5). It develops when a
and Academic Performance. person cannot handle their inner and outer feelings. When the stress becomes chronic or exceeds
Front. Psychiatry 13:869337. a certain level, it affects an individual’s mental health and may lead to different psychological
doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2022.869337 disorders, such as depression (6). Depression is a worldwide illness marked by feelings of sadness

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Deng et al. Stress, Depression, and Academic Learning

and the inability to feel happy or satisfied (7). Nowadays, it is a THEORY AND LITERATURE
common disorder, increasing day by day. According to the World
Health Organization (8, 9), depression was ranked third among The idea of cognitive appraisal theory was presented in 1966 by
the global burden of disease and predicted to take over first place psychologist Richard Lazarus in Psychological Stress and Coping
by 2030. Process. According to this theory, appraisal and coping are two
Depression leads to decreased energy, difficulty thinking, concepts that are central to any psychological stress theory. Both
concentrating, and making career decisions (6). Students are interrelated. According to the theory, stress is the disparity
are a pillar of the future in building an educated society. between stipulations placed on the individuals and their coping
For them, academic achievement is a big goal of life resources (17). Since its first introduction as a comprehensive
and can severely be affected if the students fall prey to theory (18), a few modifications have been experienced in theory
depression (10, 11). There can be several reasons for this: later. The recent adaptation states that stress is not defined as
family issues, exposure to a new lifestyle in colleges and a specific incitement or psychological, behavioral, or subjective
universities, poor academic grades, favoritism by teachers, response. Rather, stress is seen as a relation between an individual
etc. Never-ending stress or academic pressure of studies can and his environment (19). Individuals appraise the environment
also be a chief reason leading to depression in students as significant for their well-being and try to cope with the
(12). There is a high occurrence of depression in emerging exceeding demands and challenges.
countries, and low mental health literacy has been theorized Cognitive appraisal is a model based on the idea that
as one of the key causes of escalating rates of mental stress and other emotional processes depend on a person’s
illness (13). expectancies regarding the significance and outcome of an
Several researchers, such as (6, 14, 15) have studied stress event, encounter, or function. This explains why there are
and depression elements from a performance perspective differences in intensity, duration, and quality of emotions elicited
and reported that stress and depression negatively affect the in people in response to the environment, which objectively,
academic performance of students. However, Aafreen et al. (2) are equal for all (18). These appraisals may be influenced by
reported contradictory results and stated that stress sharpens various factors, including a person’s goals, values, motivations,
the individual’s mind and reflexes and enables workers to etc., and are divided into primary and secondary appraisals,
perform better in taxing situations. Ardalan (16) conducted specific patterns of which lead to different kinds of stress (20).
a study in the United States (US). They reported that On the other hand, coping is defined as the efforts made by
depression is a common issue among students in the US, a person to minimize, tolerate, or master the internal and
and 20 percent of them may have a depressive disorder external demands placed on them, a concept intimately related
spanning 12 months or more. It affects students’ mental to cognitive appraisal and, therefore, to the stress-relevant
and physical health and limits their social relationships and person-environment transactions.
professional career. Individuals experience different mental and physiological
However, the current literature provides mixed results on changes when encountering pressure, such as stress (21, 22).
the relationship between stress and performance. Therefore, the The feelings of stress can be either due to factors in the
current research investigates stress among students from family external environment or subjective emotions of individuals,
and academic perspectives using Lazaru’s theory which describes which can even lead to psychological disorders such as anxiety
stress as a relation between an individual and his environment and depression. Excess stress can cause health problems. A
and examines how it impacts students’ depression level, leading particularly negative impact has been seen in students due to
to their academic performance. Most of the available studies the high level of stress they endure, affecting their learning
on stress and depression are from industrial perspectives, and outcomes. Various methods are used to tackle stress. One
limited attention is paid to stress from family and institutional of the methods is trying to pinpoint the causes of stress,
perspectives and examines its impact on students’ depression which leads us to different terms such as family stress and
level, leading to their academic performance, particularly in academic stress. The two factors, stress and depression, have
Pakistan, the place of the study. Besides, the present study greatly impacted the students’ academic performances. This
follows a multivariate statistical technique, followed by structural research follows the Lazarus theory based on stress to examine
equation modeling (SEM) to examine the relationship between the variables. See the conceptual framework of the study in
stated variables which is also a study’s uniqueness. Figure 1.
This paper is divided into five main sections. The current
section provided introduction, theoretical perspective, and Academic Stress
background of the study. In the second section, a theoretical Academic issues are thought to be the most prevalent source
framework, a detailed literature review and research hypotheses of stress for college students (23). For example, according to
of the underlying relationships are being proposed. In the Yang et al. (24), students claimed that academic-related pressures
third and fourth section, methodology and analysis have been such as ongoing study, writing papers, preparing for tests, and
discussed. Finally, in the last section, the conclusion, limitations, boring professors were the most important daily problems.
implications, and recommendations for future research have Exams and test preparation, grade level competitiveness, and
been proposed. gaining a big quantity of knowledge in a short period of

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Deng et al. Stress, Depression, and Academic Learning

FIGURE 1 | Conceptual framework.

time all contribute to academic pressure. Perceived stress Academic Stress and Students’
refers to a condition of physical or psychological arousal in Depression Levels
reaction to stressors (25, 26). When college students face Generally, it is believed that mental health improves as we enter
excessive or negative stress, they suffer physical and psychological into adulthood, and depression disorder starts to decline between
consequences. Excessive stress can cause health difficulties such the age of 18 and 25. On the other hand, excessive depression
as fatigue, loss of appetite, headaches, and gastrointestinal rates are the highest pervasiveness during this evolution (15),
issues. Academic stress has been linked to a variety of negative and many university students in the particular screen above
effects, including ill health, anxiety, depression, and poor clinical cut-off scores for huge depression (14, 32). Afreen
academic performance. Travis et al. (27), in particular, discovered et al. (2) stated that 30% of high school students experience
strong links between academic stress and psychological and depression from different perspectives. This means a major
physical health. chunk of fresh high school graduates are more likely to confront
depression or are more vulnerable to encountering depression
while enrolling in the university. As the students promote to a
Family Stress higher level of education, there are many factors while calculating
Parental participation and learning effect how parents treat the stress like, for example, the syllabus is tough to comprehend,
their children, as well as how they handle their children’s assignments are quite challenging with unrealistic deadlines,
habits and cognitive processes (28). This, in turn, shapes and accommodation problems for the students who are shifted
their children’s performance and behaviors toward them. As from other cities, etc. (33). Experiences related to university
a result, the parent-child relationship is dependent on the can also contribute while studying depression. The important
parents’ attitudes, understanding, and perspectives. When thing to consider is depression symptoms vary from time to
parents have positive views, the relationship between them and time throughout the academic years (34); subjective and objective
their children will be considerably better than when they have experiences are directly connected to the depression disorder (6),
negative attitudes. Parents respond to unpleasant emotions stress inherent in the university situation likely donates to the
in a variety of ways, which can be classified as supportive or difference in university students’ depressing experiences.
non-supportive (29). Parents’ supportive reactions encourage Stress negatively impacts students’ mental peace, and 42.3% of
children to explore their emotions by encouraging them to students of Canadian university respondents testified devastating
express them or by assisting them in understanding and levels of anxiety and stress (35, 36). Moreover, there were (58.1%)
coping with an emotion-eliciting scenario. Non-supportive students who stated academic projects are too tough to handle
behaviors, such as downplaying the kid’s emotional experience, for them. In Germany, Bulgaria, and Poland, a huge sample of
disciplining the child, or getting concerned by the child’s respondents consider assignments a burden on their lives that
display, transmit the child the message that expressing cannot stand compared to relationships or any other concern in
unpleasant emotions is inappropriate and unacceptable. life (14).
Supportive parental reactions to unpleasant emotions in In several countries, university students were studied
children have been linked to dimensions of emotional and concerning stress, and results show that depression disorder
social competence, such as emotion comprehension and and apparent anxiety are correlated to educational needs and
friendship quality. Non-supportive or repressive parental demands (37). In their cross-sectional study conducted on a
reactions, on the other hand, have been connected to sample of 900 Canadian students, Lörz et al. (38) concluded that
a child’s stored negative affect and disordered behaviors strain confronted due to academic workload relatively has high
during emotion-evoking events, probably due to an inability bleak symptoms even after controlling 13 different risk affecting
or unwillingness to communicate unpleasant sentiments factors for depression (e.g., demographic features, abusive
(30, 31).

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Deng et al. Stress, Depression, and Academic Learning

past, intellectual way, and personality, currently experienced students’ age range is late teens to early twenties, i.e., 18–23
stressful trials in life, societal support). Few have exhibited years. Abbas (50) named the era of university students as “post-
that students who are tired of educational workload or the adolescence. Risk factors for teenage depression have several
students who name them traumatic tend to have more depressing and complicated problems of individual characteristics and
disorders (15). family and educational life (51). Amongst the huge depression
These relations can be described by examining the stress and factors, relationship building with family demands a major
coping behaviors that highlight the role of positive judgments chunk of attention and time since factors like parenting and
in the stress times (39), containing the Pancer and colleagues’ family building play an important role in children’s development
university modification framework (40, 41). The evaluation (52, 53). Halonen et al. (54) concluded that factors like family
concept includes examining the circumstances against the binding play a major role in development, preservation, and
available resources, for instance, the effectiveness of coping driving adolescent depression. Generally speaking, depressed
behavior and societal support. As per these frameworks, if teenagers tend to have a weaker family relationship with their
demand is considered unapproachable and resources are lacking, parents than non-depressed teenagers.
confronted stress and interrelated adverse effects will be high, There are two types of family risk factors, soft and hard.
conceivably giving birth to difficulties in an adjustment like Hard factors are encountered in families with a weak family
mental instability. Stress triggering situations and the resources building structure, parents are little to no educated at all, and
in the educational area led to excessive workload, abilities, and of course, the family status (economically). Several studies have
study and enhanced time managing skills. proved that students of hard risk factors are more likely to
Sketching the overall evaluation frameworks, Pancer et al. encounter depression. Firstly, students from broken families
(40) established their framework to exhibit the constructive and have low confidence in every aspect of life, and they are weak
damaging adjustment results for the university students dealing at handling emotional breakdowns compared to students from
with the academic challenges. They stated that while students complete and happy families (55–57). Secondly, the university
enroll in the university, they evaluate all the stress-related factors students born in educated families, especially mothers (at least
that students confront. They consider them manageable as long a college degree or higher degree), are less likely to confront
as they have sufficient resources. On the other hand, if the depression than the university students born in families with little
available resources do not match the stress factors, it will surely to no educated families. Secondly, children born with educated
result in a negative relationship, which will lead students to mothers or mothers who at least have a college degree tend to be
experience depression for sure. Based on the given arguments, less depressive than the children of less-educated mothers (58).
the researcher formulates the following hypothesis: However, Parker et al. and Mahmood et al. (59, 60) stated a strong
relationship between depression and mothers with low literacy
H1: Increased academic stress results in increased depression
levels.
levels in students.
On the other hand, Chang et al. (46) couldn’t prove the
authentication of this relationship in university students. Thirdly,
Family Stress and Students’ Depression university students who belong to lower class families tend
Levels to have more unstable mental states and are more likely to
According to Topuzoglu et al. (42), 3% to 16.9% of individuals witness depression than middle or upper-class families (61).
are affected by depression worldwide. There are fewer chances for Jadoon et al. and Abbas et al. (62, 63) said that there is no
general people to confront depression than university students link between depression and economic status. Their irrelevance
(43, 44). In Mirza et al.’s (45) study, 1/3 of students encounter can be because medical students often come from educated and
stress and depression (a subjective mean occurrence of 30.6%) of wealthy families and know their jobs are guaranteed as soon
all participant students, which suggests students have a 9% higher as they graduate. Therefore, the relationship between the hard
rate of experiencing depression than general people. Depression family environment and depression can be known by targeting
can destroy life; it greatly impacts living a balanced life. It can a huge audience, and there are several factors to consider while
impact students’ personal and social relationships, educational gauging this relationship.
efficiency, quality of life, affecting their social and family The soft family environment is divided into clear factors
relationships, academic productivity, and bodily operations (46, (parenting style example, family guidelines, rules, the parent with
47). This declines their abilities, and they get demotivated to academic knowledge, etc.) and implied factors (family norm,
learn new things, resulting in unsatisfactory performances, and parent-child relationship, communication within the family,
it can even result in university dropouts (48). Depression is a etc.). The soft factor is the key factor within the family that
continuous substantial risk aspect for committing suicide for cannot be neglected while studying the teenagers’ mental state
university students (49); thus, it is obliged to discover the factors or depression. Families make microsystems within the families,
that can give rise to students’ depression. and families are the reason to build and maintain dysfunctional
Seventy-five percentage of students in China of an behavior by multiple functional procedures (64). Amongst the
intermediate school are lucky enough to enroll in higher soft family environmental factors, consistency and struggles can
education. The more students pursue higher education, the more be helpful while forecasting the mental health of teenagers.
they upsurge for depression (in 2002, the depression rate was The youth of broken families, family conflict, weak family
5 to 10%, 2011 it rises 24 to 38%) (5). Generally, University relationships, and marital issues, especially unhappy married life,

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Deng et al. Stress, Depression, and Academic Learning

are major factors for youth depression (65). Ruchkin et al. (66) further concluded, it was verified depression is an independent
stated that African Americans usually have weak family bonding, factor (80). Likewise, students suffering from depression score
and their teenagers suffer from depression even when controlling poor grades, but this relationship vanished if their depression
for source bias. Whereas, few researchers have stated, family unity got treated. Apart from confidence breaking, depression is a
is the most serious factor while foreseeing teenagers’ depression. big failure for their academic life. Students with depression
Eaton noted that extreme broken family expressions might hurt symptoms bunk more classes, assessments, and assignments.
emotionality and emotional regulation (67, 68). They drop courses if they find them challenging than non-
Social circle is also considered while studying depression in depressed peers, and they are more likely to drop out of university
teenagers (69–71). The traditional Pakistani culture emphasizes completely (81). Students suffering from depression can become
collectivism and peace and focuses on blood relations and ruthless, ultimately affecting their educational performance and
sensitive sentiments. Adolescents with this type of culture opt to making them moody (82).
get inspired by family, but students who live in hostels or share However, it has been stated that the association between
the room with other students lose this family inspiration. This anxiety and educational performance is even worse and
transformation can be a big risk to encounter depression (72). ambiguous. At the same time, some comprehensive research has
Furthermore, in Pakistan securing employment is a big concern noted that the greater the anxiousness, the greater the student’s
for university students. If they want a good job in the future, performance. On the other hand, few types of research have
they have to score good grades and maintain GPA from the shown results where there is no apparent relationship between
beginning. They have to face different challenges all at once, like anxiety and poorer academic grades (83). Ironically, few studies
aggressive educational competition, relationships with peers and have proposed that a higher anxiety level may improve academic
family, and of course the biggest employment stress all alone. The performance (84, 85). Current research by Khan et al. (86) on
only source for coping with these pressures is the family that can the undergraduate medical students stated that even though the
be helpful for fundings. If the students do not get ample support high occurrence of huge depression between the students, the
the chances are of extreme depression. The following hypothesis students GPA is unharmed. Therefore, based on given differences
is suggested: in various research findings, this research is supposed to find
a more specific and clear answer to the shared relationship
H2: Increased family stress level results in increased
between students’ depression levels and academic performance.
depression levels in students.
Based on the given arguments, the researcher formulates the
following hypothesis:
Students’ Depression Levels and Students’
H3: Students’ depression level has a significant negative effect
Academic Performance
on their academic performance.
University students denote many people experiencing a crucial
conversion from teenagers to adulthood: a time that is generally
considered the most traumatic time in one’s (73). This then METHODOLOGY
gets accumulated with other challenges like changes in social
circle and exams tension, which possibly puts students’ mental Target Population and Sampling Procedure
health at stake. It has been concluded that one-third of students The target audience of this study contains all male and female
experience moderate to severe depression in their entire student students studying in the public, private, or semi-government
life (74). This is the rate that can be increased compared to higher education institutions located in Rawalpindi/Islamabad.
the general people (75, 76). Students with limited social-class The researchers collected data from undergraduate and
resources tend to be more helpless. Additionally, depressed postgraduate students from the management sciences,
students in attainable-focused environments (for instance, higher engineering, and computer science departments. The sampling
academic institutes) are likely to score lower grades with a technique which has been used is the non-probability sampling
sense of failure and more insufficient self-assurance because they technique. A questionnaire was given to the students, and they
consider themselves failures, find the world unfair, and have were requested to fill it and give their opinion independently.
future uncertainties. Furthermore, students with low self-esteem The questionnaire is based on five points Likert scale.
are rigid to take on challenging assignments and projects, hence However, stress and depression are the most common issue
they are damaging their educational career (77). among the students, which affects their learning outcomes
Depression can be defined as a blend of physical, mental, adversely. A non-probability sampling technique gathered the
bodily processes, and benightedness which can make themselves data from February 2020 to May 2020. The total questionnaires
obvious by symptoms like, for example, poor sleep schedule, distributed among students were 220, and 186 responses were
lack of concentration, ill thoughts, and state of remorse (78, useful. Of which 119 respondents were females, 66 males, and 1
79). But, even after such a huge number of depressions in preferred not to disclose. See Table 1 for detailed demographic
students and the poor academic system, research has not explored information of respondents.
the effect of depression on educational performance. A study
has shown that the relationship between emotional stability Measurement Scales
and academic performance in university students and financial We have divided this instrument into two portions. In the first
status directly results in poor exam performance. As the study section, there is demographic information of respondents. The

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Deng et al. Stress, Depression, and Academic Learning

TABLE 1 | Respondent’s demographic profile. TABLE 2 | Instrument reliability and validity.

Particulars Description Values Percentage Variable No. of Factor loading Compositea AVEb
items reliability
Total received responses Public 36 19.35%
Private 117 62.90% Academic stress 3 0.818–0.941 0.863 0.698

Semi-government 33 17.74% Family stress 3 0.852–0.897 0.778 0.721

Gender Male 66 35.48% Student’s depression 4 0.776–0.921 0.897 0.685

level
Female 119 63.97%
Student’s academic 4 0.779–0.918 0.914 0.693
Prefer not to disclose 1 0.54%
performance
Age Less than 20 29 15.59%
a Composite reliability should be > 0.7 (96).
21–30 146 78.49%
b The average variance extracted (AVE) value should also be > 0.5 (96).
31–40 11 5.91%
Qualification Undergraduates 116 62.36%
Postgraduates 70 37.63% TABLE 3 | Discriminant validity analysis.
Degree Program Management sciences 68 36.55%
Engineering 8 4.30% Variable Acd. Strs Fam. Strs Std.Dep. Lev Std. Acd. Perf
Computer science 21 11.29%
Acd. Strs 0.835
Others 89 47.84%
Fam. Strs 0.543 0.849
Semester 1st year 23 12.36%
Std. Dep. Lev 0.622 0.583 0.827
2nd year 40 21.50%
rd
Std. Acd. Perf 0.623 0.629 0.579 0.832
3 year 37 19.89%
th
4 year 48 25.80% Acd. Strs, Academic Stress; Fam. Strs, Family Stress; Std. Dep. Lev, Student’s
Depression Level; Std. Acd. Perf, Student’s Academic Performance.
More than 4th year 38 20.43%

does not influence the CMB. Therefore, we can say that there is
second section includes 14 items based on family stress, academic no issue with CMB. Considering the above results are adequate
stress, students’ depression levels, and students’ academic among the measurement and structural model, we ensure that
performance. Academic and family stress were measured by 3 the data is valued enough to analyze the relation.
item scale for each construct, and students’ depression level and
academic performance were measured by 4 item scale for each Assessment of the Measurement and
separate construct. The five-point Likert scale is used to measure Structural Model
the items, in which one signifies strongly disagree (S.D), second The association between the manifest factors and their
signifies disagree (D.A), third signifies neither agree nor disagree elements is examined by measuring model and verified by
(N), fourth signifies agree (A.G), and the fifth signifies strongly the Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA). CFA guarantees
agree (S.A). The questionnaire has been taken from Gold Berg legitimacy and the unidimensional of the measurement model
(87), which is modified and used in the given questionnaire. (93). Peterson (94) stated that the least required, i.e., 0.8 for the
measurement model, fully complies with its Cronbach’s alpha
DATA ANALYSIS AND RESULTS value, i.e., 0.802. Therefore, it can confidently be deduced that
this measurement model holds satisfactory reliability. As for the
The researchers used the SEM technique to determine psychological legitimacy can be analyzed through factor loading,
the correlation between stress, depression, and academic where the ideal loading is above 0.6 for already established items
performance. According to Prajogo and Cooper (88), it can (95). Also, according to the recommendation of Molina et al.
remove biased effects triggered by the measurement faults and (96), the minimum value of the average variance extracted (AVE)
shape a hierarchy of latent constructs. SPSS v.23 and AMOS v.23 for all results is supposed to be >0.5. Table 2 gives detail of the
have been used to analyze the collected data. Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin variables and their quantity of things, factor loading, merged
test is used to test the competence of the sample. The value consistency, and AVE values.
obtained is 0.868, which fulfills the Kaiser et al. (89), a minimum A discriminant validity test was performed to ensure the
requirement of 0.6. The multicollinearity factor was analyzed empirical difference of all constructs. For this, it was proposed
through the variance inflation factor (VIF). It shows the value by Fornell and Larcker (97) that the variance of the results
of 3.648 and meets the requirement of Hair et al. (90), which is is supposed to be greater than other constructs. The second
< 4. It also indicates the absence of multicollinearity. According indicator of discriminant validity is that the square root values
to Schwarz et al. (91), common method bias (CMB) is quite of AVE have a greater correlation between the two indicators.
complex in quantitative studies. Harman’s test of a single factor Hair et al. (90) suggested that the correlation between the pair
has been used to analyze CMB. The result obtained for the single of predictor variables should not be higher than 0.9. Table 3
factor is 38.63%. As stated by Podsakoff et al. (92), if any of the shows that discriminant validity recommended by Hair et al.
factors gives value < 50% of the total variance, it is adequate and (90) and Fornell and Larcker (97) was proved clearly that both

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Deng et al. Stress, Depression, and Academic Learning

TABLE 4 | Analysis of measurement and structural model. TABLE 5 | Examining the hypotheses.

The goodness CMIN/DF NFI GFI AGFI CFI TLI RMSEA SRMR Hypothesis Constructs Estimate Critical p-value Decision
of fit measures ratio

Recommended ≤3a ≥0.9b ≥0.9b ≥0.9b ≥0.9b ≥0.9b ≤0.08c ≤0.08d H1 Acd. Strs→ Std. 0.201 2.021 0.039* Accepted
value Dev. Lev
Measurement 1.898 0.9 0.91 0.914 0.91 0.91 0.049 0.0596 H2 Fam. Strs→ Std. 0.358 3.997 0.001* Accepted
model Dep. Lev
Structural model 1.986 0.91 0.91 0.918 0.92 0.92 0.052 0.0616 H3 Std. Dep. Lev→ Std. −0.319 −3.402 0.001* Accepted
Acd. Perf
a (100). b (103, 104). c (101). d (102).
*Acd. Strs, Academic Stress; Fam. Strs, Family Stress; Std. Dep. Lev, Students’
Depression Level; Std. Acd. Perf, Student’s Academic Performance.
conditions are fulfilled and indicates that the constructs have *The value of p should be p* ≤ 0.05.
adequate discriminant validity.
Kaynak (98) described seven indicators that ensure that TABLE 6 | Description of items, mean, and standard deviation.
the measurement model fits correctly. These indicators include
standardized root mean squared residual (SRMR), root means a Items Mean Standard
deviation
square error of approximation (RMSEA), comparative fit index
(CFI), normative fit index (NFI), adjusted goodness of fit index Mental health has a valuable impact on students’ 3.26 1.752
(AGFI), the goodness of fit index (GFI) and chi-square to a degree academic learning.
of freedom (x2 /DF). Tucker-Lewis’s index (TLI) is also included Academic pressure leads to stress in students’ life. 3.25 1.530
to ensure the measurement and structural model’s fitness. In the I have difficulty in understanding basic concepts. 2.95 1.272
measurement model, the obtained result shows that the value of I have to revise the things again and again to 3.14 1.352
x2 /DF is 1.898, which should be lower than 2 suggested by Byrne develop an understanding.
(99), and this value also meets the requirement of Bagozzi and I have lost interest in academic aspects that used to 2.83 1.351
Yi (100), i.e., <3. The RMSEA has the value 0.049, which fully be important for me.
meets the requirement of 0.08, as stated by Browne and Cudeck Family issues leads to stress in students’ life. 3.37 1.504
(101). Furthermore, the SRMR acquired value is 0.0596, which Because of family issues I cannot concentrate on 3.19 1.468
my studies.
assemble with the required need of < 0.1 by Hu and Bentler (102).
Moreover, according to Bentler and Bonett (103), McDonald and I am not able to sleep properly because of family 3.02 1.424
issues.
Marsh (104), and Bagozzi and Yi (100), the ideal value is 0.9, and
Depression negatively affects a student’s motivation 3.37 1.405
the values obtained from NFI, GFI, AGFI, CFI, and TLI are above to learn.
the ideal value.
Unfair treatment by teachers causes academic 3.12 1.620
Afterward, the structural model was analyzed and achieved depression in students.
the findings, which give the value of x2 /DF 1.986. According Depression has negatively affected my learning 2.99 1.280
to Browne and Cudeck (101), the RMSEA value should not capabilities.
be greater than 0.08, and the obtained value of RMSEA is Depression has negatively affected my academic 3.19 1.201
0.052, which meets the requirement perfectly. The minimum grades.
requirement of Hu and Bentler (102) should be <0.1, for the Sometimes I don’t see value in my life. 2.96 1.398
structural model fully complies with the SRMR value 0.0616. I feel depressed in the class. 2.91 1.310
According to a recommendation of McDonald and Marsh (104)
and Bagozzi and Yi (100), the ideal value must be up to 0.9, students’ depression level (Std. Dep. Lev). However, the student’s
and Table 4 also shows that the values of NFI, GFI, AGFI, CFI, depression level (Std. Dep. Lev) also has a significant negative
and TLI, which are above than the ideal value and meets the effect on their academic performance (Std. Acd. Perf) with
requirement. The above results show that both the measurement the values of β = −0.319 and p = 0.001. Therefore, the
and structural models are ideally satisfied with the requirements results supported the following hypotheses H1 , H2 , and H3 . The
and the collected data fits correctly. sub-hypotheses analysis shows that the results are statistically
significant and accepted. In Table 5, the details of the sub-
Testing of Hypotheses hypotheses and the principals are explained precisely. Please see
The SEM technique is used to examine the hypotheses. Each Table 6 to review items with their mean and standard deviation
structural parameter goes along with the hypothesis. The values. Moreover, Figure 2 represents the structural model.
academic stress (Acd. Strs) with the value β = 0.293 while the
p-value is 0.003. These outcomes show a significant positive DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION
relationship between academic stress (Acd. Strs) and students’
depression levels (Std. Dep. Lev). With the β = 0.358 and These findings add to our knowledge of how teenage depression
p = 0.001 values, the data analysis discloses that the family is predicted by academic and familial stress, leading to poor
stress (Fam. Strs) has a significant positive effect on the academic performance, and they have practical implications for

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Deng et al. Stress, Depression, and Academic Learning

FIGURE 2 | Structural model.

preventative and intervention programs to safeguard adolescents’ students with high academic stress. Similary, Kokou-Kpolou et al.
mental health in the school context. The outcomes imply that (107) confirmed that university students in France have a high
extended academic stress positively impacts students’ depression prevalence of depressive symptoms. They also confirm that socio-
levels with a β of 0.293 and a p-value sof 0.003. However, demographic factors and perceived stress play a predictive role
according to Wang et al. (5), a higher level of academic stress in depressive symptoms among university students. As a result,
is linked to a larger level of school burnout, which leads academic stress has spread across all countries, civilizations, and
to a higher degree of depression. Satinsky et al. (105) also ethnic groups. Academic stress continues to be a serious problem
claimed that university officials and mental health specialists impacting a student’s mental health and well-being, according to
have expressed worry about depression and anxiety among Ph.D. the findings of this study.
students, and that his research indicated that depression and With the β = 0.358 and p = 0.001 values, the data analysis
anxiety are quite common among Ph.D. students. Deb et al. discloses that the family stress (Fam. Strs) has a significant
(106) found the same results and concluded that depression, positive effect on the students’ depression level (Std. Dep. Lev).
anxiety, behavioral difficulties, irritability, and other issues are Aleksic (108) observed similar findings and concluded that
common among students who are under a lot of academic stress. many and complicated concerns of personal traits, as well as
Similarly, Kokou-Kpolou et al. (107) revealed that depressive both home and school contexts, are risk factors for teenage
symptoms are common among university students in France. depression. Similarly, Wang et al. (109) indicated that, among
They also demonstrate that socioeconomic and demographic the possible risk factors for depression, family relationships
characteristics have a role. need special consideration since elements like parenting styles
However, Wang et al. (5) asserted that a higher level of and family dynamics influence how children grow. Family
academic stress is associated with a higher level of school variables influence the onset, maintenance, and course of
burnout, which in return, leads to a higher level of depression. juvenile depression, according to another study (110). Depressed
Furthermore, Satinsky et al. (105) also reported that university adolescents are more likely than normal teenagers to have bad
administrators and mental health clinicians have raised concerns family and parent–child connections.
about depression and anxiety and concluded in his research Conversely, students’ depression level has a significantly
that depression and anxiety are highly prevalent among Ph.D. negative impact on their academic performance with β and
students. Deb et al. (106) also reported the same results p-values of −0.319 and 0.001. According (111), anxiety
and concluded that Depression, anxiety, behavioral problems, and melancholy have a negative influence on a student’s
irritability, etc. are few of the many problems reported in academic performance. Adolescents and young adults suffer from

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Deng et al. Stress, Depression, and Academic Learning

depression, which is a common and dangerous mental illness. It’s Stress and depression, on the other hand, may be managed
linked to an increase in family issues, school failure, especially with good therapy, teacher direction, and family support. The
among teenagers, suicide, drug addiction, and absenteeism. outcomes of this study provide an opportunity for academic
While the transition to adulthood is a high-risk period for institutions to address students’ psychological well-being and
depression in general (5), young people starting college may face requirements. Emotional well-being support services for students
extra social and intellectual challenges that increase their risk at Pakistan’s higher education institutions are lacking in
of melancholy, anxiety, and stress (112). Students’ high rates of many of these institutions, which place a low priority on
depression, anxiety, and stress have serious consequences. Not the psychological requirements of these students. As a result,
only may psychological morbidity have a negative impact on a initiatives that consistently monitor and enhance kids’ mental
student’s academic performance and quality of life, but it may health are critical. Furthermore, stress-reduction treatments such
also disturb family and institutional life (107). Therefore, long- as biofeedback, yoga, life-skills training, mindfulness meditation,
term untreated depression, anxiety, or stress can have a negative and psychotherapy have been demonstrated to be useful among
influence on people’s ability to operate and produce, posing a students. Professionals in the sector would be able to adapt
public health risk (113). interventions for pupils by understanding the sources from
many spheres.
Theoretical Implications Counseling clinics should be established at colleges to teach
The current study makes various contributions to the existing students about stress and sadness. Counselors should instill
literature on servant leadership. Firstly, it enriches the limited in pupils the importance of positive conduct and decision-
literature on the role of family and academic stress and making. The administration of the school should work to create a
their impact on students’ depression levels. Although, a good and safe atmosphere. Furthermore, teachers should assume
few studies have investigated stress and depression and responsibility for assisting and guiding sad pupils, since this
its impact on Students’ academic performance (14, 114), will aid in their learning and performance. Support from family
however, their background i.e., family and institutions are members might also help you get through difficult times.
largely ignored. Furthermore, these findings support the importance of the
Secondly, it explains how the depression level impacts home environment as a source of depression risk factors among
students’ academic learning, specifically in the Asian developing university students, implying that family-based treatments
countries region. Though a substantial body of empirical research and improvements are critical in reducing depression among
has been produced in the last decade on the relationship university students.
between students’ depression levels and its impact on their
academic achievements, however, the studies conducted in the Limitations and Future Research
Pakistani context are scarce (111, 115). Thus, this study adds Implications
further evidence to prior studies conducted in different cultural The current study has a few limitations. The researcher gathered
contexts and validates the assumption that family and academic data from the higher education level of university students
stress are key sources depression and anxiety among students studying in Islamabad and Rawalpindi institutions. In the
which can lead toward their low academic grades and their future, researchers are required to widen their region and
overall performance. gather information from other cities of Pakistan, for instance,
This argument is in line with our proposed theory in the Lahore, Karachi, etc. Another weakness of the study is that
current research i.e., cognitive appraisal theory which was it is cross-sectional in nature. We need to do longitudinal
presented in 1966 by psychologist Richard Lazarus. Lazarus’s research in the future to authoritatively assert the cause-and-
theory is called the appraisal theory of stress, or the transactional effect link between academic and familial stress and their
theory of stress because the way a person appraises the situation effects on students’ academic performance since cross-sectional
affects how they feel about it and consequently it’s going to affect studies cannot establish significant cause and effect relationships.
his overall quality of life. In line with the theory, it suggests Finally, the study’s relatively small sample size is a significant
that events are not good or bad, but the way we think about weakness. Due to time and budget constraints, it appears that the
them is positive or negative, and therefore has an impact on our capacity to perform in-depth research of all firms in Pakistan’s
stress levels. pharmaceutical business has been limited. Even though the
findings are substantial and meaningful, the small sample size
Practical Implications is predicted to limit generalizability and statistical power. This
According to the findings of this study, high levels of depressive problem can be properly solved by increasing the size of the
symptoms among college students should be brought to the sample by the researchers, in future researches.
attention of relevant departments. To prevent college student
depression, relevant departments should improve the study and
life environment for students, try to reduce the generation of DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT
negative life events, provide adequate social support for students,
and improve their cognitive and coping capacities to improve The raw data supporting the conclusions of this article will be
their mental qualities. made available by the authors, without undue reservation.

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Deng et al. Stress, Depression, and Academic Learning

ETHICS STATEMENT FUNDING

Ethical review and approval was not required for the This work was funded by the 2020 Heilongjiang Province
study on human participants in accordance with the Philosophy and Social Science Research Planning Project on
local legislation and institutional requirements. Written Civic and Political Science in Universities (Grant No. 20SZB01).
informed consent for participation was not required for this This work is supported by the Scientific Grant Agency of
study in accordance with the national legislation and the the Ministry of Education, Science, Research, and Sport of
institutional requirements. the Slovak Republic and the Slovak Academy Sciences as part
of the research project VEGA 1/0797/20: Quantification of
Environmental Burden Impacts of the Slovak Regions on Health,
AUTHOR CONTRIBUTIONS Social and Economic System of the Slovak Republic.

All authors contributed to conceptualization, formal analysis, ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

investigation, methodology, writing and editing of the original
draft, and read and agreed to the published version of Authors would like to thank all persons who directly or indirectly
the manuscript. participated in the completion of this manuscript.

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