Anxiety, Depression, Physical Activity and Quality of Life in Student Physical Therapists: A Cross-sectional Study

Figen Koçyiğit^1, , Emel Dikbas Torun² and Ümmuhan Bas Aslan¹

¹Pamukkale University, School of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation, Denizli, Turkey

²Pamukkale University, Faculty of Communication, Denizli, Turkey

Cite this paper:
Figen Koçyiğit, Emel Dikbas Torun and Ümmuhan Bas Aslan. Anxiety, Depression, Physical Activity and Quality of Life in Student Physical Therapists: A Cross-sectional Study. American Journal of Educational Research. 2015; 3(10A):26-29. doi: 10.12691/education-3-10A-4

Abstract

Background: Psychological well-being among college students around the world is a current research topic. Despite various number of studies focusing on students who are trained for being a health care specialist, there are no reports on psychological disordes of student physical therapists. The objective of this study is to determine the prevalence of depression and anxiety among student physical therapists and to analyse any possible effects of different parameters on depression and anxiety. Methodology/Principal findings: 158 garad 2and grade3 students were enrolled in the study. Beck’s depression inventory (BDI), Beck’s anxiety inentory (BAI), Nottingham Health Profile (NHP), International Physical activity Questionnnaire (IPAQ) were used as evaluation measures. The mean age of the participants were 21.8±1.5 years. 18.9% of the students (n=30) had mild, moderate or severe depression. 40.5% of the students (n=64) had mild, moderate or severe anxiety. Only 10.8% of the participants (n=17) were inactive according to IPAQ scores. Female gender was correlated with higher BAI scores. Academic grade was not correlated with evaluation scores. Conclusions: The prevalence of anxiety and depression in student physical therapists was high, similar to the other health care professionals. These psychological disorders could influence the academic attainment. Therefore preventive measures and coping strategies may be implemented as an integral part college education.

Keywords:
health occupations student gender role anxiety depresion academic grade

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