Mental Health Challenges and Their Impact on the Academic Performance of Undergraduate Social Work Students in Bangladesh: A Cross- Sectional Study

Abstract

Background: Depression, anxiety, and stress can interfere with concentration, attendance, motivation, assignment completion, and academic persistence. Evidence on undergraduate social work students in Bangladesh is limited. Objective: This analytical manuscript demonstrates the feasibility of using a well-designed cross-sectional study to assess mental health problems and their associations with school performance. Methods: A dataset of 425 cases was created to reflect stratified sampling of 85 undergraduate social work students from each of 5 public universities. Demographic, socioeconomic, academic, lifestyle, support, field placement, help-seeking, and 21 DASS item codes were included. Descriptive statistics, Cronbach's alpha, chi-square tests, correlation, analysis of variance, multiple linear regression, and logistic regression were used. Internal consistency was acceptable to excellent for all DASS-21 subscales: depression α=.807; anxiety α=.788; stress α=.831; and full DASS-21 α=.926. Results: Prevalence of moderate or higher levels was 51.3% for depression, 57.4% for anxiety, 29.4% for stress, and 46.5% for the full DASS-21. CGPA correlated negatively with depression (r=-.353), anxiety (r=-.376), and stress (r=-.331), all p<.001. The adjusted models also showed that higher symptom scores were associated with lower CGPA and a higher risk of academic functioning. Conclusion: The analysis shows consistency in study and reporting.