Psychological distress, particularly depression, consistently predicted poorer academic outcomes among university students across the reviewed literature¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · review r2 · q2
Currency · newest study 2026 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i? Across contexts, psychological distress, particularly depression, was consistently associated with poorer academic outcomes, including a dose-response pattern between depression severity and academic progression delay. → Zhandire 2026

Evidence¶

Zhandire 2026¶

Zhandire, T. T., Bakare-Fatungase, O. D., & Mkhize, N. (2026). Mental health, resilience, and academic outcomes among university students: a global scoping review with particular attention to African and Global South contexts. BMC Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-026-05242-6

q2 · i? · review · r2

The scoping review's thematic synthesis of empirical studies (RQ3) reports this negative relationship across contexts, citing a large South African study where "increasing depression severity associated with greater risk of academic progression delay"; no pooled effect size is printed.

"A consistent negative relationship between psychological distress and academic outcomes was identified across contexts. A large South African study (N = 5,912) identified a dose-response relationship between depression and academic outcomes, with increasing depression severity associated with greater risk of academic progression delay"

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

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