Influence of Students’ Year of Study on Financial Stress, Anxiety, and Depression among Economics Education Undergraduate Students in South-east Federal Universities

Abstract

Financial challenges have been identified as a cause of stress, anxiety, and
depression. Finance-induced stress, anxiety, and depression among
undergraduate students could differ based on their years of study. This study,
therefore, looked into the influence of years of study on financial stress, anxiety,
and depression among Economics education undergraduate students. The
study employed an ex post facto design. The study population consisted of
1,116 undergraduate students in Economics education from public universities
in the South-East region. The sample size of 286 respondents was obtained
using the Raosoft sample size calculator and selected using a multi -stage
sampling technique. Three hypotheses guided the study. Data was collected
using the Students’ Financial Stress Anxiety and Depression Scale (FSADS). The
instrument was validated by three lecturers from the University of Nigeria,
Nsukka. Cronbach’s alpha reliability estimates of the instruments were 0.92,
0.90, and 0.94 for stress, anxiety, and depression respectively, and 0.96 for the
entire instrument. The hypotheses were tested using ANOVA at significance
level of 0.05. The findings showed that high financial stress, moderate financial
anxiety, and moderate finance-induced stress were observed among the
students. However, students’ years of study did not significantly influence
financial stress, anxiety, and depression. It was recommended that university
management while reviewing the school fees and other levies paid by students
should consider all students irrespective of their year of study. This is because
the levels of financial stress, anxiety, and depression were similar in all years of
study.