Are symptoms of depression and anxiety in nursing students associated with their sociodemographic characteristics

ABSTRACT Objective: to investigate symptoms of depression and anxiety and their association with the sociodemographic characteristics of undergraduate nursing students. Methods: a cross-sectional analytical study carried out with students from the Faculty of Nursing at Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora from June to July 019. Data were collected through a sociodemographic questionnaire and the Beck Depression and Anxiety Inventories. Results: 192 students participated, with a mean age of 21.44 (±3.56) years. 85.93% of participants were female. The mean depression score was 22.40 (±12.35), and anxiety was 17.56 (±11.98). There was a difference in the mean of the scales for sex and psychotropic drugs (p<0.05). Women presented moderate and severe classification for both scales. Severe symptoms prevailed among students from the 6th to the 10th semester (18.22%). Conclusion: there was an association between depression and anxiety symptoms related to gender and psychotropic drugs.