Depression, Subjective Well-Being and Individual Aspirations of College Students by Zsuzsa, Margitics, Ferenc Pauwlik

The sub-clinical depression syndrome refers to an emotionally negative state which significantly influences level of achievement and quality of life, but which cannot be yet classified as an illness. Based on the seriousness of the symptoms, it can be measured on different scales of depression as mild or moderate. One of the aims of the research was to find out what characterises the state of mind of college students, whether the hopelessness, despondency and sub-clinical depressive mood are also typical of them. The other aim of the research was to examine and discover in their complexity those factors which have a role in the development of sub-clinical syndrome. The authors approach the factors responsible for the development of the sub-clinical syndrome in their complexity, taking into account the biological, psychic, and social relations, as well. Beyond revealing the background factors of sub-clinical depressive syndromes the authors were also interested in what the subjective well-being of college students was like and what individual aspirations were typical of them.