Gendered Patterns of Psychological Distress among STEM and Humanities Undergraduate Students in India: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background: Psychological distress among undergraduate students in India has become an important concern for public health and mental well-being in India, more importantly in the school-to-college transition. Undergraduate students navigating late adolescence (ages 17–19 years) face increasing academic, social and identity related stressors that deepen vulnerability to get affected by the psychological depression, anxiety and stress. In spite of the increasing global evidence, disciplinary and gender-based differences in psychological distress remains a worrying topic within the Indian higher education context. Objective: This study primarily focused on studying the frequency and gravity of psychological distress among first year undergraduate students in India. This was achieved by comparing students who are pursuing STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics) Vs Humanities disciplines. It also tried to highlight gender variances in depression, anxiety and stress symptom gravity. Methods: Study relied on cross-sectional survey design with a sample of 200 first-year undergraduate students (ages 17–19 years; 50% male, 50% female; 56% STEM, 44% Humanities) selected from colleges/universities in Lucknow, India. Psychological distress was measured using Depression Anxiety Stress Scale - 21 (DASS-21), which is a validated self-report psychological instrument with an established psychometric property (α = .85). Results: STEM students reported meaningful higher levels of depression in relation to Humanities students, conforming with the competitive and high pressure impact of technical academic environments. On the other hand, Humanities students reported greater anxiety, possibly pointing out career uncertainty and lower perceived social status. Female students exhibited pointedly higher distress across all three sub-scales compared to male students, irrespective of their academic discipline. No significant relationship was found between gender and stream, indicating that gender disparities in distress are consistent with both academic streams. Conclusion: The findings of the study confirm the need for discipline specific and gender sensitive mental wellbeing participation within all Indian undergraduate institutions. Educational policy makers, counselors and stakeholders should prioritise targeted support procedures during the critical transition to college life to alleviate psychological distress among high risk student groups.