Brief Report: Contextualizing University Students’ Depressive Symptoms: History, Continuity, Stability, and Risk

University students’ self-reported depressive symptoms may represent different experiences for different students. Two groups of undergraduate students (M age = 21.05, SD = 1.76) whose self-reported depressive symptoms were elevated completed an in-person clinical interview. Half of the participants (n = 30) had experienced major depression and the other half had not (n = 29). Students with a history of major depression showed greater continuity and stability in symptoms and greater risk for depression compared with students with no history of major depression. The groups did not differ on reports of perceived stress associated with academic demands.