In their attempts to receive education and get a variety of academic and job opportunities in the future, students face certain psychological and social problems. According to Horowitz and Graf (2019), about seven-in-ten American teens suffer from anxiety and depression and regard these conditions as their major problems. There are many reasons for the identified mental health concerns, and prejudice or discrimination could be on this list. Taking into consideration such factors as the number of students with anxiety and depression and the effects of these problems on human health and development, this topic has to be explored further within the frames of the scientific method.
The hypothesis of the offered project will be as follows: “Prejudice and discrimination will lead to a decrease in anxiety and depression symptoms among American college students”. The expected variables should include the causes (prejudice and discrimination) in the form of common phrases or behaviors and the outcomes (anxiety and depression symptoms) in the form of test results and evaluations. Questionnaires will be used to gather information from participants and measure the results.
Explanations should cover several research areas, including social, clinical, and developmental psychology. However, the closest fit is social psychology because it studies the ways people think, feel, and behave (Newman, 2016). The decision to work within this field is explained by the necessity to focus on internal and external factors of human behaviors. College students are exposed to different irritants and opportunities, and their choices are usually free and unique. Anxiety and depression are the disorders that influence human development, and as soon as prejudice and discrimination are proved to be their potential causes, new treatment methods and behavioral interventions could be offered.
References
Horowitz, J. M., & Graf, N. (2019). Most U.S. teens see anxiety and depression as a major problem among their peers. Web.
Newman, M. (2016). Research methods in psychology (2nd ed.). San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education.