title: Efficacy of behavioral intervention in reducing anxiety and depression among medical students.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Now a days, college students frequently have more complex problems than they used to have over a decade ago - greater difficulties in relationships; and more severe problems, such as depression, anxiety and thoughts of suicide. Counseling helps students to understand themselves and the world around them, and to adjust themselves more efficiently and appropriately to other fellow beings.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To determine as to what extent the medical students were able to cope up with their anxiety and depression with the help of counseling.
  
  
  METHODS
  In the experimental design 'Before-and -after with control design', Beck Anxiety Inventory and Beck Depression Inventory were administered to 120 medical students who were randomly selected from a private medical college, comprising of 30 males and 30 females in each of the two groups, viz., the experimental group and the control group.
  
  
  METHODS
  Means, standard deviations, t test and one-way ANOVA were used to analyze the data.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Anxiety and depression among the students were found to be reduced after counseling. Male and female students in the experimental group showed decrease in the levels of anxiety and depression; whereas the control group, which did not get the benefit of counseling, continued to have the same levels of anxiety and depression.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Counseling is helpful in building self-confidence and the capacity to adjust, by reducing anxiety and depression among medical college students.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Bharathiar University, Coimbatore, India.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Velayudhan
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gayatridevi
authors.forename: Rita Rani
authors.initials: RR
authors.lastname: Bhattacharjee