Academic-related stressors predict depressive symptoms in graduate students: A machine learning study.

Background: Graduate students face higher depression rates worldwide, which were further exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study employed a machine learning approach to predict depressive symptoms using academic-related stressors.

Methods: We surveyed students across four graduate programs at a Federal University in Brazil between October 15, 2021, and March 26, 2022, when most activities were restricted to taking place online due to the pandemic.