A Classification of lethargy and its characteristics in undergraduates: From the viewpoint of student apathy and depression

Abstract

The purposes of the present study were to examine the possibility of classifying undergraduates' lethargy into two types: student apathy lethargy and depressive lethargy, and to discuss characteristics of those two types of lethargy. A longitudinal survey study was conducted in which the Passivity Area Scale, the Depressive Mood Scale, and the negative rumination and analytic rumination scales from the Response Styles Questionnaire were completed 3 times by undergraduates. The original sample was 339 students (useable data were obtained from 324), but this was reduced to 155 students (87 men, 68 women) by the time of the third measurement. The results suggested that the lethargic undergraduates could be classified into a cluster that was accompanied by continuous depression ("Depressive Lethargy Cluster"), and a cluster that was not accompanied by continuous depression ("Student Apathy Lethargy Cluster"). In addition, the negative and analytic rumination scores were found to be high in the Depressive Lethargy Cluster, and low in the Student Apathy Lethargy Cluster. The present results suggest the usefulness of classifying undergraduates' lethargy for prevention and support purposes.