Similar findings were presented in other studies that examined students’ perceived stress using the 10-item PSS tool, and many confirmed a correlation with depression as measured by the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ) tool [54] or Beck’s Depression Inventory [55]. Regarding the research in this study, the findings of Kaya [56] should be highlighted, as these findings show that students with higher levels of depression, as measured by the 9-item version of the PHQ tool, had significantly higher levels of perceived stress, as measured by the 10-item PSS tool. As a result, the author [56] identified perceived stress as the most important determinant of depression in university students. This statement is also consistent with the findings of Zajenkowska et al. [57], who revealed that Korean university students reported higher levels of depression (PHQ 9) due to higher levels of perceived stress (PSS 10) compared to Polish students. Additionally, Hou et al. [58] not only confirmed that the perceived stress score of the 14-item PSS tool was positively related to depression and anxiety, but the authors also found that depression and anxiety
