Depressive Disorder in Adolescents in Terms of Gender and Grade: A Case Study in Thua Thien Hue Province, Vietnam

Abstract

Adolescents, with rapid but uneven developments in biology as well as psychology, are highly at risk of onset in depression. Depression brings about severe consequences, including social and academic difficulties. However, no previous research has considered using The Beck Depression Inventory to examine major depressive disorder among Vietnamese adolescents, especially the gender and grade aspects. The goal of this research was to evaluate adolescents’ depression in Hue province and consider the differences among grades as well as genders. A cross-sectional study utilising The Beck Depression Inventory was conducted with 1,336 adolescents in Thua Thien Hue province, Vietnam. There was a gender gap in depression among the adolescents in Thua Thien Hue province, Vietnam, and depression in the 9th grade and 12th grade adolescents were more evident than in the others. Therefore, gender disparities vary among age groups in the incidence of depressive disorder.