Abstract
BackgroundThe goal of the study was to estimate the prevalence and correlates of psychological distress among adolescent school children in Morocco.MethodsNationally representative cross-sectional data were analysed from 6745 adolescents (15 years median age) that responded to questions on a two-item measure of psychological distress from “2016 Morocco Global School-Based Student Health Survey (GSHS).”ResultsThe prevalence of psychological distress was 23.3, 18.0% among males and 29.2% among females. In adjusted logistic regression analysis, female sex, older age, bullying victimization, infrequently physically attacked, frequent participation in physical fights, having no close friends, frequent experience of hunger, parental emotional neglect, parental disrespect of privacy, school truancy, sedentary behaviour and having sustained a single or multiple serious injuries (past year) were associated with psychological distress. In addition, in unadjusted analysis, low peer support, parents never check homework, exposure to passive smoking, substance use (current tobacco use, current cannabis use and ever used amphetamine), frequent soft drink and frequent fast food consumption were positively and fruit and vegetable intake was negatively associated with psychological distress.ConclusionAlmost one in four students reported psychological distress and several associated factors were identified which can aid prevention and control strategies.
Highlights
The goal of the study was to estimate the prevalence and correlates of psychological distress among adolescent school children in Morocco
Outcome variable Psychological distress was assessed with two items, 1) “During the past 12 months, how often have you been so worried about something that you could not sleep at night?” and 2) “During the past 12 months, how often have you felt lonely?” Response options included and were coded as “Never=0, Rarely=1, Sometimes=1, Most of the time=2, Always=3” Scores of the two items were summed and scores three or more were defined as psychological distress, following the scoring of other 2-item mental health screeners, the “Patient Health Questionnaire-2 (PHQ-2)” [24], and the “Generalized Anxiety Disorder-2 (GAD-2)” [25, 26]
43.0 31.3 26.7 25.5 addition, in unadjusted analyses, low peer support, parents never check home work, exposure to passive smoking, substance use, frequent soft drink and frequent fast food consumption were positively and fruit and vegetable intake was negatively associated with psychological distress
Summary
The goal of the study was to estimate the prevalence and correlates of psychological distress among adolescent school children in Morocco
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