Prevalence of depression and its associated sociodemographic factors among Iranian female adolescents in secondary schools

Babak Moeini,Malihe Taheri,Saeed Bashirian,Ali Reza Soltanian,Ali Ghaleiha

doi:10.1186/s40359-019-0298-8

Babak Moeini, Malihe Taheri + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-019-0298-8

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Journal: BMC psychology	Publication Date: Apr 24, 2019
Citations: 42	License type: open-access

Affiliation: Hamedan University of Medical Sciences

Abstract

BackgroundAcross the globe, depression is a common psychiatric disorder and is the main cause of disability among adolescents. To this end, this study was conducted to screen for the prevalence of depression among secondary school female students in the city of Hamadan, in western Iran.MethodsIn this cross-sectional study, a total of 670 secondary school female students, within the age range of 15–18 years were investigated using multistage random sampling method. Moreover, the Persian version of Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) and a researcher-designed questionnaire containing demographic variables were employed as research instruments. Analyses of the findings were made using SPSS version 16 software followed by stratified logistic regression model, which was performed for correlation analysis.ResultsThe mean (standard deviation) age of students was 16.2 (0.68) years. The prevalence of severe depression in female students estimated by the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) was equal to 52.6%. A statistically significant relationship was also observed to exist between prevalence of depression and type of school (P < 0.001), family income (P < 0.001), living in the suburbs (P < 0.001), and field of study at school (P < 0.001). However, no statistically significant correlation was found between depression among students and school grade, type of living with parents, father’s education and occupation, mother’s education and occupation, and family size.ConclusionDepression was prevalent among the secondary school female students examined and it significantly correlated with socioeconomic status. Therefore, periodic screening, psychological training programs, proper diagnosis of high-risk individuals in secondary schools, and early intervention among secondary school female students are urgently needed.

Highlights

Across the globe, depression is a common psychiatric disorder and is the main cause of disability among adolescents
The findings of the present study indicated high prevalence rate of depression (72.6%) in female adolescent in the city of Hamadan, which is in agreement with the studies conducted among Iranian adolescents
Several investigations in other Middle Eastern countries have reported high prevalence rates of depression among adolescents, for example a Saudi Arabian research reported a prevalence of depressive disorder rate of up to 42.9% [33] and in a Qatari study, depression was found to register a prevalence of 34.5% among adolescents [34]

Summary

Introduction

Depression is a common psychiatric disorder and is the main cause of disability among adolescents. Adolescence can be described as a transitional period from childhood to adulthood, which begins with puberty and involves profound transformations in social, physical and psychological aspects [1] that could be stressful for the adolescent, and such stress may render them feeling confused, negative and depressed. In this regard, several studies have reported an increased prevalence rate of adolescent depression in the range of 10–20% [2].

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Conclusion