Prevalence of depression, anxiety and stress among school going adolescents in Delhi: a cross sectional study

Abstract

Background: Adolescence is a stressful period due to physical, psychological, sexual changes and the presence of psychiatric disorders such as depression, anxiety and stress at this stage of life is a matter of concern. Depression is a common mental disorder, characterized by persistent sadness and a loss of interest in activities that you normally enjoy, accompanied by an inability to carry out daily activities, for at least two weeks. The objective of this study is to find the prevalence and associated factors of depression, anxiety and stress among school going adolescents.Methods: This was a school based descriptive cross-sectional study conducted in the month of July 2018 in an urban school in New Delhi. A semi-structured, self-administered questionnaire to assess socio-demographic profile as well as depression anxiety stress scale (DASS)–21 was used to assess depression, stress and anxiety.Results: Overall prevalence of depression, anxiety and stress were found to be 47.9%, 65.3%, and 51.8% respectively. Most of student suffered from moderate depression (46.8%), anxiety (33.3%) and mild stress (60.9%). It was noted that these were more common among female students, late adolescent age group, students alone/ away from family, students from separated/ single parents, consuming alcohol and family pressure to perform well in school.Conclusions: The alarming risk of depression, anxiety and stress among students with low academic satisfaction as well as those who face family pressure to perform better calls for need of parents-student counselling sessions, as well as frequent extracurricular activities to help create a healthier school environment.

Anxiety among urban, semi-urban and rural school adolescents in Dhaka, Bangladesh: Investigating prevalence and associated factors

“…In the neighboring countries like India, the age-adjusted prevalence of anxiety among rural adolescents was 16.6%, which is much lower than that of the current study [33]. In another study, conducted upon school adolescents in Delhi, the prevalence of anxiety was 65.3%, which is much higher than that of the present study [34]. The difference in the prevalence of anxiety reported in these studies might be attributed to the demographic setting, since the first one was conducted upon rural adolescents, while the later upon urban adolescents.…”

COVID-19 and Depression: Prevalence and Risk Factors in Youth from Maharashtra, India

“…While some existing community-based studies have found that adolescent depression is largely of mild (Grover et al, 2019 ; Lodha et al, 2016 ) or moderate severity (Kumar et al, 2019 ; Malik et al, 2015 ), this study found that the symptomatic percentages of mild (= 18%), moderate (= 17.5%), and severe (= 16.3%) categories were almost comparable. The increased intensity of depression may be explained by the fact that this study was conducted almost 8 months into the lockdown, during which time youth had been in a state of prolonged social disconnect.…”

“…The NMHS survey ( 2016 ), one of the most elaborate and detailed analyses of mental health indicators of the Indian population based on information from 12 geographically and culturally diverse states, found a point prevalence rate of 2.6% for depressive disorders among youth. Independent studies from different states have found much higher prevalence rates ranging from 40% in Chandigarh, 47.9% in New Delhi, and 49.2% in Patna, Bihar, to 52.9% in Rohtak, Haryana, and 71.3% in Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh) (Kumar et al, 2019 ; Malik et al, 2015 ; Singh et al, 2017 ). Similar variations were seen in studies from South India as well, with prevalence rates ranging from 39% in rural Karnataka and 43% in North Kerala to 57.6% in urban Mangalore (Shaikh et al, 2018 ; Hanspal et al, 2019 ; Pandian et al, 2017 ; Shelke et al, 2015 ; Urmila et al, 2017 ).…”

Correlates of depression among school going adolescents in the urban area of Patna in eastern India

“…[ 16 ] from Chandigarh, north India (40%); Kumar et al . [ 17 ] from Delhi, north India (47.9%); Sandal et al . [ 18 ] from Chandigarh, north India (65.53%); Malik et al .…”

“…[ 22 ] from Pariyaram, Kerala, south India (57.7%); Kumar et al . [ 17 ] from Delhi, north India (47.9%); and Nagendra et al . [ 12 ] from Davangere south India 57.7%.…”