Depression and anxiety among secondary school students of Janakpur sub-metropolitan city, Nepal.

Thesis Report.

SUMMARY:

Introduction: Mental disorders contribute to a huge proportion of disease burden across all societies. Among them, depression and anxiety are the leading causes of illness and disability among adolescents. Depression is a mood disorder that causes a persistent feeling of sadness and loss of interest. Anxiety disorders are characterised by excessive fear and worry and related behavioural disturbances. Depression and anxiety at this stage of life can lead to several health hazards in the near future. Therefore, the main objective of this study was to assess prevalence of depression and anxiety among secondary school students of Janakpur Sub-Metropolitan City.

Methodology: A cross sectional study was conducted among 286 students of two randomly selected secondary school students in Janakpur Sub-Metropolitan City. A simple random sampling was applied at multi-stage to obtained required number of students. A total of 8 section was selected in which 4 section from each school and all the students from selected section was included in the study. Data was collected using self-administered questionnaire method. Patient Health Questionnaire-9(PHQ-9) and Generalized Anxiety Disorders-7(GAD-7) tool was used to assess level of depression and anxiety. Both descriptive and inferential statistics was used and Chi- square test was applied to test the association between dependent and independent variables.

Finding: The prevalence of depression and anxiety was found to be 33.2% and 30.4%. Male sex, students staying with their family, being bullied electronically, being bullied on school property and who did not use to share their problem with parents were found to be significantly associated with symptoms of depression. Likewise, symptoms of anxiety were significantly associated with male sex and age of the respondents.

Conclusion: Depression and anxiety is still a non-recognized public health problem among adolescents which can cause several health hazards in the near future. Therefore, this finding calls for stepping up of the organizational system and suggests for more research in this population setting. An appropriate intervention such as school based counseling services and workshops focusing to reduce and manage bullying on school property, bullying electronically and encourage them to share their problem with their parents are recommended considering finding of this research.

Key Words: Depression, Anxiety and Adolescent