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. 2019 Apr 24;7(1):25.
doi: 10.1186/s40359-019-0298-8.

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

Babak Moeini  1 , Saeed Bashirian  2 , Ali Reza Soltanian  3 , Ali Ghaleiha  4 , Malihe Taheri  5
Affiliations

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

Babak Moeini et al. BMC Psychol. .

Abstract

Background: Across 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.

Methods: In 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.

Results: The 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.

Conclusion: Depression 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.

Keywords: Adolescent depression; Prevalence; School girls.

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Conflict of interest statement

Ethics approval and consent to participate

The present study was initially approved by the Ethics Committee of Hamadan University of Medical Sciences (IR.UMSHA.REC.1394.548) and then the necessary permissions were obtained from Education Office and school authorities. The study participants and parents also signed informed consent forms. Following the screening, the positive ones were referred to school health teachers, healthcare centers in their place of residence, or the nearest outpatient departments at Psychiatric Hospitals for Children considering severity of depression symptoms.

Consent for publication

Not applicable.

Competing interests

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Flow diagram illustration of the sampling process and selection of study subjects from the two general educational districts that 23 schools were finally chosen, and each school four classes were selected randomly
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Screening for depression by the CES-D
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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