Mental Health Status and Related Factors among Grade 8 Secondary School Students in Public Health Region 14 in 2008

Abstract

The objectives of this cross-sectional survey were to study about mental health status and related factors of grade 8 secondary school students in public health region 14. 2,358 students from 17 secondary schools which got by simple random sampling from every educational zone (one school per one educational zone) were selected by systematic random sampling from overall grade 8 student numbers of each school equally. Data were collected by using brief Thai Mental Health Indicator (TMHI-15) developed by department of mental health which got Cronbach's alpha coefficient 0.81 and were analyzed by descriptive statistics and Chi-Square test. The results showed that 52.0 % of students had normal mental health but 24.0 % had lower standard level of mental health which associated with sex, trend of learning results, domestic relationship, type of problem and counselor person (p < 0.05). Based on the finding of this study, it is suggested that mental health problem of adolescent became serious problem now, every part should realize and join together to solve this problem that including family, school and community.