Prevalence of and Factors Associated with Depression in Secondary and High School Students in Mueang Phetchabun District

Abstract

The objective of this cross-sectional analytical design research were to study the prevalence and factors associated with depression in secondary to high school students (Matayom 1-6) in Mueang district of Phetchabun province. The sample group was 250 high school students from schools in the Mueang Phetchabun District who were selected using proportional random sampling and simple random sampling. Data was collected from January to February 2024 using questionnaires including personal information forms, the Family Connectedness Scale, the Friendship Intimacy scale, the Self-esteem scale, and the Thai version of the Patient Health Questionnaire for Adolescents (PHQ-A). Data were analyzed by using statistics including frequencies, percentages, chi-square tests, crude odds ratios, and multiple binary logistic regressions (significance level set at 0.05).

Results: The majority of participants were female, approximately 52.8%, aged between 12 and 19 years old (Mean = 14.9, S.D. = 1.8). The prevalence of depression (PHQ-A ≥ 10) was 43.6% (109 students). The factors associated with depression included chronic illnesses of family members (ORadj = 3.4, 95%CI 1.2-9.4, P = 0.021), previous experiences of violence by peers (ORadj = 2.4, 95%CI 1.3-4.5, p = 0.008) or family members (ORadj = 2.4, 95%CI 1.2-4.8, p = 0.012), and low self-esteem. Participants with low self-esteem had higher depression rates than those who had moderate self-esteem (ORadj = 57.3, 95%CI 12.4-265.8, p< 0.001) or high self-esteem (ORadj = 5.1, 95%CI 2.0-13.4, p = 0.001). Students with depression were at a significantly higher risk of suicide of 10.8 times their non-depressed peers (ORadj = 10.8, 95%CI 5.9-19.9, p<0.001). Therefore, it is essential to monitor and prevent depression among adolescents in all sectors, including schools, families, public health teams, and communities.