A picture of Indian adolescent mental health: an analysis from three urban secondary schools
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Katelyn N.G. Long
,
Lisa H. Gren
Abstract
Purpose
Mental health disorders are a pressing issue among adolescents around the world, including in India. A better understanding of the factors related to poor mental health will allow for more effective and targeted interventions for Indian adolescents.
Methods
The Indian Adolescent Health Questionnaire (IAHQ), a validated questionnaire designed specifically for use in schools, was administered to approximately 1500 secondary students in three private urban Indian schools in 2012. The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) module assessed mental health. Linear regression was used to predict SDQ scores. The biopsychosocial framework was used as an organizing framework to understand how each explanatory variable in the final model might impact the SDQ score.
Results
One thousand four hundred and eight students returned IAHQ surveys (93.9% response rate); 1102 students completed questions for inclusion in the regression model (78.3% inclusion rate). Statistically significant (p < 0.05) independent variables associated with SDQ scores were gender, level of overall health, negative peer pressure, insults from peers, kindness of peers, feeling safe at home, at school, or with friends, and grades.
Discussion
Schools have a role to play in improving adolescent mental health. Many of the significant variables in our study can be addressed in the school environment through school-wide, long-term programs utilizing teachers and lay counselors. The IAHQ and SDQ can be used by schools to identify factors that contribute to poor mental health among students and then develop targeted programs to support improved mental health.
Acknowledgments
We are very grateful for the ongoing support of Mercy Hospital and Research Center throughout this entire study. We also thank each of the schools for their partnership in this study as well as the students, for sharing their time and experiences with us. Finally, we are indebted to Caitlin Walker for her excellent review of the literature during the early phases of this project.
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Sources of funding: Basic project support was provided by University of Utah Study Abroad Scholarship to authors KNGL and PML.
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Disclosure of potential conflicts: The authors have no conflicts of interests to declare.
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Manuscript contributions: Authors KNGL, PML, LHG, NLM were involved in the design, execution, and oversight of the study. Authors KNGL, PML, and SB were involved in primary data collection. KNGL and LHG conducted statistical analysis. All authors contributed to the interpretation of data, authorship of the paper, and approved this version of the paper.
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Artikel in diesem Heft
- Editorial
- Adverse effects of stimulant medications in children and adolescents: focus on drug abuse
- Short Communication
- Adolescent and parent perspectives prior to involvement in a Fontan transition program
- Reviews
- Adolescent suicide as a global public health issue
- (Health-related) quality of life and psychosocial factors in adolescents with chronic disease: a systematic literature review
- Original Articles
- Clustering of chronic diseases risk factors among adolescents: a quasi-experimental study in Sousse, Tunisia
- Blood, joy and tears: menarche narratives of undergraduate females in a selected in Nigeria Private University
- Renal lymphangiectasia treated with percutaneous drainage and sclerotherapy
- Trichotillomania in celiac disease patient refractory to iron replacement
- Metabolic syndrome in Iranian adolescents with polycystic ovary syndrome
- Looks can be deceiving: body image dissatisfaction relates to social anxiety through fear of negative evaluation
- Excessive exercise among adolescents with eating disorders: examination of psychological and demographic variables
- Diet quality of adolescents with eating disorders
- A picture of Indian adolescent mental health: an analysis from three urban secondary schools
- From child to grown up in a medical world: developing an adolescent transition programme at a Norwegian University hospital
- Household food insecurity and its association with morbidity report among school adolescent in Jimma zone, Ethiopia
- The effects of introducing Tabata interval training and stability exercises to school children as a school-based intervention program
