Prevalence of depression, anxiety and stress among male secondary school students in Arar city, Saudi Arabia, during the school year 2018

Abstract

Background: Adolescence is characterized by rapid psychological changes. No data are available about psychological disorders among adolescents in the Northern Borders region of Saudi Arabia. Objective: To determine the prevalence of depression, anxiety, and stress and its association with some risk factors among male secondary school students in Arar city; the capital city of Northern Borders, Saudi Arabia.  Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted during the second semester of the school year 2017- 2018. A sample of 406 male secondary school students was selected through a multistage cluster sampling technique. Out of 12 secondary schools, four schools were selected randomly then one class from each grade was also selected randomly. The participants were asked to complete a self-reported Arabic version of the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-42). The data were analyzed by SPSS version 20, using descriptive statistics and Chi-square test of independence. A p-value of 0.05 or less was considered, statistically significant. Results: The prevalence of depression, anxiety, and stress among 375 valid respondents was 56.3 %, 56%, and 41.9% respectively. The majority of symptoms were mild to moderate in severity. Out of all participants, 69.3% had at least one of the studied disorders; 50.9% had at least two disorders, and 33.9% had all the three disorders. The scores of depression, anxiety, and stress were positively and significantly correlated (r=0.7 p=0.001). History of the death of a close family member, family financial difficulties and smoking were significant risk factors for the development of any of the three studied disorders (p=0.019, p=0.012, p=0.001 respectively). Conclusion: The prevalence of depression, anxiety, and stress was high among male secondary school students in Arar city, KSA. Further in-depth national studies are needed to explore the problem and all possible risk factors. Also, strategies are needed to be developed to early detect these psychological disorders and prevent its progression among adolescents.