Prevalance rate of depression in high school students

Abstract

Mental health disorders are among the most important public health issues globally. Depression is a significant contributor to the global burden of disease and effects people in all communities across the world. Today depression is estimated to effect 350 million people. The World Mental Health survey conducted in 17 countries found that on average about 1 in 20 people reported having an episode of depression in the previous year. Depression starts at a young age, they reduce people’s functioning and often are recurring. For these reasons, depression is the leading cause of disability worldwide in terms of total years lost due to disability. The study aims to determine the prevalence rate of depression in high school students, and also to identify related risk factors associated with depression in that age group. A stratified random sampling technique was used for data collection. A total of 55.9% students were depressed with males and females. Male students showed more depression rates compared to female students with male 57.7% and female 42.3%. The results shows few psychological factors associating to depression, thus it is vital to conduct more researches in Maldives regarding the issue.