A249: The Occurrence of Depression Among Chinese High School Students

Abstract

Depression is a prevalent mental health condition globally, with significant implications for adolescent well-being. To safeguard adolescents\u27 physical and mental health, it is critical to examine the prevalence of depression and its risk factors. However, existing studies on adolescent depression have limitations, and the regional distribution of depression among adolescents remains unclear. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the distribution of depressive symptoms among Chinese adolescents. This study recruited 617 high school students aged 15–18 years from the 12th High School in Huaibei, Anhui Province. A cross-sectional survey was conducted to collect demographic information and data from the Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS) via a questionnaire. Independent samples t-tests were used to analyze the distributional characteristics of depressive symptoms, focusing on differences across symptom severity and gender. A total of 537 adolescents met the inclusion criteria, comprising 243 males (45.3%) and 294 females (54.7%), with a mean age of 16.2 ± 0.5 years, a mean height of 170.7 ± 8.1 cm, and a mean body weight of 63.6 ± 14.0 kg. Of these, 306 exhibited depressive symptoms (140 males, 166 females), with a mean SDS score of 43.5 ± 5.6. There was a significant difference in mean SDS scores between males and females (males: 44.1 ± 5.8 vs. females: 43.0 ± 5.4, p = 0.027). Among them, 247 students had mild depressive symptoms (108 males, 139 females), 55 had moderate depressive symptoms (29 males, 26 females), and 4 had severe depressive symptoms (3 males, 1 female). More than half of the high school students exhibited depressive symptoms. Although males had significantly higher mean SDS scores than females, a greater number of females than males experienced depression. These findings highlight mental health challenges among adolescents and suggest that targeted physical activity interventions could be implemented in the future to address psychological issues and reduce mental health risks. Overall, depression among high school students warrants greater attention