Screening for common mental health problems in school-going adolescent students in Vizianagaram district, Andhra Pradesh

Abstract

Background: Adolescents are an important part of the population, but their mental health receives little attention. Adolescents experience psychological issues at some point during their development. Many of these issues are transient in nature and are frequently overlooked. From the past 20 to 30 years, mental health issues increased multiple times among adolescents. The study sought to ascertain the prevalence of psychiatric symptoms among school-going adolescents. Materials and Methods: An observational study was conducted on 1000 school-going adolescents from both government and private schools by using the General Health Questionnaire-12 (GHQ-12) to screen for Common Mental Disorders. Multiple logistic regression was used to find the various relevant factors. Results: In this study, 47.9% of adolescents reported mental health problems. A significant association was reported between various sociodemographic factors like school type, age group, gender, type of family, education of mother, and father, and mother's working status and with the presence of mental health problems. Conclusion: Mental health problems were extremely common among school-going adolescents. There is a dire need for special attention to adolescents’ mental health.