Prevalence and Associated Factors With Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Among Secondary School Students in Mattu Town, Southwest Ethiopia

Int J Soc Psychiatry. 2025 Nov 4:207640251386099. doi: 10.1177/00207640251386099. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence and factors associated with depression, anxiety, and stress (DAS) in adolescents enrolled in secondary school.

METHODS: An institution-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 418 secondary school students who were selected using systematic sampling. The Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS-21) was used to collect data. Data were entered and analyzed by IBM SPSS version 30. Bivariable and multivariable analyses were performed to identify factors associated with depression, anxiety, and stress. In the final model, variables with a P-value <0.05 at 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were declared as statistically significant with DAS.

RESULTS: A total of 418 study participants were included in the study, yielding a response rate of 99.3%. The overall prevalence of depression, anxiety, and stress in this study was found to be 123 (29.4%; 95% CI [25.0, 33.8%]), 199 (47.6%; 95% CI [42.8, 52.4%]), and 241 (57.7%; 95% CI [53.0, 62.4%]), respectively. The mean ± standard deviation of depression, anxiety, and stress scores were 7.74 ± 1.4, 6.27 ± 1.24, and 13.18 ± 1.76, respectively. In multivariable regression analyses, sex, living arrangement, substance use, connectedness with family, anxiety, and stress were found to be significantly associated with depression. Depression was found to be significantly associated with anxiety and living arrangement, level of education, connectedness with family, and family dispute, and anxiety was found to be significantly associated with stress.

CONCLUSIONS: Overall, the results of the current study revealed that a remarkable proportion of students experienced depression, anxiety, and stress. Generally, socio-economic, academic, relationships with family, and substance use-related factors were identified as having an association with DAS. Strong relationships between depression, anxiety, and stress were discovered. Hence, we recommend structured counselling services for at-risk students for early detection and prevention of DAS.

PMID:41185987 | DOI:10.1177/00207640251386099