Physio-psychosocial risk of depression among college-going adolescents: A cross-sectional study in Bangladesh

• Published in: Journal of affective disorders reports 2024-04, Vol.16, p.100768, Article 100768
• Main Authors: Siddik, Md Abu Bakkar, Munmun, Morioum Sarkar, Hasan, Nafiul, Syfullah, Md. Khalid, Mahmud, Al, Ali, Akher, Bosak, Liza, Chowdhury, Shanjida, Kamil, Anton Abdulbasah, Rahman, Mohammad Meshbahur
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Bangladesh; College-going adolescents; Depression; Mental health; Physio-psychosocial risk
• ISSN: 2666-9153; 2666-9153
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jadr.2024.100768

•The prevalence of depression was high among the participants.•Significant factors of depression were gender, social media use, physical exercise, pre-marital relationships, religious practices, experiences of blackmail, and major physical illnesses.•Female adolescents, social media users, individuals not engaged in regular exercise, those in pre-marital relationships, non-practitioners of religion, victims of blackmail, and individuals with major physical illnesses were the higher odds of experiencing moderate to severe depression.•Findings emphasize the urgent need for targeted mental health support to address these risk factors and promote the overall well-being. Depression among adolescents is a growing concern worldwide, including in Bangladesh. This study aimed to investigate depression and its associated factors among college-going adolescents in Bangladesh. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 1919 college-going adolescents through a Google-based questionnaire covering all administrative divisions of Bangladesh. Respondents’ socio-demographic information was collected, and the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) was used to assess depression. Different statistical analyses, including descriptive statistics, Chi-square test, and multinomial logistic regression, were performed to analyze the data. The results showed that a majority of the adolescents (65.5 %) were female and identified as Muslim (92.0 %). The average age was 17.5 years, with 33.9 % reporting pre-marital relationships and 10.7 % engaging in daily exercise. Alarmingly, over 80 % of college-going adolescents experienced moderate to severe depression (24.3 % moderate; 29.1 % moderately severe, and 26.8 % severe). Factors including gender, social media use, physical exercise, pre-marital relationships, religious practices, experiences of blackmail, and major physical illnesses have significant association (p < 0.001) with the increased risk of depression among college-going adolescents in Bangladesh. The multinomial logistic regression analysis found female adolescents, social media users, those not engaged in regular exercise, individuals in pre-marital relationships, non-practitioners of religion, victims of blackmail, and those with major physical illnesses had the higher odds of experiencing moderate to severe depression. The high depression level among Bangladeshi college-going adolescents underscores the urgent need for targeted mental health intervention to address assoc