Prevalence of Psychiatric Disturbances (Anxiety and Depression) Among School-Going Adolescents: A Cross-Sectional Study from a Government School in Visakhapatnam, India

Background: Mental health disorders, particularly anxiety and depression, are among the leading causes of disability worldwide and disproportionately affect adolescents undergoing rapid hormonal, social, and academic transitions. Data on the burden of these disorders among Indian school-going adolescents remain limited, especially from semi-urban government school settings. Material and Methods: An analytical cross-sectional, questionnaire-based study was conducted over two months among 283 students of grades 8th, 9th, and 10th of a Zilla Parishad school in Madhurawada, Visakhapatnam, selected by Simple Random Sampling from a sampling universe of 1,800 students. Anxiety and depression were assessed using the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAM-A) and the 6-item Kutcher Adolescent Depression Scale (KADS-6), respectively, administered as a self-reported, pre-validated questionnaire. Associations between psychiatric disturbance and grade, gender, and family type were tested using the chi-square test, with p<0.05 considered statistically significant. Results: Depression was identified in 17 (6.0%) of 283 participants and anxiety in 86 (30.4%) of 283 participants;79 (27.9%) mild and 7(2.5%) moderate. Both depression and anxiety prevalence increased significantly with grade of study (depression: p=0.018; anxiety: p=0.006). Depression was reported in 6.6% of females and 5.5% of males (p=0.714, not significant), and anxiety showed no significant gender association (p=0.15). Family type was significantly associated with anxiety (p<0.001) but not with depression (p=0.505), with the highest anxiety burden among adolescents from third-generation and joint families. Conclusion: Nearly one in three school-going adolescents in this population screened positive for anxiety symptoms, and grade of study and family structure emerged as significant correlates of psychiatric disturbance. School-based mental health screening, together with sensitisation of teachers and parents, is recommended to enable early identification and intervention.

Keywords: Adolescent; Anxiety; Depression; Prevalence; Psychiatric disorders; School health.