Preliminary Study on the Prevalence of Anxiety and Depression Among Secondary School Students in Lower Chitral, Northern Pakistan
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.70749/ijbr.v3i9.2452Keywords:
Anxiety, Depression, High Schools, Stress, Generalized Anxiety Disorders.Abstract
The number of middle and high school students suffering from depression and anxiety has soared over the years, affecting students’ academic life and mental and physical health. Prevalence of anxiety and depression among students of the Lower Chitral, Pakistan was investigated in the present research. A total 374 (169 science and 105 humanities) students were assessed using the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and the Generalised Anxiety Disorder 7-item (GAD-7) scale. According to descriptive statistics, the prevalence of severe and moderate anxiety were 27.3% and 39.8% respectively. Severe depression was reported in 18.9% of the students and mild depression in 48.6% of the students. The severity of anxiety was highest in subjects who had background in science in comparison to those students who had a background in social sciences. Nonetheless, the difference between students from science and humanities in terms of anxiety or depression levels was not statistically significant. These results highlight the need for specific mental-health interventions that take into consideration the disciplinary-specific needs of each programme of study.
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