The correlates of depressed mood in adolescents in Hong Kong.
OBJECTIVE
Most studies of depressed mood and its correlates in adolescents have been conducted in Western countries. This study examined the relationship between a broad range of stressors and depressed mood in a community sample of Hong Kong adolescents.


METHODS
Secondary school students (n = 996) completed the Chinese Beck Depression Inventory (C-BDI), provided demographic information, and indicated their perceptions of family and peer relationships, school function and pressures, and subjective health, and some measures salient to the Hong Kong environment: triad gang pressure, religiosity, and intent to emigrate. The correlation between C-BDI and these variables was assessed in bivariate and multivariate analyses.


RESULTS
Hong Kong adolescents reported higher levels of depressive symptoms than a comparison group of Western teenagers. Girls showed more symptoms than boys. All stressors correlated in bivariate analyses with C-BDI, indicating similar influences on depressed mood in Western and Hong Kong teenagers. In multivariate analyses, the stressors contributed cumulatively to the C-BDI score. Perceptions of a lack of parental understanding and peer acceptance appeared as the strongest variables in predicting depressed mood.


CONCLUSIONS
Depressed mood is highly prevalent among Hong Kong teenagers. Stressors play a cumulative role in their relationship to mood. Our findings point to the importance of broad screening of this vulnerable population.
Stewart
S M
SM
Department of Community Medicine, University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam.
Betson
C L
CL
Lam
T H
TH
Chung
S F
SF
Ho
H H
HH
Chung
T C
TC
D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D003863:Depression / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006723:Hong Kong / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D015995:Prevalence; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012307:Risk Factors; D012494:Sampling Studies; D017678:Sex Distribution; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors