Depression, anxiety and stress among Saudi adolescent school boys.
OBJECTIVE
This study reports on research to determine the prevalence rates and severity of depression, anxiety and stress among Saudi adolescent boys. A cross-sectional study, of secondary school boys at Abha, Aseer Region, Saudi Arabia was conducted.


METHODS
The systematic sampling method was used to select a class at each level in a school. All the students were informed in detail about the study. The Arabic version of Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS) was used to establish school-boy levels of depression, anxiety and stress.


RESULTS
Results indicated that of 1723 male students recruited to this study, 59.4% had at least one of the three disorders, 40.7% had at least two and 22.6% had all the three disorders. Moreover, more than one third of the participants (38.2%) had depression, while 48.9% had anxiety and 35.5% had stress. Depression, anxiety and stress were strongly, positively, and significantly correlated.


CONCLUSIONS
It was concluded that there is an urgent need to pay more attention to the mental health of adolescent secondary school boys in Saudi Arabia. Further studies are needed to explore knowledge and attitude of students, parents and teachers concerning mental health.
Al-Gelban
Khalid S
KS
Department of Family and Community Medicine, College of Medicine, King Khalid University, PO Box 641, Abha, Saudi Arabia. khalidgelban@hotmail.com
D000293:Adolescent; D001007:Anxiety / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003863:Depression / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D011581:Psychological Tests; D000297:Psychology, Adolescent; D012529:Saudi Arabia / Q000453:epidemiology; D018434:Sickness Impact Profile; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires