Adolescents' mental health in Abha city, southwestern Saudi Arabia.
Using stratified random sampling technique, 1552 adolescent school age boys and girls in Abha city, southwestern Saudi Arabia, were screened for mental health using Arabic validated version of SCL-90-R. The overall prevalence of mental disorders amounted to 15.5%. The most frequent mental symptoms were phobic anxiety (17.3%), interpersonal sensitivity (14.7%), and obsessive compulsive (14.5%). In logistic regression analysis, some sociodemographic conditions (father education, mother working status, ranking among brothers and sisters, and type of school) were significantly affecting mental health. General practitioners and other primary care workers need to be educated to better engage young people, to recognize mental disorders, and to deliver simple treatments, including supportive counseling, and cognitive behavior therapy. There is a need for a national program in the country to integrate youth mental-health interventions with all existing youth programs, including those in health and education.
Department of Family and Community Medicine, College of Medicine, King Khalid University, Abha, Saudi Arabia. mahfouz2005@gmail.com
Ahmed A
AA
Mahfouz
Khalid S
KS
Al-Gelban
Hasan
H
Al Amri
Mohamed Y
MY
Khan
Ismail
I
Abdelmoneim
Asim A
AA
Daffalla
Hosny
H
Shaban
Amany A
AA
Mohammed
D000293:Adolescent; D018912:Arabs / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D005260:Female; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000208:ethnology*; D010555:Personality Inventory / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011594:Psychometrics; D012529:Saudi Arabia; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors