Psychosocial correlates of depressive symptoms among Japanese high school students

To determine the psychosocial factors associated with the presence and persistence of depressive symptoms among high school students in Okinawa, Japan.

The study sample was 3202 students from 12 public senior high schools. Students completed self-administered questionnaires from October through December 1997. We measured depressive symptomatology using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale. We asked students to report whether they had depressive symptoms at any time in the immediate past week, and whether those symptoms persisted for 5-7 days. The psychosocial variables examined were life stressors, perceived social support, health practices, self-esteem, and Locus of Control. The relationship between the psychosocial factors and depressive symptoms was examined using hierarchical multiple regression analyses.

After controlling for the effects of demographic and other psychosocial variables, presence of depressive symptoms was positively associated with life stressors in the domains of friends, family, and teachers. Similarly, persistence of depressive symptoms was also positively associated with life stressors in the domains of friends and teachers. Presence and persistence of depressive symptoms were negatively associated with positive health practices, more social support, high self-esteem, and internal Locus of Control.

The psychosocial variables associated with presence and persistence of depressive symptoms were remarkably consistent. Life stressors might be risk factors; on the contrary, positive health practices, perceived social support, high self-esteem, and internal Locus of Control might be protective factors of depressive symptoms among Japanese adolescents.