The prevalence of depression in high school students

In response to the need expressed in the literature on adolescent depression, recent studies have examined the incidence of affective disorders. However, there continues to be a paucity of research on the prevalence of depressive symptomatology in nonpatient adolescents. The Canadian literature is especially lacking in this area. The present study examined the prevalence of depression in a sample of 366 Canadian high school students. Consistent with similar research in the United Kingdom and the United States, 31.4% of the sample were midly to clinically depressed as measured by the Beck Depression Inventory. Significant sex differences were found; these are discussed in the context of age and level of depression. The need for further research on adolescent depression is emphasized.