Depression knowledge in high school students: effectiveness of the adolescent depression awareness program

Area of Science:

• Psychiatry
• Adolescent Health
• Public Health Education

Background:

• Major depression significantly impacts adolescent morbidity and mortality, with suicide being a leading cause of death in 15-24 year olds.
• Early identification and intervention are critical for suicide prevention in adolescents.
• Depression education programs offer a potential strategy to enhance knowledge and encourage help-seeking behaviors.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness of the school-based Adolescent Depression Awareness Program (ADAP) intervention.
• To assess changes in depression knowledge and attitudes toward treatment-seeking among high school students.
• To determine if the intervention influences willingness to seek help for depression.

Main Methods:

• The Adolescent Depression Awareness Program (ADAP) intervention was implemented in six schools, involving 710 high school students.
• A quasi-experimental design compared students receiving the intervention with a control group.
• The ADAP Depression Knowledge Questionnaire (ADKQ) was used to measure changes in depression knowledge and attitudes toward help-seeking.

Main Results:

• Students who received the ADAP intervention showed a significant positive change in their ADKQ scores.
• The intervention group demonstrated a significant increase in willingness to "tell someone" about concerns regarding a peer's depression.
• No significant changes in ADKQ scores or willingness to seek help were observed in the control group.

Conclusions:

• The school-based educational intervention successfully improved adolescent knowledge about depression and their attitudes toward seeking help.
• Limitations include the lack of randomization, which may affect causality.
• Future research should explore whether improved knowledge and attitudes translate into actual help-seeking behaviors in adolescents.