Depression and its determinants among adolescents in Jimma town, Southwest Ethiopia

To determine the prevalence and socio-demographic and parental-related factors of depression among school adolescents in Jimma town, southwest Ethiopia.

Using a cross-sectional survey, 546 school adolescents were screened for depression using the patient health questionnaire (PHQ-9) from five randomly selected public and private schools. Oslo social support scale, adverse childhood experience tool, and socio-demographic questionnaire were used to gather data on risk factors. Linear regression analysis was used, and unstandardized beta (β) coefficients with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were reported to declare statistical significance.

A total of 546 adolescents participated in the study, with a response rate of 97.3%. The mean (±SD) age of participants was 16.8 ± 1.3 years. The majority (81%) of the adolescents were attending day classes at public schools. The prevalence of depression was found to be 28% using the patient health questionnaire. Based on the PHQ-9 depression severity scale, 18.5% and 8.2% of the adolescent had moderate and moderate to severe depression while 1.3% had severe depression. In the final multivariate linear regression analysis, it was found that sex, rural residence, low social support, being in higher grade level, and adverse childhood experience were found to be independently associated with a higher score of depression.

One in three adolescents was found to have a depressive syndrome. We recommend schools to integrate school mental health service that contains routine screening and intervention services. Moreover, efforts are needed to sensitize and educate the communities on child protection, social support, and safeguarding to effectively tackle the magnitude of adolescent depression.