Depression among adolescents in Northern Ireland

This paper examines the nature and distribution of self-reported depression among a sample of 887 secondary school students. The findings indicate that 12% of the total sample scored higher than 17 on the depression scale, the cut-off point used for designating a "case." Approximately 4% of adolescents reported that they wanted to kill themselves. Significant sex or school form associations were not found, except in form four where a higher proportion of females than males (16% vs. 7%) scored above 17. This would tend to suggest that the sex difference in depression found consistently with adults may begin to emerge in middle adolescence. The findings are discussed with reference to previous research on the mental health of young people living in Northern Ireland.