Prevalence and associated factors of psychological distress among a national sample of in-school adolescents in Morocco
- PDF / 597,133 Bytes
- 11 Pages / 595.276 x 790.866 pts Page_size
- 103 Downloads / 178 Views
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Open Access
Prevalence and associated factors of psychological distress among a national sample of in-school adolescents in Morocco Supa Pengpid1,2 and Karl Peltzer3*
Abstract Background: The goal of the study was to estimate the prevalence and correlates of psychological distress among adolescent school children in Morocco. Methods: Nationally representative cross-sectional data were analysed from 6745 adolescents (15 years median age) that responded to questions on a two-item measure of psychological distress from “2016 Morocco Global School-Based Student Health Survey (GSHS).” Results: The prevalence of psychological distress was 23.3, 18.0% among males and 29.2% among females. In adjusted logistic regression analysis, female sex, older age, bullying victimization, infrequently physically attacked, frequent participation in physical fights, having no close friends, frequent experience of hunger, parental emotional neglect, parental disrespect of privacy, school truancy, sedentary behaviour and having sustained a single or multiple serious injuries (past year) were associated with psychological distress. In addition, in unadjusted analysis, low peer support, parents never check homework, exposure to passive smoking, substance use (current tobacco use, current cannabis use and ever used amphetamine), frequent soft drink and frequent fast food consumption were positively and fruit and vegetable intake was negatively associated with psychological distress. Conclusion: Almost one in four students reported psychological distress and several associated factors were identified which can aid prevention and control strategies. Keywords: Risk behaviour, Social factors, Psychological distress, Adolescents, Morocco
Background “Mental health conditions, including depression and anxiety, account for 16% of the global burden of disease and injury in people aged 10–19 years.” [1]. In children and adolescents, the “worldwide-pooled prevalence of mental disorders was 13.4%, including any anxiety disorder 6.5% and any depressive disorder 2.6%” [2]. “First onset of mental disorders usually occurs in childhood or adolescence” [3]. “Adolescence is a critical period * Correspondence: [email protected] 3 Department of Psychology, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa Full list of author information is available at the end of the article
characterised by vulnerability to psychological distress, and is therefore an important time for promotion of psychological well-being and early mental health intervention, in order to safeguard against the development of mental health issues” [4]. According to the American Psychological Association (APA) [5], psychological distress is “a set of painful mental and physical symptoms that are associated with normal fluctuations of mood in most people. It is thought to be what is assessed by many putative self-report measures of depression and anxiety.” For example, the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale includes “symptoms of depression, anxiety, stress, and soma
Data Loading...
