Prevalence of depressive symptoms and their determinants among adolescents in Can Tho City, Vietnam

This study aimed to determine the prevalence and associated factors of depressive symptoms among adolescents in Can Tho City, Vietnam. A cross-sectional study was conducted with 1,054 students aged 15–18 years, recruited from eight high schools using one-off anonymous questionnaires. Depressive symptoms were assessed using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale Revised – Vietnamese version. The Self-esteem Scale of Vietnamese Adolescents, the Crandell Cognitions Inventory-Short form scale, the School Connectedness Scale and the Educational Stress Scale for Adolescents were used to assess self-esteem, cognitive distortion, school connectedness and educational stress, respectively. Univariate analyses explored the relationships between sociodemographic variables and depressive symptoms. Pearson correlations were calculated for the associations between variables. Multiple regression was used to adjust for the factors that contributed to depressive symptoms in adolescents. The findings revealed that 37.4% of adolescents in Can Tho City, Vietnam, experienced depressive symptoms. Factors influencing depression in adolescents include cognitive distortions, academic pressure, exposure to interpersonal violence, consumption of alcohol and smoking, family history of depression, family incarceration and experiences of digital sexual violence. These results underscore the urgent need for a multilevel and multidimensional intervention strategy involving parents, educators, mental health professionals and policymakers to promote early identification, provide support and enhance mental health literacy among adolescents

Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale · Cognition · Depressive symptoms · Mental health · Multilevel model · Vietnamese · Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health · Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development · Mental Health Treatment and Access