Prevalence of mental disorders among high school students in National Guard Housing, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
- PMID: 22518359
- PMCID: PMC3326771
- DOI: 10.4103/2230-8229.94015
Prevalence of mental disorders among high school students in National Guard Housing, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Abstract
Background: Adolescents experience rapid biological, psychological, and social transitions that can be associated with mental health problems. During the high school period there are also more academic stressors.
Objective: (1) To study the prevalence of mental disorders in high school (grade 12) students. (2) To study some related sociodemographic data.
Materials and methods: A cross-sectional study, using GHQ-28, that included 354 students randomly selected from grade 12 in four high schools - two male and two female high schools - in the National Guard Housing (Iskan), in Kashmalaan (suburb of Riyadh).
Results: The overall prevalence of mental disorders was found to be 48% (41% in males and 51% in females); more than 80% of these cases were mild to moderate. Females showed significantly more severe disorders than males (P = 0.017) and students with excellent performance degrees showed a significantly lower rate of mental disorders than others (P = 0.021). However, our study did not show a significant association between psychiatric disorders and other social variables (family size, birth order, and polygamous family) or smoking.
Conclusion: The adolescent age groups in our community had high rates of mental disorders, which required more attention from the family, as well as the educational and health institutes in our country.
Keywords: Adolescents; GHQ-28; Saudi Arabia; high school students; mental disorder; prevalence.
Conflict of interest statement
Similar articles
-
Prevalence of migraine and non-migraine headache among high school students at the National Guard Housing in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.Saudi Med J. 2009 Jan;30(1):120-4. Saudi Med J. 2009. PMID: 19139785
-
Association of overweight and obesity with decline in academic performance among female high-school students, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.East Mediterr Health J. 2017 Feb 1;22(12):887-893. doi: 10.26719/2016.22.12.887. East Mediterr Health J. 2017. PMID: 28181664
-
Examining the relationship between child maltreatment and school performance in public schools in Saudi Arabia: A pilot study.Scand J Public Health. 2017 Jul;45(5):536-542. doi: 10.1177/1403494817703211. Epub 2017 Apr 12. Scand J Public Health. 2017. PMID: 28403680
-
Factors associated with mental health of high-school students in the Islamic Republic of Iran.East Mediterr Health J. 2018 Jun 25;24(4):368-376. doi: 10.26719/2018.24.4.368. East Mediterr Health J. 2018. PMID: 29972231
-
Metabolic Syndrome: Prevalence and Risk Factors among Adolescent Female Intermediate and Secondary Students in Saudi Arabia.Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 Feb 22;18(4):2142. doi: 10.3390/ijerph18042142. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021. PMID: 33671739 Free PMC article.
Cited by
-
Lifetime prevalence and treatment of mental disorders in Saudi youth and adolescents.Sci Rep. 2023 Apr 15;13(1):6186. doi: 10.1038/s41598-023-33005-5. Sci Rep. 2023. PMID: 37061556 Free PMC article.
-
Prevalence and associated factor of depression symptoms among female secondary school students in Buraydah City, Saudi Arabia.J Family Med Prim Care. 2022 Jul;11(7):3808-3815. doi: 10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_90_21. Epub 2022 Jul 22. J Family Med Prim Care. 2022. PMID: 36387697 Free PMC article.
-
Labeled As Mentally Ill: Community Perspective Toward Mental Illness in Al Ahsa, Saudi Arabia.Cureus. 2021 Dec 3;13(12):e20127. doi: 10.7759/cureus.20127. eCollection 2021 Dec. Cureus. 2021. PMID: 34984157 Free PMC article.
-
Behind male Saudi nursing students' mental health facade: a husserlian phenomenological approach.BMC Nurs. 2021 Dec 10;20(1):249. doi: 10.1186/s12912-021-00779-w. BMC Nurs. 2021. PMID: 34886855 Free PMC article.
-
Child and adolescent mental health disorders in the GCC: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Int J Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2021 Sep;8(3):134-145. doi: 10.1016/j.ijpam.2021.04.002. Epub 2021 May 15. Int J Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2021. PMID: 34350324 Free PMC article. Review.
References
-
- Lawrence SN. Adolescent health care a practical guide. 3rd ed. London: Edward Arnold; 1996. pp. 225–7.
-
- Jacobson L, Churchill R, Donovan C, Garrarda E, Fay J. Tackling teenage turmoil: Primary care recognition and management of mental ill health during adolescence. Fam Pract. 2002;19:401–9. - PubMed
-
- Ferwana MS. Effect of psychiatric training course on GPs ability to detect psychiatric disorders, and their attitudes toward these disorders. (Thesis) 2000;28:52–4.
-
- SAMHSAs National Mental Health Information Center. Mental, Emotional, and Behavioral Disorders in Children and Adolescents. US Department of Health and Human Services. 2001