Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2024 Feb;66(2):148-156.
doi: 10.4103/indianjpsychiatry.indianjpsychiatry_176_23. Epub 2024 Feb 12.

Depression among currently married ever pregnant adolescents in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar: Evidence from understanding the lives of adolescents and young adults (UDAYA) survey, India

Priyanka Patel  1 , Krittika Bhattacharyya  2 , Mayank Singh  3 , Ravi Prakash Jha  4 , Deepak Dhamnetiya  4 , Neha Shri  5
Affiliations

Depression among currently married ever pregnant adolescents in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar: Evidence from understanding the lives of adolescents and young adults (UDAYA) survey, India

Priyanka Patel et al. Indian J Psychiatry. 2024 Feb.

Abstract

Background: Depression is a major public health concern among Indian adolescents. Pre- and post-natal depression can often alter fetal development and have negative consequences on the physical and mental health of the mother. This paper aims to draw attention to the prevalence of depression and its correlates among currently married, ever-pregnant adolescents from two Indian States, i.e. Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.

Methods: This study utilizes data from a subsample (n = 3116) of the prospective cohort study Understanding the Lives of Adolescents and Young Adults (UDAYA) among 10 to 19 year-old adolescents. Bivariate analysis was performed to assess the prevalence of depression by sociodemographic and behavioral characteristics. To further access the predictors associated with depression a logistic regression model was applied.

Results: Around one-tenth (9%) of pregnant adolescents had depression. Regression analysis indicated that substance use, religion, autonomy, considering attempting suicide, premarital relationship, violence, dowry, adverse pregnancy outcome, menstrual problem, and parental pressure for the child immediately after marriage were significantly associated with depression.

Conclusions: This study confirms the pre-existing annotation that teen pregnancy is linked with depression. Findings indicate that Adolescent mothers experiencing violence, and a history of adverse pregnancy outcomes are at increased risk of developing depression. These study findings call for an urgent need to address depression among adolescent mothers.

Keywords: Adolescent mothers; India; adolescent pregnancy; depression; mental health.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

There are no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flow diagram for selection of study participants out of total adolescents
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

References

    1. Pereira AB, Silva FDMAM, Figueredo ED. Anxiety and depression in pregnancy: A comparative study between early and late adolescents. J Health Biol Sci. 2018;7:5–8.
    1. UNICEF Ending Child Marriage: Progress and Prospects. UNICEF. 2014
    1. UNFPA . New York: United Nations Population Fund UNFPA; 2012. Marrying Too Young End Child Marriage.
    1. Sharp SC, Hellings JA. Efficacy and safety of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors in the treatment of depression in children and adolescents: Practitioner review. Clin Drug Investig. 2006;26:247–55. - PubMed
    1. Brito I. Anxiety and depression in adolescence. Portuguese J Geral Famil Med. 2011;27:208–14.