Association between Social Support and Depression, Anxiety, Stress among Taze Boarding School Adolescents, Myanmar: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

: Adolescent is a transitional phase in which physical, psychological and behavioral changes happen leading to physical, social and mental health issues. The objective is to measure degree of depression, anxiety, stress and correlation with social support among boarding school adolescents. This cross-sectional study was conducted on 360 adolescents of 14 and 15 years old selected by systematic random sampling from three boarding schools in Taze Township, Myanmar. By self-administered method of data collection, the questionnaire is validated Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21). Data was analyzed by SPSS version 22. Result revealed among total students, 18.9%, 23.9% and 42.5% had moderate, severe and extremely severe depression; 41.9% and 29.2% had moderate and sever anxiety; 18.3%, 34.2% and 19.2% had moderate, severe and extremely severe stress. In bivariate analysis, gender was associated with depression, anxiety and stress while age, grade and social support were significant with only depression. In multivariate analysis, gender was significant with depression, anxiety and stress whereas age and social support were significantly associated with depression. Prevalence of depression, anxiety and stress is high to focus on solving the problems which can lead to poor life quality and suicide. Therefore, further studies are needed to detect other associations.