Department of Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Science, Dire Dawa University, Dire Dawa, Ethiopia.
School of Public Health, Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT) Deemed to be University, Bhubaneswar, India.
PLoS One. 2024 Oct 24;19(10):e0295545. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0295545. eCollection 2024.
Epidemiological evidence about the prevalence of adolescent mental health issues and their association with mental health literacy is crucial for sustained mental health promotion strategies. Adolescence is a critical life stage for mental health promotion. However, evidence is not available among Ethiopian school adolescents. Hence, the present study examined the prevalence of adolescents' mental health issues and their correlation with mental health literacy.
A cross-sectional study was conducted among adolescents (grades 5-12) in Dire Dawa city, Eastern Ethiopia using multistage random sampling. Data was collected using the Strength and Difficulty Questionnaire, WHO-5 well-being index, and mental health literacy questionnaire. SPSS version 25 was used for the descriptive, Chi-square, binary logistic regression, and correlation analyses.
Between 14.0-24.5% of adolescents had reported mental health problems: internalizing problems (14.9-28.8%), emotional problems (10.4-25.5%), and peer relationship problems (17.8-25.5%). These mental health problems were significantly greater among adolescents who had either themselves or their family members used psychoactive substances (p≤0.05). Females from upper elementary (5-8 grade) and lower secondary (9-10) grade levels had a higher prevalence of mental health problems (AOR: 2.60 (0.95-7.10, p<0.05)). The effect of age, parental education, or employment status was insignificant (p>0.05). The prevalence of depression ranged from 18.0-25.5%. Mental health literacy was negatively correlated with total difficulties scores and positively associated with mental well-being scores (p<0.05).
The prevalence of adolescents' mental health problems was higher. It implied that promoting mental health literacy could enhance adolescents' positive mental health. Intervention programs should prioritize vulnerable groups and individuals reporting symptoms of mental health difficulties. Future studies should involve qualitative studies and consider effect of other determinants.
关于青少年心理健康问题的流行程度及其与心理健康素养的关系的流行病学证据对于持续的心理健康促进策略至关重要。青春期是促进心理健康的关键生命阶段。然而，埃塞俄比亚学校青少年的相关证据并不存在。因此，本研究调查了青少年心理健康问题的流行程度及其与心理健康素养的相关性。
在埃塞俄比亚东部的迪雷达瓦市，采用多阶段随机抽样对青少年（5-12 年级）进行了横断面研究。使用困难问卷、世界卫生组织-5 幸福感指数和心理健康素养问卷收集数据。使用 SPSS 版本 25 进行描述性、卡方检验、二元逻辑回归和相关性分析。
14.0-24.5%的青少年报告存在心理健康问题：内化问题（14.9-28.8%）、情绪问题（10.4-25.5%）和同伴关系问题（17.8-25.5%）。这些心理健康问题在自己或家人使用精神活性物质的青少年中更为显著（p≤0.05）。来自较高年级（5-8 年级）和较低年级（9-10 年级）的女生更有可能出现心理健康问题（AOR：2.60（0.95-7.10，p<0.05））。年龄、父母教育或就业状况的影响不显著（p>0.05）。抑郁的患病率在 18.0-25.5%之间。心理健康素养与总困难评分呈负相关，与心理健康评分呈正相关（p<0.05）。
青少年心理健康问题的流行程度较高。这意味着促进心理健康素养可以增强青少年的积极心理健康。干预计划应优先考虑弱势群体和报告心理健康困难症状的个人。未来的研究应包括定性研究，并考虑其他决定因素的影响。
