Stressors in secondary boarding school students: Association with stress, anxiety and depressive symptoms

Abstract

Introduction: Chronic stress in adolescents may cause physical, mental and emotional health issues which lead to poor outcomes if left untreated. The present study aimed to determine the prevalence of depression, anxiety and stress, and their association with stressors. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 350 students in a selected boarding school. Two validated Malay version questionnaires were used as instruments, which comprised the 21-item Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale to assess depression, anxiety and stress level, and Soalselidik Stressor Sekolah Menengah to assess stressors. Results: The prevalence of depression, anxiety and stress were 39.7%, 67.1% and 44.9%, respectively. The highest mean score was 2.3 (Ϯ0.80) for the academic-related stressor. All stressors (academic, interpersonal, intrapersonal, teacher, learning/teaching and social group) had significant association with depression, anxiety and stress (P < 0.001). Multiple regression showed that both the intrapersonal-related stressor and learning/teachingrelated stressor were 2.8-and 2.0-times more likely (adjusted odds ratio [OR] = 2.8 [P < 0.001] and OR = 2.0 [P = 0.002], respectively) to cause depressive symptoms. On the other hand, the interpersonal-related stressor was 2.9-times more likely (adjusted OR = 2.9, P < 0.001) to cause anxiety. The learning/teaching-related and intrapersonal-related stressors were 2.7-and 2.5-times more likely to develop stress (adjusted OR = 2.7 [P < 0.001] and OR = 2.5 [P = 0.001], respectively). Discussion: The possibility of introducing screening for mental health problems among boarding school students needs to be considered and investigated. Addressing the possible stressors and employing healthy coping may help in reducing negative emotional outcomes in these students.

Depression, anxiety, stress and its correlates among urban school going adolescents in Tamilnadu, India

“…Study by Wahab S et al, among secondary boarding school students in Malaysia showed the prevalences of depression, anxiety and stress as 39.7%, 67.1% and 44.9% respectively. 6 The results of depression and anxiety are much lower than the results of our study whereas stress is significantly higher in their study.…”

Malaysian adolescent students' needs for enhancing thinking skills, counteracting risk factors and demonstrating academic resilience

“…Mathematics, Physics, English Language and History). A similar study, by Wahab et al ( 2013 ), focusing on total 360 secondary boarding school students (16 years old in average) in Malaysia, revealed that the prevalence of stress, anxiety and depression was slightly higher (39.7%, 67.1% and 44.9%, respectively) compared with previous studies (see Ramli et al, 2008 ; Yusoff, 2010 ; Yusoff et al, 2011 ). These findings suggest that low socioeconomic status (see also Ong, Chandran, Lim, Chen, & Poh, 2010 ), high academic pressure and the lack of parental support are significantly linked to the risk factors that may lead to academic failure or poor performance as well as disciplinary problems at school.…”

Depressive symptoms in adolescents in Kuching, Malaysia: Prevalence and associated factors

“…A study on depressive symptoms and perceived competence in secondary school students in China reported that depressive symptoms was highest in students who perceived themselves to be relatively incompetent academically . Academic‐related stressor was reported to have the strongest association with stress, anxiety and depressive symptoms in secondary school students in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia . The association between academic performance and depressive symptoms was not directly investigated in the present study.…”