Adolescence is a critical phase in which physical, psychological, and intellectual challenges occur. This study assesses the prevalence and correlates of depression and anxiety among a national sample of adolescents. A cross-sectional correlational design using depression, anxiety, and stress scale was used. Our data revealed that 49.1% and 78.2% of Jordanian adolescents had severe depressive symptoms and anxiety, respectively. Depression and anxiety had a significant positive correlation with gender and age and a negative relationship with monthly income and fathers’ and mothers’ educational levels. Binary logistic regression revealed that the whole model for depression had a coefficient of determination X2: (4, N 1,344), R2 (.149); p < .005, whereas the overall model for anxiety showed a coefficient of determination X2: (4, N 1,344), R2 (.091); p < .005. This study indicates that depression and anxiety are highly prevalent among Jordanian adolescents. Thus, prioritizing funds for mental health services is paramount.
Abdel-FattahM. M.AsalA.Al-AsmaryS. M.Al-HelaliN. S.Al-JabbanT. M.ArafaM. A. (2004). Emotional and behavioral problems among male Saudi schoolchildren and adolescents prevalence and risk factors. German Journal of Psychiatry, 7(1), 1–9.
2.
Al SalmanZ. H.Al DebelF. A.Al ZakariaF. M.ShafeyM. M.DarwishM. A. (2020). Anxiety and depression and their relation to the use of electronic devices among secondary school students in Al-Khobar, Saudi Arabia, 2018–2019. Journal of Family & Community Medicine, 27(1), 53.
3.
AlAteeqD.AlDaoudA.AlHadiA.AlKhalafH.MilevR. (2018). The experience and impact of stigma in Saudi people with a mood disorder. Annals of General Psychiatry, 17(1), 1–9.
4.
AlattarN.FeltonA.StickleyT. (2021). Mental health and stigma in Saudi Arabia: A scoping review. Mental Health Review Journal, 26(2), 180–196.
5.
Al-GelbanK. S. (2007). Depression, anxiety and stress among Saudi adolescent school boys. The Journal of the Royal Society for the Promotion of Health, 127(1), 33–37.
6.
Al-GelbanK. S.Al-AmriH. S.MostafaO. A. (2009). Prevalence of depression, anxiety and stress as measured by the depression, anxiety, and stress scale (DASS-42) among secondary school girls in Abha, Saudi Arabia. Sultan Qaboos University Medical Journal, 9(2), 140.
7.
AliS.Al FaisalW.MahdyN. H.HusseinH.El SawafE.WasfyA. (2014). Determinants and prevalence of depressive symptoms in secondary school students in Dubai. Middle East Journal of Psychiatry & Alzheimers, 5(3), 11–18.
8.
Al-JohaniM. M.Al-QahtaniA. M. (2016). Prevalence and risk factors of anxiety among Saudi male secondary schools’ students in Madinah, Saudi Arabia. International Journal of Medical Science and Public Health, 5(9), 994–999.
9.
Al-YateemN.Bani IssaW.RossiterR. C.Al-ShujairiA.RadwanH.AwadM.FakhryR.MahmoudI. (2020). Anxiety related disorders in adolescents in the United Arab Emirates: A population based cross-sectional study. BMC Pediatrics, 20, 1–8.
10.
AmriS.BemakF. (2013). Mental health help-seeking behaviors of Muslim immigrants in the United States: Overcoming social stigma and cultural mistrust. Journal of Muslim Mental Health, 7(1), 43–63.
11.
AntonyM. M.BielingP. J.CoxB. J.EnnsM. W.SwinsonR. P. (1998). Psychometric properties of the 42-item and 21-item versions of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales in clinical groups and a community sample. Psychological Assessment, 10(2), 176.
12.
BeesdoK.KnappeS.PineD. S. (2009). Anxiety and anxiety disorders in children and adolescents: Developmental issues and implications for DSM-V. Psychiatric Clinics, 32(3), 483–524.
13.
BubonyaM.Cobb-ClarkD. A.WoodenM. (2017). Job loss and the mental health of spouses and adolescent children. IZA Journal of Labor Economics, 6(1), 1–27.
14.
CostelloE. J.MustilloS.ErkanliA.KeelerG.AngoldA. (2003). Prevalence and development of psychiatric disorders in childhood and adolescence. Archives of General Psychiatry, 60(8), 837–844.
15.
CrabtreeS. A. (2007). Culture, gender and the influence of social change amongst Emirati families in the United Arab Emirates. Journal of Comparative Family Studies, 38(4), 575–588.
16.
DardasL. A. (2017). A nationally representative survey of depression symptoms among Jordanian adolescents: Associations with depression stigma, depression etiological beliefs, and likelihood to seek help for depression. Duke University.
17.
DardasL. A.SilvaS. G.SmoskiM. J.NoonanD.SimmonsL. A. (2017). Personal and perceived depression stigma among Arab adolescents: Associations with depression severity and personal characteristics. Archives of Psychiatric Nursing, 31(5), 499–506.
18.
DardasL. A.SilvaS. G.SmoskiM. J.NoonanD.SimmonsL. A. (2018). The prevalence of depressive symptoms among Arab adolescents: Findings from Jordan. Public Health Nursing, 35(2), 100–108.
19.
EleyT. C.LiangH.PlominR.ShamP.SterneA.WilliamsonR.PurcellS. (2004). Parental familial vulnerability, family environment, and their interactions as predictors of depressive symptoms in adolescents. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 43(3), 298–306.
20.
EshahN.RayanA. H. (2015). The pyschological burden of a relative’s CICU admission. British Journal of Cardiac Nursing, 10(4), 194–200.
21.
GearingR. E.BrewerK. B.SchwalbeC. S.MacKenzieM. J.IbrahimR. W. (2013). Stigma and adolescents with psychosis in the Middle East: implications for engaging in mental health treatment. The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 201(1), 68–71.
22.
GearingR. E.MacKenzieM. J.IbrahimR. W.BrewerK. B.BataynehJ. S.SchwalbeC. S. (2015). Stigma and mental health treatment of adolescents with depression in Jordan. Community Mental Health Journal, 51(1), 111–117.
23.
GroenR. N.RyanO.WigmanJ. T.RieseH.PenninxB. W.GiltayE. J.WichersM.HartmanC. A. (2020). Comorbidity between depression and anxiety: Assessing the role of bridge mental states in dynamic psychological networks. BMC Medicine, 18(1), 1–17.
24.
HanW.-J.MillerD. P. (2009). Parental work schedules and adolescent depression. Health Sociology Review, 18(1), 36–49.
25.
ImranN.HaiderI. I.AzeemM. W. (2017). Generalized anxiety disorder in children and adolescents: An update. Psychiatric Annals, 47(10), 497–501.
26.
JaberR.FarroukhM.IsmailM.NajdaJ.SobhH.HammadA.DalackG. (2015). Measuring depression and stigma towards depression and mental health treatment among adolescents in an Arab-American community. International Journal of Culture and Mental Health, 8(3), 247–254.
27.
JavadiM.JourabchiZ.ShafikhaniA. A.TajikE. (2017). Prevalence of depression and anxiety and their association with body mass index among high school students in Qazvin, Iran, 2013–2014. Electronic Physician, 9(6), 4655.
28.
JayashreeK.MithraP. P.NairM.UnnikrishnanB.PaiK. (2018). Depression and anxiety disorders among schoolgoing adolescents in an urban area of South India. Indian Journal of Community Medicine: Official Publication of Indian Association of Preventive & Social Medicine, 43(Suppl 1), S28.
29.
JinninR.OkamotoY.TakagakiK.NishiyamaY.YamamuraT.OkamotoY.MiyakeY.TakebayashiY.TanakaK.SugiuraY. (2017). Detailed course of depressive symptoms and risk for developing depression in late adolescents with subthreshold depression: A cohort study. Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment, 13, 25.
30.
KoenigH. G.Al ZabenF.SehloM. G.KhalifaD. A.Al AhwalM. S.QureshiN. A.Al-HabeebA. A. (2014). Mental health care in Saudi Arabia: Past, present and future. Open Journal of Psychiatry, 4(2), 113.
31.
LovibondP. F.LovibondS. H. (1995). The structure of negative emotional states: Comparison of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS) with the Beck Depression and Anxiety Inventories. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 33(3), 335-343.
32.
MalakM. Z.KhalifehA. H. (2018). Anxiety and depression among school students in Jordan: Prevalence, risk factors, and predictors. Perspectives in Psychiatric Care, 54(2), 242–250.
33.
MoeiniB.BashirianS.SoltanianA. R.GhaleihaA.TaheriM. (2019). Prevalence of depression and its associated sociodemographic factors among Iranian female adolescents in secondary schools. BMC Psychology, 7(1), 1–11.
34.
MohammadiM. R.AlaviS. S.AhmadiN.KhaleghiA.KamaliK.AhmadiA.HooshyariZ.JaberghaderiN.NazaribadieM.FarshidfarZ. (2019). The prevalence, comorbidity and socio-demographic factors of depressive disorder among Iranian children and adolescents: To identify the main predictors of depression. Journal of Affective Disorders, 247, 1–10.
35.
MoussaM. T.LovibondP.LaubeR.MegaheadH. A. (2017). Psychometric properties of an arabic version of the depression anxiety stress scales (DASS). Research on Social Work Practice, 27(3), 375–386.
OldehinkelA. J.OrmelJ. (2015). A longitudinal perspective on childhood adversities and onset risk of various psychiatric disorders. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 24(6), 641–650.
38.
OllendickT. H.ShorttA. L.SanderJ. B. (2005). Internalizing disorders of childhood and adolescence. In: MadduxJE. (eds. Psychopathology)Foundations for a contemporary understanding (pp. 353–376). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
39.
SchubertK. O.ClarkS. R.VanL. K.CollinsonJ. L.BauneB. T. (2017). Depressive symptom trajectories in late adolescence and early adulthood: A systematic review. Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 51(5), 477–499.
40.
SewilamA. M.WatsonA. M.KassemA. M.CliftonS.McDonaldM. C.LipskiR.DeshpandeS.MansourH.NimgaonkarV. L. (2015). Suggested avenues to reduce the stigma of mental illness in the Middle East. International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 61(2), 111–120.
41.
ShahS. M.Al DhaheriF.AlbannaA.Al JaberiN.Al EissaeeS.AlshehhiN. A.Al ShamisiS. A.Al HamezM. M.AbdelrazeqS. Y.GrivnaM. (2020). Self-esteem and other risk factors for depressive symptoms among adolescents in United Arab Emirates. PLoS One, 15(1), e0227483.
42.
ThaparA.CollishawS.PineD. S.ThaparA. K. (2012). Depression in adolescence. The Lancet, 379(9820), 1056–1067.
43.
UNICEF. (2011). The state of the world’s children 2011-executive summary: Adolescence an age of opportunity. UNICEF.
