Introduction
Depression is a common and serious mental
health issue that affects people of different ages
and races with high prevalence rates and difficult
treatment and recovery. Depression has been
ranked among the four major mental illnesses,
among the top five factors contributing to the
global disease burden [1,2]. Depression is more
and more increasing among young people,
especially common among adolescents.
According to the findings of Lopez et al.,
depressive disorder has been seen as one of the
most prevalent mental illnesses amongst
adolescents [3]. The rising prevalence of
depression among adolescents has been found in
the community and in clinical studies [4,5]. In
recent times, there are several studies on
depression, which have been globally
documented among a large sample of
adolescents in several countries, including
England, Netherlands, Russia, America, Iran,
India, Australia, Canada and Vietnam [7-17].
Previous studies conducted revealed that
adolescence is a crucial period of transition in
human life [18]. The great changes to
psychology, behaviour and hormones begin to
come out in this period, and it becomes a starting
point to numerous mental health problems such
as depression. In this regard, the prevalence of
depression from 10 to 18 years old was 5.6
percent [19]. Depression in adolescents is a
mental and emotional disorder.
The effects of depression on adolescents have
been mentioned in many scientific studies for a
long time. Depression among adolescents was
associated with some negative impacts on the
growth and development of the adolescents such
as difficulties in academic and social
relationships, related to academic
underachievement, declined participation in
social activities, fatigue, low energy, feelings of
worthlessness and hopelessness, unemployment,
abuse, alcohol dependence, leading to suicidal
thinking and behavior, functional impairment
and poor mental health, as well as adolescent
pregnancy and a raising of developing other chronic illnesses [20-27]. Depression in
adolescents can be seen as the main risk element
for suicide, and nearly half of the suicide victims
in adolescence announced that they have a
depressive disorder at the time of death [28].
Besides, depression also impacts other aspects of
adolescents, including serious impairments of
society and education, and rising rates of
substance misuse, smoking, and obesity [29].
These findings in prior studies showed that
depressive disorder is a serious mental health
illness. Hence, recognising and treating
depression in adolescents is greatly important.
Some recent studies have revealed that numerous
factors are affecting depressive disorders in
adolescents, including parenting style, academic
stress, social support, sense of self-efficacy, and
negative cognitive style and cognitive factors
[30-40]. Previous studies of Anli and Karsli and
Irons et al., have confirmed a positive correlation
between negative parental rearing and depression
[41]. The negative parental caring, including
rejection and overprotection, will lead to anxiety
disorder and depressive disorder. Another way,
the positive parental rearing attitudes known as
emotional-warmth are protective factors from a
number of psychological disorders. Besides, the
high levels of depression were associated with
parenting style by the low level of caring and
nurturance, and the high levels of overprotection.
Moreover, authoritarian parenting style produced
negative impacts that were positively correlated
with depression and permissive parental rearing
style was negatively correlated with depression
among adolescents [42]. Parent-adolescent
conflict negatively influenced the mental and
emotional health of Vietnamese adolescents [43].
Several studies have shown the educational
stress to be significantly related to depression in
adolescents. Specifically, parent and teacher
expectations are the core causes of educational
stress among adolescents and girls had higher
educational stress than boys. Besides, low
academic achievement, some stressful events,
and negative teachers and parents’ feedback also
led to depression especially, and low academic
achievement was the factor most associated with
adolescent depression [44]. The higher levels of
depression adolescents had, the lower academic
performance they had and children with
depression had more academic problems than
their non-depressed counterparts. Recent studies
have indicated that social support from peers,
family and teachers is associated with adolescent
depressive symptoms. Mental health is related to
mathematics anxiety and academic achievement
among Vietnamese adolescents [45]. The social
supports were related to positive emotions and
well-being, indicating social supports correlated
positive mental health. The higher the levels of
social support, the less likely adolescents had
depressive symptoms. Social support deficiency
has been a significant risk factor leading to
depressive symptoms among adolescents. Prior
research suggests that self-evaluation is the main
factor affecting the cognitive model of
depression, and negative self-evaluation was one
of the strongest common depressive symptoms in
adolescents, and negative assessments and
beliefs about life events related to the
development of the depressive disorder. In
accordance with Swami et al., life satisfaction is
a direct and positive association with depression
[46,47]. The high expectations that do not match
real life may diminish life satisfaction and low
life satisfaction may lead to depression in
adolescents.
Moreover, the low satisfaction on social support,
the probability of having problems of depression
in adolescents is high. Besides, resilience has
been defined as the capability to pass over or
adapt to stressful events and a process to harness
resources to sustain well-being in life [48]. Other
studies indicated the relation between resilience
and depression symptoms. The higher personal
resiliency, the lower levels of depression
symptoms were associated and more likely to
higher life satisfaction. This has also been
explored in prior studies indicating that there is a
negative association with depression symptoms
[49,50].
In Vietnam, several studies on depression in
adolescents have been conducted so far. Nguyen
et al., examined 1161 secondary students in Can
Tho City, and concluded that students with low
academic achievement and higher educational stress showed more depressive symptoms. In
addition, educational stress was the greatest
factor enhancing the risk of symptoms of
depression in adolescents. Besides, Bui et al.,
showed that some significant factors affect
depression in adolescents, including health
status, marital status, education and area of
residence. However, as far as is known, very
little previous research has investigated the
factors affecting depressive disorder in
Vietnamese adolescents, especially in Hue City.
Objectives
This paper aims to fill this gap by analysing
factors associated with depressive disorder
amongst adolescents in Hue City, Vietnam. The
paper starts with the literature review related to
issues on the factors influencing depressive
disorder in adolescents and then followed by
research methods, results, discussion, and
conclusion in the last.
Methodology
Participants
This study used a quantitative approach,
participants were recruited randomly from five
schools in Thua Thien Hue province, Vietnam. A
total of 1351 questionnaires were distributed, and
1336 questionnaires were returned for a 98.89
percent return rate. That exceeds the 30 percent
response rate most researchers require for
analysis.
The survey results in Table 1 indicate that there
were more female students (53.7%) than male
students (45.9%) and LGBT students (0.4%)
among the total sample population of 1336
Vietnamese students. Following the collected
data family structure, there were more Two-parent
families (88.5%), Divorced or separated
parents (6%) and Deceased father/mother
(3.7%), as shown in Table 1.
Measure
The questionnaire was designed to survey
secondary and high school students from Thua
Thien Hue province, Vietnam. This research
started in January 2019 and finished in
December 2020. First, social-demographic items
were introduced in the questionnaire. Then,
Vietnamese secondary and high school students’
perception of depression differs concerning
gender and grade measured by Beck Depression
Inventory (BDI). BDI-II has been validated in
college students, adolescent psychiatric
outpatients, and adult psychiatric outpatients
[51]. The participants’ responses are provided in
four different levels based on a 4-point scale and
are rated from 0 (not at all) to 3 (an extreme form
of each symptom), indicating the degree of
severity.
Analysis
Informed consent was used, and participation
was completely voluntary. The Ethics
Committee approved the present study of Hue
University, Vietnam. The Statistical Package for
Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20 was used in
the research. The coding procedure was
performed as follow, that is, 0=not at all,
1=mildly, that is, it did not bother me much,
2=moderately, that is, it was very unpleasant, but
I could stand it, and 3=severely, that is, I could
barely stand it. According to Beck, the following
guidelines have been suggested to explain the
BDI-II (4) 0-13 with minimal range, 14-19 with
mild depression, 20-28 with moderate
depression, and 29-63 with severe depression.
From the results, the scale in the research
indicated high reliability with Cronbach’s alpha
at 0.876.
Sixteen items measured the Educational Stress
Scale for Adolescents (ESSA) to examine
academic stress. A 5-point Likert scale ranges
from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree)
with five dimensions consisting of 4 items with
pressure from the study, 3 items with worry
about grades, 3 items with despondency, 3 items
with self-expectation and 3 items with the
workload. ESSA has been validated in Vietnam
in order to examine academic stress among
adolescents. Cronbach’s alpha was 0.83,
indicating that the scale has a high level of
internal consistency (49). The internal
consistency in the present research with
Cronbach’s alpha was 0.86. Thai et al., found
that the cut-off points suggested as below 50
(low stress), 51-58 (medium stress), and above
58 (high stress) [52]. From the results, the scale
in the research indicated high reliability with
Cronbach’s alpha was 0.823, and the values of
the item-total correlation were all more than 0.3.
The resultant KMO coefficient was adequate,
Bartlett’s Test statistics with p <0.05 and
cumulative of variance was more than 50
percent. The results showed that the scale was
reliable and valid.
Egna Minnen Betraffande Uppfostran-Short
Form (s-EMBU) is a shortened version of the
original scale with 23 items and is designed to
examine perceptions of parental rearing
behaviours [53]. The s-EMBU includes three
subscales of rejection with seven items,
emotional warmth with six items, and
overprotection/control with nine items. A 4-point
Likert scale is used, ranging from 1=No, 2=Yes,
but seldom, 3=Yes, often, and 4=Yes, most of
the time. From the results, the scale in the
research indicated high reliability with
Cronbach’s alpha, α=0.714, and the values of the
item-total correlation were all more than 0.3. The
resultant KMO coefficient was adequate,
Bartlett’s Test statistics with p <0.05 and
Cumulative of Variance was more than 50
percent. The Cronbach’s alpha for the three
subscales was 0.713, 0.814, and 0.693.
The Adolescent Self-Rating Life Events
Checklist (ASLEC) has 27 items designed to
assess the frequency and intensity of stressful life events in adolescents [54]. The scale includes 6
subscales of interpersonal relation, learning
pressure, punishment, health and adaptation,
bereavement, and others. The effect of negative
life events experienced within the past six
months was answered on a 5-point likert scale
ranging from 1 (not at all) to 5 (extremely
severe). From the results, the scale in the
research indicated high reliability with
Cronbach’s alpha, α=0.923 and item 27 was
removed with the values of the item-total
correlation being less than 0.3. The resultant
KMO coefficient was adequate, Bartlett’s Test
statistics with p<0.05 and Cumulative of
Variance was more than 50 percent. The higher
mean values of items, the more stressful negative
life events of adolescents are.
The Satisfaction with Life Scale consists of 5
items to assess satisfaction with people’s life
[55]. The initial experiment results at Illinois
University with 171 students, who were selected
randomly, revealed good reliability with
Cronbach’s alpha, α=0.87 [56]. The Satisfaction
with Life Scale based on a 7-point likert scale
ranges from one to seven (1=strongly disagree;
2=disagree; 3=slightly disagree; 4=neither
disagree nor agree; 5=slightly agree; 6=agree;
and 7=strongly agree). The possible scores range
from 5 to 35 wherein 31-35 indicates extremely
satisfied, 26-30 satisfied, 21-25 slightly satisfied,
20 neutral, 15-19 slightly dissatisfied, 10-14
dissatisfied, and 5-9 extremely dissatisfied. From
the results, the scale in the research indicated
high reliability with Cronbach’s alpha values,
α=0.795, and the values of the item-total
correlation more than 0.4. The resultant KMO
coefficient was adequate, Bartlett’s test statistics
with p<0.05 and cumulative of variance was
more than 50 percent. The results indicated that
the scale was reliable and valid.
The Perceived Social Support Scale (PSSS) is
composed of 12 items measuring social support
an individual receives from family (3, 4, 8 and
11), friends (6, 7, 9 and 12) and special person
support (1, 2, 5 and 10) [56]. A 5-point Likert
scale rates from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5
(strongly agree). The higher the level of social
support perceived, and the total scores can range
from 12 to 60. The scale was validated in Hue
University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Vietnam,
with Cronbach’s alpha values, α=0.88). From the
results, the scale in the research indicated high
reliability with Cronbach’s alpha for family
subscale, α=0.834, α=0.827 with friends’
subscale, and α=0.854 with special person
support subscale. The scale in this study found
high reliability with Cronbach’s alpha at 0.885.
The 10-item Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale
is a shortened version of the original scale with a
25-item CD-RISC [57]. A 5-point Likert scale
ranges from 1 (not true at all) to 5 (true nearly all
the time). The total scores range from 10 to 50
and a higher score indicates higher resilience.
From the results, the scale in the research
indicated high reliability with Cronbach’s alpha
values, α=0.854, and the values of the item-total
correlation more than 0.3. The CFA affirms EFA
deriving from the one-factor structure because
the results revealed that positive, highly
significant and highly satisfactory fit indices
with regression weights more than 0.4: Chi-Square=158.466, CMIN/DF=5.282, P<0.001,
CFI=0.969, GFI=0.977, NFI=0.962 (>0.90) and
RMSEA=0.057 (≤ 0.08). According to
modification indices, paths of covariance
between error terms for items 1 and 8, items 2
and 7, items 3 and 6, items 4 and 6, and items 5
and 10 were added to improve the model fit.
There was no cross-loading or path between
error terms and items being conducted in the
final model [58].
Results
The percentage of depressive disorders among Hue’s adolescents is presented in Table 2. The results from Table 2 show that more than half of the adolescents, which accounted for 50.7 percent (678 adolescents) with minimal depression symptoms, followed by 22.8 percent (305 adolescents) of the adolescents with mild depression, while 18.7 percent (250 adolescents) of the others reported moderate depression, and the lowest rate was for severe depression with 7.7 percent (103 adolescents).
The survey results in Table 3 illustrate the depression group, the mean score of academic stress (M=58.40, SD=8.052), self-rating life events (M=54.05, SD=23.661), satisfaction with life (M=18.65, SD=6.202), social support (M=40.54, SD=8.944), resilience (M=30.34, SD=7.354) rejection (M=12.84, SD=3.553), emotional warmth (M=14.42, SD=4.125), and (over) protection (M=19.75, SD=4.523), respectively. This is in the comparison the without depression group with academic stress (M=50.68, SD=9.159), self-rating life events (M=40.74, SD=22.536), satisfaction with life (M=22.05, SD=6.122), social support (M=43.56, SD=8.580), resilience (M=32.86, SD=7.537), rejection (M=11.33, SD=3.442), emotional warmth (M=15.90, SD=3.954), and (over) protection (M=18.00, SD=4.186). There was a statistically significant difference between the mean score of academic stress, self-rating life events, parents’ educational styles, satisfaction with life, social support, resilience among adolescents without and with depressive symptoms at the level of p<0.001.
According to Table 4, there was a reliable and significant correlation between dependent and eight independent variables (Table 4). There was a weakly positive correlation between academic stress and depressive disorder (r=0.478, p<0.01), self-rating life events and depressive disorder (r=0.361, p<0.01), rejection and depressive disorder (r=0.307, p<0.01), and (over) protection and depressive disorder (r=0.231, p<0.01). The higher the academic stress, self-rating life events, rejection, and (over) protection, the higher the levels of the depressive disorder. There was a weakly negative correlation between emotional warmth and depressive disorder (r=-0.212, p<0.01), satisfaction with life and depressive disorder (r=-0.362, p<0.01), social support and depressive disorder (r=-0.228, p<0.01), and resilience and depressive disorder (r=-0.220, p<0.01). The higher level of emotional warmth, satisfaction with life, social support and resilience, the lower the levels of the depressive disorder.
Given the impact factor in which the variables were assessed, hierarchical regression was performed. As the academic stress was entered at stage one, satisfaction with life factor was entered at stage two, self-rating life events at stage three, rejection at stage four, resilience at stage five, and social support factor at stage six. The first stage explained (F=394.836, p<0.001) with an Adjusted R2=0.228 and confirmed the academic stress as a significant predictor of depressive disorder (β=0.478, p<0.001). Of the variables in the second stage, academic stress (β=0.431, p<0.001) and satisfaction with life (β=-0.291, p<0.001) were identified as significant predictors of depressive disorder among adolescents. When satisfaction with life was added to the model (F=300.796, p<0.001) with an Adjusted R2=0.310, there was a significant regression equation. In the third stage, the academic stress (β=0.363, p<0.001), satisfaction with life (β=-0.278, p<0.001) and self-rating life events (β=0.194, p<0.001) were identified as significant predictors of depressive disorder. When self-rating life events were included in the model (F=232.337, p<0.001) with an Adjusted R2=0.343 there was a significant regression equation. Next in the fourth stage, the academic stress (β=0.352, p<0.001), satisfaction with life (β=-0.257, p<0.001), self-rating life events (β=0.168, p<0.001), and rejection (β=0.099, p<0.001) were identified as significant predictors of depressive disorder among adolescents. Rejection was added (F=180.496, p<0.001) with an Adjusted R2=0.350 and there was a significant regression equation. The variables in the fifth stage, academic stress (β=0.341, p<0.001), satisfaction with life (β=-0.223, p<0.001), self-rating life events (β=0.173, p<0.001), rejection (β=0.107, p<0.001) and resilience (β=-0.091, p<0.001) were identified as significant predictors of depressive disorder among adolescents. When resilience was included in the model (F=148.857, p<0.001) with an Adjusted R2=0.357, there was a significant regression equation. When all six factors emerged from the model as significant predictors with the largest being the academic stress (β=0.342, p<0.001), satisfaction with life (β=-0.188, p<0.001), self-rating life events (β=0.180, p<0.001), rejection (β=0.103, p<0.001) and resilience (β=-0.084, p<0.001), and social support (β=-0.074, p<0.01). When social support was added to the model (F=126.061, p<0.001) with an Adjusted R2=0.360, there was a significant regression equation.
There were positive effects of the academic stress, self-rating life events and rejection variables on the depressive disorder variable. The higher the academic stress, self-rating life events and rejection, the higher depressive disorder was found in adolescents. On the other hand, there were negative effects of satisfaction with life, social support, and resilience variables on depressive disorder variables. The higher satisfaction with life, social support, and resilience was, the lower depressive disorder would be found in adolescents.
Percentages of depressive disorders |
Without and with depressive symptoms |
N |
Mean |
Std. Deviation |
t |
p |
Academic Stress |
Yes |
657 |
58.40 |
8.052 |
16.370 |
0.001 |
No |
679 |
50.68 |
9.159 |
Self-rating Life Events |
Yes |
657 |
54.05 |
23.661 |
10.529 |
0.001 |
No |
679 |
40.74 |
22.536 |
Satisfaction with Life |
Yes |
657 |
18.65 |
6.202 |
-10.084 |
0.001 |
No |
679 |
22.05 |
6.122 |
Social Support |
Yes |
657 |
40.54 |
8.944 |
-6.297 |
0.001 |
No |
678 |
43.56 |
8.580 |
Resilience |
Yes |
657 |
30.34 |
7.354 |
-6.183 |
0.001 |
No |
679 |
32.86 |
7.537 |
Parents’ Educational Styles |
Rejection |
Yes |
657 |
12.84 |
3.553 |
-6.183 |
0.001 |
No |
678 |
11.33 |
3.442 |
Emotional Warmth |
Yes |
656 |
14.42 |
4.125 |
-6.683 |
0.001 |
No |
679 |
15.90 |
3.954 |
(Over) Protection |
Yes |
657 |
19.75 |
4.523 |
7.357 |
0.001 |
No |
679 |
18.00 |
4.186 |
Note: p < 0.001 |
Table 2: Academic stress, self-rating life events, parents’ educational styles, satisfaction with life, social support, resilience between adolescents without and with depressive symptoms.
Survey results |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
Depressive disorder |
1 |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
Academic stress |
0.478** |
1 |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
Self-rating life events |
0.361** |
.362** |
1 |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
Rejection |
0.307** |
.245** |
0.328** |
1 |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
Emotional Warmth |
-0.212** |
-.116** |
-0.057* |
-0.327** |
1 |
- |
- |
- |
- |
(Over) Protection |
0.231** |
.283** |
0.396** |
0.512** |
0.001 |
1 |
- |
- |
- |
Satisfaction with life |
-0.362** |
-.162** |
-0.127** |
-0.263** |
0.474** |
-0.046 |
1 |
- |
- |
Social support |
-0.228** |
-.064* |
0.016 |
-0.146** |
0.465** |
0.038 |
0.513** |
1 |
- |
Resilience |
-0.220** |
-.134** |
-0.007 |
-0.024 |
0.244** |
0.101** |
0.357** |
0.274** |
1 |
Note: **Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed); *Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed) |
Table 3: Correlation between academic stress, self-rating life events, parents’ educational styles, satisfaction with life, social support, resilience and depressive disorder.
S.No |
Model |
Unstandardized coefficients |
Standardized coefficients |
R |
R Square |
Adjusted R Square |
t |
F |
B |
Std. Error |
Beta |
1 |
Academic stress |
0.480 |
0.024 |
0.478 |
0.478 |
0.229 |
0.228 |
19.870*** |
394.836*** |
2 |
Academic stress |
0.433 |
0.023 |
0.431 |
0.558 |
0.311 |
0.310 |
18.704*** |
300.796*** |
Satisfaction with life |
-0.433 |
0.034 |
-0.291 |
-12.637*** |
3 |
Academic stress |
0.365 |
0.024 |
0.363 |
0.587 |
0.344 |
0.343 |
15.127*** |
232.337*** |
Satisfaction with life |
-0.413 |
0.034 |
-0.278 |
-12.306*** |
Self-rating life events |
0.077 |
0.009 |
0.194 |
8.125*** |
4 |
Academic stress |
0.353 |
0.024 |
0.352 |
0.593 |
0.352 |
0.350 |
14.630*** |
180.496*** |
Satisfaction with life |
-0.382 |
0.034 |
-0.257 |
-11.148*** |
Self-rating life events |
0.067 |
0.010 |
0.168 |
6.848*** |
Rejection |
0.263 |
0.064 |
0.099 |
4.090*** |
5 |
Academic stress |
0.343 |
0.024 |
0.341 |
0.59 |
0.359 |
0.357 |
14.178*** |
148.857*** |
Satisfaction with life |
-0.332 |
0.036 |
-0.223 |
-9.103*** |
Self-rating life events |
0.068 |
0.010 |
0.173 |
7.076*** |
Rejection |
0.283 |
0.064 |
0.107 |
4.409*** |
Resilience |
-0.115 |
0.030 |
-0.091 |
-3.847*** |
6 |
Academic stress |
0.343 |
0.024 |
0.342 |
0.603 |
0.363 |
0.360 |
14.234*** |
126.061*** |
Satisfaction with life |
-0.280 |
0.041 |
-0.188 |
-6.879*** |
Self-rating life events |
0.071 |
0.010 |
0.180 |
7.337*** |
Rejection |
0.274 |
0.064 |
0.103 |
4.262*** |
Resilience |
-0.105 |
0.030 |
-0.084 |
-3.510*** |
Social support |
-0.079 |
0.028 |
-0.074 |
-2.846** |
Note: **: p<0,01; ***: p<0,000 |
Table 4: Coefficients.
Discussion
Numerous studies on depression among Vietnamese adolescents have focused on various aspects and factors. In this population, Duong Tran investigated the psychosocial correlates of adolescent depression in Vietnam [59]. Kim et al., investigated cultural differences in the temporal relationships between somatic complaints, anxiety, and depressive symptoms in adolescents [60]. Tran et al., conducted a crosssectional study on the prevalence of depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation among Vietnamese college students from various regions [61]. Long et al., investigated the aggregation of lifestyle risk behaviors and the influence of schools on these behaviors among Vietnamese adolescents [62]. Dang et al., examined the co-occurrence of the "big four" health risk behaviors (tobacco use, alcohol consumption, physical inactivity, and improper diet) [63]. Ho et al., investigated the relationship between academic stress, depression, life satisfaction, and resiliency in Vietnamese adolescents [64]. These studies collectively contribute to adolescent depression in Vietnam by examining risky behaviors, psychosocial aspects, cultural influences, and regional differences.
The goal of the research was to explore factors influencing depressive disorders among adolescents in Thua Thien Hue province, Vietnam. The results found a significant correlation between depressive disorder and academic stress, self-rating life events, satisfaction with life, social support, resilience, and parents’ educational styles. There was a positive impact of academic stress, self-rating life events, overprotection, and rejection on depressive disorder. Apparently, there was a negative impact of satisfaction with life, resilience, and social support on depressive disorder. The results of the research demonstrate two things. First, adolescents with a higher level of academic stress, self-rating life events and rejection were the higher depressive disorders were. Second, adolescents with a higher level of satisfaction with life, resilience, and social support experienced lower depressive disorders.
This result ties well with previous studies wherein there is a positive correlation between rejection and depressive disorders, and overprotection and depressive disorders among adolescents. The higher levels of rejection and overprotection, the higher depressive symptoms among adolescents were. Besides, rejection and overprotection seem to be risk factors related to disorders such as depressive problems. A similar conclusion was reached by Bal et al., that is, social support negatively correlated with depressive disorder. The more raised social support was, the more decreased symptoms of depression adolescents had. The findings support prior studies that indicated a strong inverse association between life satisfaction and depressive problems [65]. Where adolescents’ life satisfaction is improved and enhanced, fewer symptoms of depression are found. Whereas the lower life satisfaction is, the probability of having depressive disorder is higher. Besides, Hu et al., revealed that people with higher resilience have fewer symptoms of depression. These results align with previous reports by Nguyen et al., showing that higher the levels of the academic stress those adolescents have, the more likely they are to experience feelings of depressive disorders and seemed to be one of the greatest impact factors on increasing symptoms of depression. The results also highlight that academic stress plays a crucial role in predicting symptoms of depression.
The results contribute to the literature by providing insight into the importance of factors related to depressive disorders, including academic stress, self-rating life events, satisfaction with life, resilience, social support, and parents’ educational styles. The present research provides significant depression and related factors among secondary and high school students.
Conclusion
The research objective was to evaluate factors affecting depressive disorders of adolescents in Thua Thien Hue province, Vietnam. Depression is one of the most common mental health problems, which have been experienced globally by children and adolescents. The present study found support for academic stress, self-rating life events, rejection, and (over) protection as significantly and positively related to depressive symptoms. Besides emotional warmth, satisfaction with life, social support and resilience as significantly and inversely related to depressive disorders, more factors impact depressive symptoms among adolescents such as not only the problems related to school but also family, social environment, and even adolescents’ cognition. Future research should consider the potential effects of these factors more carefully and replicate results in larger sample sizes or in other provinces in Vietnam to examine factors influencing students’ depression.
Limitations
There are several limitations to this approach. One concern about the findings in the sampling process is that the sample of the research was selected randomly from five schools in Thua Thien Hue province, Vietnam, which may limit generalization of the results through the other adolescents. Therefore, the number of adolescents should be expanded to other areas in Vietnam for potential study in the future. Another limitation in this study involves the method of sampling. The instruments were selfreported, contributing to biassed findings and being a cross-sectional analysis that did not allow the researchers to have accurate results. In order to take these limitations into account, a longitudinal study would be much more expedient for better observation of adolescent depression in different contexts.
Recommendations
There could be multiple recommendations. First,
the study findings aided in the development of
critical recommendations and foundations for
developing solutions to lessen depression among
adolescents in Thua Thien Hue, Vietnam.
Furthermore, in the contexts of Vietnamese
higher education measures and schools, the
findings of this research will provide essential
considerations and consequences for different
levels of leaders seeking to improve the quality
of mental health services.
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