Self-rated psychiatric symptoms and their correlates among senior high school students in Hualien City.

The association between mental health disorders beginning in adolescence and disorders in early adulthood is increasingly acknowledged. The mental health of adolescents has not been studied in the eastern area of Taiwan, where the mortality of teenagers is highest in Taiwan. The purpose of this study was to assess psychiatric symptoms among senior high school students in Hualien City, and to identify their associated factors. A total of 1,195 students were selected, via a stratified cluster sampling method, from nine high schools in Hualien City. A self-administered questionnaire was used to assess students' demographic characteristics, neurotic traits, perceived daily-life stress, social support, and psychiatric symptoms. There were 1,141 valid responses. From principal components analysis, depression-anxiety, impulsivity-paranoia, and psychoticism-obsession were found to be the most common self-rated psychiatric symptoms. About 70% of the students felt blue, 48.2% reported urges to injure someone, and 25% felt tense. Overall, about 5% to 10% of high school students had severe psychiatric symptoms. Stress from schoolwork, peer relationships, and neurotic traits were important predictors of psychiatric symptoms. The findings of this study imply that screening for psychiatric symptoms at senior high schools is essential for improving the mental health of students. The mental health care of adolescents should be school-based and in collaboration with medical professionals. Life skills must be taught at school.