Assessment of level of stress and depression among adolescents in Udupi taluk, Karnataka

Background: Adolescent is a period of age group from 10-19 years and are more prone to develop stress and depression because of hormonal changes, conflicts, negative behavior, and parental disapproval. Aims and Objective: To study the prevalence of stress and depression among adolescents in Udupi taluk, Karnataka. Material and Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted among adolescents within the age group of 14-17 years. Two stage stratified random sampling technique was employed. Stratification was done among schools into government, aided and private schools in first stage. In the second stage, proportional allocation was done among study participants of schools. The total sample size was 1058 respondents. A validated tool was used to collect data. Data was analyzed by SPSS 16.0. Results: Prevalence of stress and depression was 30.5% and 40% respectively. The prevalence of stress and depression was higher in girls and among adolescents of 15 years of age group. Age of adolescent, type of school and stream were found to be statistically significant with stress and father’s education was found to be statistically significant with depression. Conclusions: There is a scope of making policies to tackle stress and depression among adolescents.