Prevalence of Depressive Disorders among Adolesecent Students in Oshimili South Local Government Area of Delta State, Nigeria

Abstract

This study investigated the prevalence of depressive disorders among the adolescent students in the selected area of the study. It also investigated the various types of depressive disorders among the adolescent students. Three research questions were raised and three corresponding hypotheses were formulated and tested at 0.05 alpha level of significant. One hundred and twenty-three (123) subjects were randomly selected for the study. Modified Beck Depression Inventory (MBDI) was adapted as the research instrument. The reliability of the instrument was 0.86 having used Cronbach’s alpha statistics which suggested that the items have relatively high internal consistency; t-test and ANOVA statistics were used to test the hypotheses. The result of the analysis showed that two hypotheses were retained, while one hypothesis was not retained, an indication that depressive disorders rate among the adolescent students based on mode of separation of parents was high. Psychological techniques for reduction of the rate of severity among the adolescent students were proffered; recommendations and suggestions for further studies were also made.

Keywords: Prevalence, Depressive Disorders, Adolescent Students, Secondary School