Mental health situation and related factors among secondary school students in Hue city

Abstract

Background: Mental health is an important component of a person's state of health. According to World Health Organization (WHO), there can be no health without mental health. Timely detection and care of mental health disorders are essential, contributing to health protection and improvement during the adolescent period and adulthood. Objectives: To describe the situation of mental health problems and identify some related factors in secondary school students in Hue city. Subjects and methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted with 500 secondary school students in Hue city from October 2021 to June 2022. The data was collected by face-to-face interviews using a pre-designed questionnaire that included social-demographic information, family and school problems, and the SDQ-25 scale which assesses adolescents' mental health status. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to identify factors associated with mental health. Results: Our research showed that 18.2% (95% CI: 15.1 - 21.8) students had abnormal mental health score; 27.4% (95% CI: 23.2 - 31.4) had borderline mental health score. The emotional problems had the highest rate (20.6%). Conduct problems, peer problem and hyperactivity/inattention accounted for 15.6%, 15.0% and 13.4% among the study subjects. 8.6% had prosocial problems. Some mental health-related factors were parents' marital status, frequency of physical activity, bedtime at the evening, family problems, school problems, and personal desires (p < 0.05). Conclusion: The percentage of students having mental health problems was high. It is necessary for family and school to encourage the participation in appropriate physical activities and change the habit of going to bed late to contribute to improving students' mental health status.