Psychosocial Stressors And Predictive Psychiatric Disorders Among Adolescents In Bangla Medium Schools In Dhaka, Bangladesh

Abstract

Background: Adolescence is a crucial period of human development with various changes in multiple contexts. Psychosocial stress is one of the risk factors for making this age group vulnerable to mental health problems. In Bangladesh there is lack of research that explore the relationship between psychosocial stressors and psychiatric morbidity among adolescents.

Aim of the study: To assess the relationship between psychosocial stressors and predictive psychiatric disorders among adolescents of Bangla medium schools in Dhaka city.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional descriptive study carried out at two Bangla medium schools in Dhaka city during the period of October 2021 to September 2023. In total, 150 adolescents were purposively selected for the study from their schools. After taking their informed written consent and assent, they were interviewed using a semi-structured sociodemographic and relevant information questionnaire along with Bangla versions of Dhaka Stress Scale – Adolescent (DSS-Ad) and Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire Self-Report (SDQ-SR). Interview was carried out in face to-face self-report format using paper and pencil method. Ethical clearance was taken from Institutional Review Board of BSMMU and ethical issues were addressed throughout the study. Data were collected by the researcher and analyzed using SPSS 28.0 software. All comparisons were considered significant if p< 0.05.

Result: Among 150 adolescents, common psychosocial stressors included parental pressure for academic performance (82%), academic workload (76%), and low grades (67.3%). Other stressors were excessive internet use (58.6%), discord with parents (44%), upcoming exams (36.6%), harsh teacher behavior (36.6%), lack of recreation (29.3%), parental discord (26%), exam failure (23.3%), and bullying (20%). About 27.3% showed abnormal total SDQ scores. Based on SDQ impact scores, 9.3% had emotional disorders, 10% conduct disorders, and 10.6% hyperactivity disorders. Emotional disorders were significantly associated with severe stress (X²=3.58, p=0.047), and correlated with stress from living conditions (τ=0.269) and education (τ=0.245). Conduct disorders correlated with stress from family life (τ=0.164), living conditions (τ=0.164), interpersonal relations (τ=0.179), and education (τ=0.177).

Conclusion: Around one-fourth adolescents scored in abnormal range in SDQ. Severe levels of stress were found to be associated with emotional problems