A Study Of Adolescent Depression And Its Relation With Stress And Loneliness

A large body of literature suggests that adolescence is a period of increased vulnerability to stressful life events such as depression. Adolescence can be defined as the period between childhood and adulthood which is usually marked by developmental changes in the physical, cognitive, and social-emotional capacities of adolescents. Adolescence is a demanding period in life cycle of a young person which may lead to depression. The contributory factors to adolescent depression are many and varied. Of the many contributory factors to adolescent depression, this study examined three of these contributory factors which are loneliness and stressThe respondents were 353 secondary school adolescents aged between 12 to 18 years old from Hanzhong city, Shaanxi Province. Data were collected by using a self-administered questionnaire. Adolescent depression was measured by Adolescent student Self-rating Depression Scale, while stress was measured by Perceive Stress Scale. Adolescent Loneliness Scale measured loneliness. The findings of the study showed as follows:1. Adolescent depression doesn't have significant gender difference and grade difference. But overall more girls are affected than boys from depression. High school student's depression lever is higher than junior high school student, with age, adolescent depression continues to strengthen.2. Adolescent loneliness doesn't have significant gender difference and grade difference.3. Adolescent stress doesn't have significant gender difference and grade difference, girls are affected than boys from stress.4. Stress and loneliness have significant correlation with depression.5. Stress and loneliness have significant positive effect on depression.6. Depression and loneliness have significant positive effect on stress.