Prevalence and Determinants of Depression among Qatari Adolescents in Secondary Schools Dr. Noora Al-Kaabi 1 , Dr. Nagah Abdel Aziz Selim 2 , Dr. Rajvir Singh 3 , Dr. Hamad Almudahka 4 and Dr. Mansoura Salem 5* 1 A., program director community medicine, consultant community medicine HMC 2 A., Professor, public health and preventive medicine, Cairo University Egypt, Consultant, Community, PHCC, Qatar 3 Senior Consultant Biostatistics, HMC, Qatar 4 Consultant community medicine,assistant executive director for service development ,PHCC, Qatar 5 Consultant family medicine PHCC; A., Professor Family Medicine Suez Canal University, Egypt * Corresponding author: Dr. Mansoura Salem Ismail, Consultant Family Medicine PHCC, A., Professor Family Medicine Suez Canal University, Egypt, Tel: 0097450013135; E-mail: mansoura70@hotmail.com Received date: September 20, 2017; Accepted date: September 28, 2017; Published date: October 09, 2017 Copyright: © 2017 Al-Kaabi N, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Abstract Adolescence is an important period for the development of a socially integrated self-negative, which may affect future decisions through depression and anxiety. It is estimated that 20% of adolescents have some type of psychological disorder, and the most common disorder is depression [1]. Methodology: A cross sectional descriptive study conducted among Qatari adolescents in secondary Schools in Qatar. Multistage sampling technique was applied, 823qatari adolescent students were approached of which 797 agreed to participate giving a response rate of 96.8 %. Using a self-administered Arabic version of Beck’s Depression Inventory – II (BDI-II) [2], which measures the depression over the last two weeks in adults and adolescents aged 13 years and older. Results: Almost one third of Qatari adolescents in secondary schools have depression 34.5%, Female adolescents were more likely to have depression than male. Bad relationship with peers, parents and teachers were among the most significant predictors of depression (OR=14.0, 95%CI=1.55-124), (OR=9.4, 95%CI=1.04-85.4), (OR=5.0, 95%CI=1.41-18.26) consecutively. Recommendation: Adopting holistic approach in dealing with adolescent’s wellbeing, through incorporating preventive psychological interventions, such as early screening for depressive symptoms, counseling and psychological support should be available to adolescent students with depressive symptoms. Keywords: Depression; Adolescents; Secondary; School Introduction Adolescence is an important period for the development of a socially integrated self-concept, while a negative self-concept may afect the future decisions through depression and anxiety [1]. It is estimated that 20% of adolescents have some type of psychological disorder and the most common disorder is depression [2]. Depression is a serious mental disorder among adolescents; it’s associated with an increase in family problems, academic difculties, substance abuse and absenteeism. Tese problems can become chronic or recurrent which leads to substantial impairments in an individual’s ability to take care of his or her everyday responsibilities. At its worst, depression can lead to suicide [3]. By 2020, depression will be the second leading cause of world disability and by 2030, it is expected to be the largest contributor to disease burden [4], Many tools are available to measure depression among adolescents but the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II) has become one of the most useful measures for depression in many countries as it has been translated and validated into several languages [5]. It is a 21 item inventory which measures the depression over the last two weeks in adults and adolescents aged 13 years and older. Its item content corresponds to criteria for the diagnosis of depressive disorders as specifed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders–IV (DSM–IV) [6]. School is an extraordinarily efective setting for improving health, it provides the most efective and efcient way to reach portions of adolescents. Promoting health through schools enhances both health and capacity of students to learn, schooling has been shown to be a powerful way to infuence health both within and outside the school. Te appropriate identifcation and treatment of mental disorders in this period provide adolescents with immediate positive benefts and serves to counteract consequences such as poor academic performance, substance abuse and suicidal behavior [7]. In Qatar, there is no available information that describes the magnitude of depression among adolescents; therefore, descriptive baseline studies are necessary for planning adolescents’ mental health program. F a m i l y M e d i c i n e & M e d i c a l S c i e n c e R e s e a r c h ISSN: 2327-4972 Family Medicine and Medical Science Research Al-Kaabi et al., Fam Med Med Sci Res 2017, 6:3 DOI: 10.4172/2327-4972.1000219 Research OMICS International Fam Med Med Sci Res, an open access journal ISSN:2327-4972 Volume 6 • Issue 3 • 1000219