This study aimed at searching for factors preventing depression for high school students in order to protect the students' mental health. In this study, the several factors assumed to influence on the students' depression were selected on theoretical ...
This study aimed at searching for factors preventing depression for high school students in order to protect the students' mental health. In this study, the several factors assumed to influence on the students' depression were selected on theoretical foundation of cognitive behavioral approach and resilience model on depression. Specifically, perceived life stress was expected to function as factors causing depression, irrational life beliefs as vulnerable factor on depression, and self-esteem as protective factor on depression. Also adaptive behaviors such as problem solving skills, open communication skills with parents and teachers, and self-control behaviors were expected to act as protective factors on depression.
The research problems to investigate in this study were as follows.
First, what is the reality of life stress and depression that the students perceive? Is the reality related to the students' general background such as sex, residence area, family type, educational background of parents, economic level of family, and participation in religion?
Second, what is relatively important factors influencing on the students' depression? What is the predicting rate of the relatively important factors for the discrimination of depression level(normal state, depressive state)?
Third, Are the intervening factors(vulnerable, and protective factors) contributive to characterize the adaptive/non-adaptive groups(low stress and low depression group, low stress and high depression group, high stress and low depression group, and high stress and high depression group)? In which paths are the mediating effects and the moderating effects of the intervening variables shown in the relationship between perceived life stress and depression? Does the chain of cause-and-effect on the depression follow the theoretical model?
The subjects(808 second-year high school students) were sampled by the purposive sampling and quota sampling method in Chungbook province: by area - urban community 51%, rural community 49%; by sex - male students 50%, female students 50%; by school type - general 79%, technical 21%.
Intervening variables(vulnerable, protective, and resilience factors) were measured by structured scale questionnaire and general background variables by one-shot questionnaire. The reliability(Cronbach's alpha) of 7 scales were .71 ~ .87. The validity of the responses by F-scale(10 pairs of questions) showed that 91.4% students had consistent answers for five-pair questions or more. Ten pairs of questions had 71.5% answers for difference level of 1 point or less(the maximum was 30 points).
Significant major findings were as follows:
1. There were about 40% students that had normal state in depression level, and 60% students showed depressive state. The result showed there was a high stress level on individual life area, and it was twice the stress level on other three stress areas(family life, school life, and social environment).
2. The result revealed that the important variables to cause directly significant effect on depression were perceived life stress, self-esteem, irrational beliefs and respondents' sex. Combined effect(R²) of these factors on the depression reached 62%. The rate of predicting correctly the depression level(normal state, depressive state) by 3 factors(perceived life stress, self-esteem and irrational beliefs) was 78%.
3. The intervening factors significantly contributed to characterize the adaptive/non-adaptive groups based on the perceived level of stress(low, high) and depression level(low, high). Non-adaptive groups(with high depression) showed higher irrational beliefs than adaptive groups, and protective factors of the groups were lower than those of other adaptive groups. It confirmed that the intervening factors well explained the adaptation and the non-adaptation. In the relation among perceived life stress - intervening factors - depression, the complicated and various significant paths were showed. Through the paths, we could identified that perceived life stress was powerful risk factor causing depression, irrational life beliefs was vulnerable factor increasing depression directly and indirectly, adaptive behaviors were protective factors weakening depression through self-esteem, and self-esteem was important mediating and moderating factor on depression. These results supported the cognitive behavioral model and resilience model on depression.
The implications for the social welfare practices and the suggestions for further research that the research results had were as follows:
1. Resilience promotion program, cognition re-structuring program, stress coping skills program, effective communication skills program, and self- control program are required to prevent the depression for the high school students.
2. The education welfare program needs to expand, because of high stress level on individual life area.
3. There are only 14% students who belong to the resilience group with high stress level but with low depression. To enlarge the resilience group, we need efforts to promote the resilience. We need further study to find solutions to increase the resilience level.
4. There was a significant difference of depression level depending on residence area. Students in the rural area have weak points on the protective factors and resilience factors. Thus, above all, the depression-prevention program should be prepared for students in this area. For the future work, we can investigate the depression characteristics depending on the area(large city, city, local town, farming area).