Depression and aggression scores, reported sleep disorders status and their associated factors among adolescent girls in Northern Iran

• Published in: Current psychology (New Brunswick, N.J.) Vol. 40; no. 10; pp. 5064 - 5075
• Main Authors: Bahrami, Afsane, Salarbashi, Davoud, Mohammad-Zadeh, Mohammad, Tayefi, Maryam, Mirmoosavi, Seyed Jamal, Ferns, Gordon A., Bahrami-Taghanaki, Hamidreza, Ghayour-Mobarhan, Majid
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01.10.2021; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Behavioral Science and Psychology; Girls; Insomnia; Mental depression; Psychology; Sleep apnea; Sleep disorders; Social Sciences; Teenagers; Iran; Depression; Iran; Adolescents; Aggression; Insomnia
• ISSN: 1046-1310; 1936-4733
• DOI: 10.1007/s12144-019-00429-0

Depressive disorders are a common cause of morbidity, globally. We have evaluated the prevalence of depression, aggression and sleep disorders, and their associations with each other and socio-economic characteristics, in adolescent girls from northern Iran. This cross sectional study was performed in 940 adolescent students, aged 12–18 years old. The Beck Depression Inventory II, Buss-Perry Aggression, Insomnia Severity Index, Epworth Sleepiness Scale and STOP-Bang sleep apnea questionnaires were used to evaluate depression, aggression, insomnia, sleepiness and sleep apnea among the participants, respectively. A total of 634 (67.4%), 216 (23.0%), 222 (23.6%) and 2 (0.2%) of subjects had some degree of depression, insomnia, sleepiness or sleep apnea, respectively. Girls who lived in a small family group had a significantly higher depression score than those living in a larger family group. Girls from families in which their parents were divorced had higher depression and sleepiness scores compared to their peer group. Participants with high depression scores had higher aggression, insomnia, sleepiness and sleep apnea scores than subjects without ( P  < 0.05). In female adolescents, emotional, behavioral and sleep disorders appear to be related to their demographic and socio-economic characteristics. Aggression score, insomnia, day time sleepiness and sleep apnea were significantly more common in individuals with a high depression score, and may be causally related, although this could not be formally assessed in this study. Individuals at risk of depression need to be identified, as this may allow interventions that may improve their quality of life outcomes.