Mental health, bullying, and violent injuries among adolescents – A cross-sectional study

ABSTRACT

Background: Adolescents (10–19 years) constitute about one-fifth (21.4%) of India’s population. It has been identified as one of the vulnerable periods of life when the various health problems may occur. The prevalence of mental health problems among adolescents in India varies from 8.7% to 31.2% as shown in different studies. Objectives: The objectives of this study were to estimate the prevalence of mental health issues, violence, bullying, and unintentional injuries among adolescents. Materials and Methods: The present study is an observational descriptive study. After obtaining ethical clearance from the institutional ethics committee, 100 students from rural and 100 from urban areas of both sexes were randomly selected. A questionnaire based on global school-based student health survey was prepared. Responses obtained from self-administered questionnaire were entered into Microsoft Excel. Data were analyzed in Microsoft Excel using simple proportions and Chi-square test to find statistical significance if any. Results: About 11% felt lonely most of times, 13.5% had difficulty in sleeping at most of nights, and 2.5% even considered of attempting suicide. Girls (15%) reported being bullied more as compared to boys who reported it to be 9%. Furthermore, reports were more for urban area (15%) than for rural one (9%). Conclusion: Adolescents are being bullied or get involved in a physical fight (17%). Mental health issues are also widely prevalent among them. About 28% felt lonely, 30.5% could not sleep at night, and 2.5% even considered attempting suicide.