[Frequency and intensity of depression during menstrual period and it's relation with religious attitudes in Karaj High School Girls 2003]

One the most critical life periods of a girl is beginning of puberty and menstrual period .Depression is one the psychological disorders of puberty period which is prevalent among adolescent girls. Performing religious duties is one the important prevention factors of mental disorders especially depression. This research is performed with the aim to determine the frequency and intensity of depression during menstrual period and its relation with religious attitudes in Karaj high school girls in 2003. This research is a cross sectional descriptive-analytical study in which 264 students of ages 13-18 were randomly selected as samples. The instrument of data collection was questionnaire. To analyze data, descriptive and inferential statistical methods and SPSS software were used. The results indicated that, most of samples [64.8%] suffered from different degrees of depression and remaining 35.2% showed no depression. 63.7% of depressed students had mild, 30.5% moderate and 5.8% had severe depression. 14.4%, 68.6% and 17.0% of cases had high, moderate and low religious believes respectively. Moreover, results showed a meaningful and significant negative correlation between frequency and intensity of menstrual depression and religious believes [p<0.001]. Considering the research results, this disorder can be minimized through enhancing religious believes by families and educational centers and also enjoying the help of midwives and health centers as counselors