Prevalence and factors influencing depressive symptoms among children with dyslexia in China / 中国学校卫生

ABSTRACT

Objective@#To investigate the prevalence and factors influencing depressive symptoms among children with dyslexia in China.@*Methods@#A total of 6 298 children in grades 3-5 were recruited from eight primary schools in Baoan, Shenzhen. The Questionnaire for Children s Reading Ability, the Dyslexia Checklist for Chinese Children, the Pupil Rating Scale Revised Screening for Learning Disabilities, and the Children s Depression Inventory short version were used.@*Results@#The prevalence of dyslexia was 2.76%( n =174). The rate of depressive symptoms in children with dyslexia (37.36%) was higher than children without dyslexia (18.17%)( χ 2=40.94, P ＜0.01). Compared with children without dyslexia, children with dyslexia had an increased risk of depressive symptoms ( OR=2.65, 95%CI=1.87-3.75, P ＜0.01). In addition, the average time that a mother spent with her child every day was one of the factors influencing depressive symptoms. The risk of depressive symptoms was lower in children who spent ≥3 h with their mothers than children who spent <1 h(3-4 h: OR=0.54, 95%CI=0.36-0.81； 5-6 h: OR=0.51, 95%CI=0.34-0.78 ; ≥7 h: OR=0.47, 95%CI=0.32-0.69, P ＜0.01).@*Conclusion@#The rate of depressive symptoms in children with dyslexia was shown to be high. Increasing the time that mothers spend with their children every day is helpful in preventing the occurrence of depression in children.