The correlates of depressed mood in adolescents in Hong Kong

Purpose: Most studies of depressed mood and its correlates in adolescents h ave been conducted in Western countries. This study examined the relationsh ip between a broad range of stressors and depressed mood in a community sam ple of Hong Kong adolescents. Methods: Secondary school students (n = 996) completed the Chinese Beck Dep ression Inventory (C-BDI), provided demographic information, and indicated their perceptions of family and peer relationships, school function and pre ssures, and subjective health, and some measures salient to the Hong Kong e nvironment: triad gang pressure, religiosity, and intent to emigrate. The c orrelation between C-BDI and these variables was assessed in bivariate and multivariate analyses. Results: Hong Kong adolescents reported higher levels of depressive symptom s than a comparison group of Western teenagers. Girls showed more symptoms than boys. All stressors correlated in bivariate analyses with C-BDI, indic ating similar influences on depressed mood in Western and Hong Kong teenage rs. In multivariate analyses, the stressors contributed cumulatively to the C-BDI score. Perceptions of a lack of parental understanding and peer acce ptance appeared as the strongest variables in predicting depressed mood. Conclusions: Depressed mood is highly prevalent among Hong Kong teenagers. Stressors play a cumulative role in their relationship to mood. Our finding s point to the importance of broad screening of this vulnerable population. (C) Society for Adolescent Medicine, 1999.