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Prevalence and predictors of Anxiety and Depression among Adolescents and Young Adults: Findings from the MoreGoodDays Support Program in Alberta, Canada

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 August 2024

A. Belinda*
Affiliation:
1University of Alberta
R. Shalaby
Affiliation:
1University of Alberta
K. Hay
Affiliation:
2Kickstand, Edmonton
R. Pattison
Affiliation:
2Kickstand, Edmonton
E. Eboreime
Affiliation:
3Dalhousie University, Halifax
M. Korthuis
Affiliation:
4Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital Foundation, Edmonton, Canada
Y. Wei
Affiliation:
1University of Alberta
V. I. O. Agyapong
Affiliation:
1University of Alberta 3Dalhousie University, Halifax
*
*Corresponding author.

Abstract

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Introduction

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a rise in psychological disorders among adolescents and young adults. There is an increase in the prevalence of likely anxiety and likely depression among the subscribers of MoreGoodDays supportive text message program, reflecting the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on this cohort.

Objectives

To assess the prevalence, severity, and correlates of likely generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) and likely major depressive disorder (MDD) among subscribers of MoreGoodDays program.

Methods

This study used a cross-sectional design. An online survey questionnaire was used to collect sociodemographic and clinical information from subscribers of MoreGoodDays program, a daily supportive text message program co-designed with adolescents and young adults for their peers in Alberta. Validated instruments, the Generalized Anxiety Disorder GAD-7 and Patient Health Questionnaire-9 PHQ-9 were used to collect information on likely GAD and likely major depressive disorder (MDD), respectively. Data was analyzed with SPSS version 25 using chi-squared tests and binary logistic regression analysis.

Results

343 subscribers of MoreGoodDays participated in the survey. Overall, 117 (56.0%) respondents had a likely MDD and 97 (46.6%) had a likely GAD. Participants who would like to receive mental health counselling were 27 times more likely to experience GAD (OR = 27; 95% CI: 3.09–250.00) and 40 times more likely to experience MDD (OR = 40.03; 95% CI: 4.43–361.51) than those who did not. Respondents who had received mental health counselling in the past were 18.5 times more likely to experience MDD compared with those who had not (OR = 18.52; 95% CI: 1.55–200.00). Demographic variables, including age, education, employment, and relationship status, and clinical variables, such as history of anxiety, depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, ADHD, and adverse childhood experience, did not independently the predict presence of likely GAD or MDD in subscribers of MoreGoodDays.

Conclusions

The prevalence of anxiety and depression was relatively high among subscribers of MoreGoodDays, indicating the long-term effect of the COVID-19 pandemic. This finding has significant implications in the broader context of mental health research and emphasizes the need for more research into innovative mental health support for this cohort. The desire to receive counselling was predictive of both anxiety and depression and is a positive sign of the openness of this cohort to receive psychological intervention. Since this group is mostly adapted to mobile text technology, government agencies and policymakers should prioritize and implement readily accessible interventions such as supportive text messages to support their psychological well-being.

Disclosure of Interest

None Declared

Type
Abstract
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2024. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of European Psychiatric Association
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