The correlates of depressed mood in adolescents in Hong Kong

Purpose: Most studies of depressed mood and its correlates in adolescents have been conducted in Western countries. This study examined the relationship between a broad range of stressors and depressed mood in a community sample of Hong Kong adolescents. Methods: Secondary school students (n = 996) completed the Chinese Beck Depression Inventory (C-BDI), provided demographic information, and indicated their perceptions of family and peer relationships, school function and pressures, and subjective health, and some measures salient to the Hong Kong environment: triad gang pressure, religiosity, and intent to emigrate. The correlation between C-BDI and these variables was assessed in bivariate and multivariate analyses. Results: Hong Kong adolescents reported higher levels of depressive symptoms than a comparison group of Western teenagers. Girls showed more symptoms than boys. All stressors correlated in bivariate analyses with C-BDI, indicating similar influences on depressed mood in Western and Hong Kong teenagers. In multivariate analyses, the stressors contributed cumulatively to the C-BDI score. Perceptions of a lack of parental understanding and peer acceptance 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 findings point to the importance of broad screening of this vulnerable population.