A COMPARATIVE STUDY ABOUT THE INTENSITY OF DEPRESSION AMONG GIRLS AND BOYS IN TEENAGE PERIOD

Human mental cycle has an important stage that is called teenage interval.
Teenagers often have special problems which are faced less in childhood and are different from the
ones in adulthood. One of the obvious traits of this stage is rapid physical maturation resulting in
apparent changes in body shape especially in girls. Different cultural tensions can lead to depression
among teenagers. The number of teenages diagnosed with depression may double by the year 2020.
The aim of this study was to determine the intensity rate of depression among teenage boys and girls.
Materials & Methods: In this descriptive-analytical study 400 students ( girls and boys ) of grade five
and six of secondary school in public highschools in Esfehan were evaluated during the educational
year, 2002-2003 . The samples were selected randomly. The data were collected using a questionaire
and analyzed by SPSS; statistical analysis included discriptive statistics.
Results: The mean rate for low depression was 26%, and moderate depressions 3/5%. In girls was low
depression 28% and moderate depression 4%; in boys low depression was 24% and moderate
depression 3%. Depression in teenage girls was more than boys and there was a significant difference
(t=0/225 p=0/001) between depression of boys and girls.
Conclusion: Depression is seen in all stages of life espiecially among teengers. It is about depression
and its riskfactors in teenage period especially,among teenage girls