Table 2.
Proportion of male and female adolescents with major depressive disorder, depressive symptomatology and psychological distress, and time spent using Internet
| Total | Males | Females | p 1 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Major depressive disordera | ||||
| With depression n (%) | 288 (9.7) | 89 (5.8) | 199 (13.9) | p < 0.05 |
| Total depressive symptomatology score Mean (SD) | 3.6 (5.3) | 2.8 (4.4) | 4.5 (5.9) | p < 0.05 |
| Psychological distressb | ||||
| High/Very high | 645 (21.7) | 233 (15.3) | 412 (28.7) | p < 0.05 |
| Total psychological distress score Mean (SD) | 7.6 (6.8) | 6.4 (5.8) | 8.9 (7.6) | p < 0.05 |
| Internet | ||||
| Uses Internet n (%) Yes | 2941 (99.2) | 1516 (99.2) | 1425 (99.2) | NS |
| Internet use on an average weekday n (%) | NS | |||
| 2 h or less | 1248 (42.4) | 670 (44.2) | 578 (40.6) | |
| 3–6 h | 1170 (39.8) | 576 (38.0) | 594 (41.7) | |
| 7 h or more | 523 (17.8) | 270 (17.8) | 253 (17.8) | |
| Internet use on an average weekend day n (%) | NS | |||
| 2 h or less | 1015 (34.5) | 547 (36.1) | 468 (32.8) | |
| 3–6 h | 1253 (42.6) | 628 (41.4) | 625 (43.9) | |
| 7 h or more | 673 (22.9) | 341 (22.5) | 332 (23.3) | |
NS Non-significant
1Tested for significant difference between males and females in mental health measure using Chi goodness of fit test or Independent samples t-test as appropriate
aMajor Depressive Disorder measured by the youth self-report module from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders Version IV (DISC-IV) criteria
bPsychological distress measured by the Kessler Psychological Distress scale