Bio-psychosocial risk factors associated with adolescent sub-threshold depression in Mamelodi Township, North-East Pretoria, South Africa

Abstract

Depression is a primary source of illness burden and disability in people of all ages. Current diagnostic procedures, which classify people with sub-threshold depression into complex discrete groups, may obscure the fact that depressive symptoms are dimensional and range from none to severe. Minor and sub-threshold depression are widespread, and individuals who fall below the diagnostic threshold have significant functional difficulties with a negative influence on their quality of life. Adolescents appear to be particularly susceptible to depression as noted by literature. The aim of this study was to explore the correlation between familial, peer, gender, genetics and South African factors (e.g. such as vulnerability to crime and violence; adolescent sexual behaviour, and threat to HIV/AIDS); and the development of adolescent sub-threshold depression with a sample of adolescents in Mamelodi Township. This study employed a correlation study design. Three online questionnaires were administered to 134 learners in three different schools in Mamelodi Township. The questionnaires were demographic questionnaire, Beck’s Depression Inventory-Second Edition (BDI-II), and the Adolescent Life Perspective Questionnaire (ALPQ). The results of the study were analysed using a multivariate analysis. The study found that familial, peers, genetics, and South African factors had a positive association to adolescent sub-threshold depression in Mamelodi Township. This suggests that the four factors had the possibility to influence the development of adolescent sub-threshold depressive symptoms in Mamelodi Township. Gender had a negative association towards adolescent sub-threshold depression, meaning that gender did not have an influence in the development of sub-threshold depression amongst adolescents residing in Mamelodi Township. The policy and service delivery implications of the findings will be to help mental health care practitioners, teachers, and the community enhance awareness of bio-psychosocial variables and adolescent sub-threshold depression symptoms.