Maltese parents' awareness of the symptoms of depression amongst secondary school-aged children

Abstract

The apparent increased incidence in depression amongst adolescent children, made it significant especially in the context of spotting symptoms early on, particularly due to depression that is left untreated leaving adverse effects on the life of the adolescent, their family, and the future adult life of the adolescents themselves. Early detection of depressive symptoms by parents aware of the symptoms of depression could potentially lead to the illness being identified and treated as early as possible. The aim of this study was to investigate how much parents are aware of depression amongst adolescents by finding out whether parents know that secondary school children can suffer from depression, investigating how much Maltese parents are able to recognise depressive symptoms, finding out from where Maltese parents obtain their information regarding depression in adolescents and by finding out whether locally there is a need for awareness program aimed at informing parents about adolescent depression. 40 children from 4 classes were identified by the school authorities as eligible for the study. 4 students identified by the school authority were given the pilot study, and 36 took part in the main study, where all of the students in 4 classes were eligible and were handed out the questionnaire. Out of 36 questionnaires handed out, 33 parents of children who attend the secondary schools took part in this study, where they anonymously responded a questionnaire which tackled information on adolescent depression, knowledge about adolescent depression as well as the need for an awareness program. Data gathered from questionnaire, which was based on the aims and objectives of this study, yielded both quantitative and qualitative information. Permission was first sought from the Institute of Healthcare B.Sc. Dissertation Panel, from the Ethics Committee, University of Malta, from the Education Division, Floriana and then from a girls' and boys' secondary school which were conveniently selected by the researcher. The findings of this study, where descriptive statistics and content analysis were used, shed light on the information gathered by parents about adolescent depression, being mostly gathered through the mass media and other informal sources, whereas the preferred method of obtaining information by the parents was deemed to be through more professional sources. Some connect knowledge about depression was found out to be present in a significant amount although misinformation and lack of knowledge, although in minority, was noteworthy. The need for an awareness program was noted, where the parents listed various .reasons why they would like awareness programs, and the preferred method of delivery of an awareness program was through professionally made leaflets and by talks by professionals at schools. The author hopes that through this study, the need for knowledge and information about adolescent depression is not only identified, but the exigency for an awareness program that meets the informational needs of the parents to be carried out, for instance leaflets compiled by professionals and made accessible to the public by being posted door to door, or lectures to parents m their children's schools by professionals.