Background: Recent reviews indicate that mental health problems in the young are increasing.
Aims: To measure the prevalence of, and risk factors associated with, depression and low self-esteem among Irish post-primary students.
Method: 1,428 students, randomly selected from a sample of post-primary schools, were given an anonymised questionnaire. Analyses included bivariate and multivariate logistic regression.
Results: Questionnaires were completed by 992 (69.9%) respondents. 206 (20.8%) had a high depression score. Being from a single parent family (OR 2.8, 95% CI 1.5-5.4, p<0.001); having low self esteem (OR 13.44 95% CI 8.9-20.3, p<0.001); being female (OR, 3.7, 95% CI 2.5-5.6 p<0.001) and having a low fitness level (OR 1.8, 95% CI 1.2-2.8 p<0.006) were independently associated with a high depression score.
Conclusions: The level of self-reported depression was high among these respondents and risk factors identified include having low self-esteem, being female, being from a single parent family and having a low fitness level.