Prevalence of mental health status in adolescent school children of Kohima District, Nagaland

Background: Adolescents suffer from psychosocial problems at one time or the other during their development phase and they are highly vulnerable to develop psychiatric disorders. The aim of the study was to see the mental health status of school-going adolescents in Kohima district, Nagaland. Methods: The researcher used a cross-sectional study as the design. In the present study, field setting was private and government schools of Kohima district, Nagaland. The population sample consisted of school-going adolescents' age between 13 and 19 years from private and government schools in Kohima. Random sampling technique was used for the selection of schools. On the basis of which three schools were selected, the selected schools were taken consent from the school authority. Total enumeration method was used for data collection. A total of 702 students were recruited for the study. Adolescents, as well as parental consent, were undertaken. The study was undertaken with the approval of the Scientific Committee and the Ethical Committee of Lokopriya Gopinath Bordoloi Regional Institute of Mental Health. Socio-demographic data sheet and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire were used. Results: The prevalence of mental health status on the basis of the total difficulties score was found to be 17.2% at the abnormal level whereas 28.8% was at the borderline level. The study results also revealed that in adolescent population, emotional problem was present in 17.1%, hyperactivity in 16.1%, conduct problem in 15.2%, peer problem in 5.6%, and prosocial behavior in 5.1%. Conclusions: Mental health problems are highly prevalent among the adolescent population in India. Early identification, treatment, and promotion of mental health services are required.