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Peer-reviewedCC BYDiscover mental health

Prevalence and risk factors of mental disorders in a cross-sectional study of adolescents in South China.

  • Feifei Wang1
  • Lili Zhang2
  • Xinyu Xiang3
  • Andor Bodnár4
  • Rishi Pednekar3
  • Ruth Cortright3
  • Isabella Overby3
  • Jaspal Mahal3
  • Mengqi Zhang5
5 affiliations
  1. 1College of Medicine, Jiaxing University, Jiaxing, 314041, China. [email protected].
  2. 2No. 2 Experimental Primary School, Ninghua County, Sanming City, 365499, Fujian Province, China.
  3. 3Department of Health, Human Function, and Rehabilitation Sciences, The George Washington University, Washington, DC, 20052, USA.
  4. 4Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA.
  5. 5College of Education, Capital Normal University, Beijing, 100048, China.
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Abstract

Background

The mental health of adolescents is a critical global public health priority. This large-scale, cross-sectional study investigated the prevalence of depression, anxiety, and stress, along with their key associated risk factors, among school-attending adolescents in South China.Methods

An online anonymous survey utilizing the validated Depression Anxiety Stress Scales-21 (DASS-21) and the Mental Health Test (MHT) was administered to 23,856 students (mean age = 13.57 ± 1.94 years) from primary, middle, and high schools.Results

The results revealed concerning prevalence rates of mild-to-extreme symptoms: 27.9% for anxiety, 25.15% for depression, and 7.63% for stress. Severe study pressure (reported by 52%), loneliness (59%), and poor social relationships (50%) were identified as the predominant risk factors, with multivariate logistic regression confirming their significant associations with worse mental health outcomes (ORs ranging from 1.74 to 1.95).Conclusions

This large-scale study quantifies high anxiety and depression prevalence among South Chinese adolescents, identifying study pressure, loneliness, social difficulties, and self-harm as key modifiable risk factors. This study calls for school-based mental health interventions and provides timely empirical evidence to promote student well-being.

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Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{wang2026prevalence,
  title = {{Prevalence and risk factors of mental disorders in a cross-sectional study of adolescents in South China.}},
  author = {Feifei Wang and Lili Zhang and Xinyu Xiang and Andor Bodnár and Rishi Pednekar and Ruth Cortright and Isabella Overby and Jaspal Mahal and Mengqi Zhang},
  journal = {Discover mental health},
  year = {2026},
  month = jul,
  doi = {10.1007/s44192-026-00557-7},
  url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42897339},
  note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - Prevalence and risk factors of mental disorders in a cross-sectional study of adolescents in South China.
AU  - Feifei Wang
AU  - Lili Zhang
AU  - Xinyu Xiang
AU  - Andor Bodnár
AU  - Rishi Pednekar
AU  - Ruth Cortright
AU  - Isabella Overby
AU  - Jaspal Mahal
AU  - Mengqi Zhang
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/07/01
JO  - Discover mental health
DO  - 10.1007/s44192-026-00557-7
UR  - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42897339
AB  - Background  The mental health of adolescents is a critical global public health priority. This large-scale, cross-sectional study investigated the prevalence of depression, anxiety, and stress, along with their key associated risk factors, among school-attending adolescents in South China.Methods  An online anonymous survey utilizing the validated Depression Anxiety Stress Scales-21 (DASS-21) and the Mental Health Test (MHT) was administered to 23,856 students (mean age = 13.57 ± 1.94 years) from primary, middle, and high schools.Results  The results revealed concerning prevalence rates of mild-to-extreme symptoms: 27.9% for anxiety, 25.15% for depression, and 7.63% for stress. Severe study pressure (reported by 52%), loneliness (59%), and poor social relationships (50%) were identified as the predominant risk factors, with multivariate logistic regression confirming their significant associations with worse mental health outcomes (ORs ranging from 1.74 to 1.95).Conclusions  This large-scale study quantifies high anxiety and depression prevalence among South Chinese adolescents, identifying study pressure, loneliness, social difficulties, and self-harm as key modifiable risk factors. This study calls for school-based mental health interventions and provides timely empirical evidence to promote student well-being.
SN  - 2731-4383
ER  -