Depression and anxiety in pregnant adolescents

Abstract

Objective: To study depression and anxiety in pregnant adolescents. Methods: This research is a cross-sectional study in which the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) was used to evaluate the level of anxiety and depression among patients. The Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), which aims to measure the presence and severity of depression among patients, was also applied. For purposes of analysis, the participants were divided into two groups: precocious adolescents (12 to 15 years of age) and late adolescents (16 to 19 years of age). The difference between the means observed between the groups was analyzed using Student’s t test. A value of p < 0.05 was considered significant. Results: The mean BDI score among the 26 precocious adolescents was 24.0, whereas among the 61 late adolescents, the same score presented a mean of 15.7 (p=0.005). In relation to depression, according to the HADS, the precocious pregnant adolescents obtained an average of 8.8 (possible depression), whereas the late pregnant adolescents presented an average of 6.9 (unlikely depression) (p=0.005). Conclusion: Depression was more intense among precocious adolescents than among late adolescents. There was no significant difference in the intensity of anxiety, assessed by the HADS, between precocious and late adolescents.