Anxiety and Depression in Adolescents in Urban and Rural China
Abstract
The goal was to assess rates of anxiety and depression in adolescents in two areas of Zhejiang Province, China. A cross-sectional survey was carried-out using a self-report questionnaire developed for this study. Participants were middle school students (age range 13–16 years) in an urban and a rural setting. There were 1576 completed questionnaires. Symptoms of anxiety sufficient to interfere with enjoyment of life, relaxation, and sleep were common (48%, 40%, and 27%, respectively). School-related problems were the predominant sources of worry. One third reported a history of depression, 16% had at times felt life was not worth living, and 9% reported that they had attempted suicide. Girls were more likely to report symptoms of depression. Patterns of help-seeking showed reliance on friends and parents; only 1% had sought professional help. There were no significant differences in anxiety and depression between one-child and multisibling families.
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In a survey study of 1576 secondary students in China, Hesketh and Ding found that a considerable portion displayed symptoms of anxiety severe enough to interfere with basic life functions (i.e., sleep) as well as quality of life.
“in a survey study of 1576 secondary students in China, Hesketh and Ding [4] found that a considerable portion of the student body displayed symptoms of anxiety severe enough to interfere with basic life functions (i.e., sleep) as well as quality of life.”
From Academic Stress, Physical Activity, Sleep, and Mental Health among Chinese Adolescents (2021) · cites this paper as [4]
The prevalence of moderate to severe anxiety and moderately severe to severe depression in this study were lower than expected based on previous literature.
“Interestingly, though, the prevalence of reporting moderate to severe anxiety (15.8%) and moderately severe to severe depression (7.0%) were lower than expected based on previous literature [3,4,5].”
From Academic Stress, Physical Activity, Sleep, and Mental Health among Chinese Adolescents (2021) · cites this paper as [4]
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Academic Stress, Physical Activity, Sleep, and Mental Health among Chinese Adolescents
Zhu, X., Haegele, J. A., Liu, H., & Yu, F. (2021) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph18147257 · Cited by 154 · see citing works
“Similarly, in a survey study of 1576 secondary students in China, Hesketh and Ding [4] found that a considerable portion of the student body displayed symptoms of anxiety severe enough to interfere with basic life functions (i.”
BackgroundResultSiddik, M. A. B., Hasan, M. N., Mahmud, A., Munmun, M. S., Milad, M. H., Ali, A., Ahmed, Z., & Uddin, M. J. (2023) · PLOS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0295143 · Cited by 26 · see citing works
Kong, L., Zhao, M., Huang, W., Zhang, W., & Liu, J. (2025) · BMC Psychology · doi:10.1186/s40359-025-02696-y · Cited by 21 · see citing works
- Authors
- Hesketh, T., & Ding, Q. J.
- Affiliations
- University College London (GB)
- Zhejiang University (CN)
- Corresponding author
- Hesketh, Therese
- ORCID
- Hesketh, Therese
- Venue
- Psychological Reports
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2005-04
- Volume
- 96
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 435-444
- ISSN
- 0033-2941 (ISSN-L)
- 1558-691X
- OpenAlex
- W2056430819
- Cited by
- 87
- References
- 3
- Citations by year
- 2026: 4 · 2025: 10 · 2024: 10 · 2023: 11 · 2022: 5 · 2021: 9 · 2020: 4 · 2019: 7 · 2018: 5 · 2017: 7 · 2016: 2 · 2015: 1 · 2014: 2 · 2013: 1 · 2012: 2
- FWCI
- 0.39
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Psychological Reports (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- UCL Discovery (University College London) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Mental Health Treatment and Access
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Student Stress and Coping
- Keywords
- adolescent anxiety, adolescent depression, urban-rural differences, junior high school students, academic stress, suicide attempts, help-seeking, gender differences, family size, Zhejiang
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Anxiety, Catchment Area, Health, Child, China, Depression, Female, Humans, Male, Rural Population, Urban Population
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