Perceived Stress among Adolescent School Students in Hubli: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background: Psychological morbidity in children and adolescents is high. The present study was done to assess the level of perceived stress and psychological morbidities among secondary school students. Methods: A cross-sectional study was done on 311 adolescent students in 9th and 10th classes of two government and two private schools in Hubli city, Karnataka. A validated and culturally adapted version of the 12-item general health questionnaire (GHQ-12) and perceived stress scale (PSS-10) was administered with Cronbach's alpha of 0.74. coGuide software was used for analysis. Results: Out of 311 students, 159 (51.13%) were males; 50.5% were from government schools, 72.3% were from 10th class while 27.7% were from 9th class. On assessment by PSS-10 scale, 11.9% had low stress, 63.7% had average stress, and 24.4% were highly stressed. According to GHQ scale, 43.4% had evidence of distress while 50.2% had severe psychological distress. Conclusion: There was a high prevalence of stress among school students. It calls for regular assessment by trained psychologists. Integration of mental health services with school health services is the need of the hour.