A survey released by the Sheng Kung Hui Macau Social Service Centre yesterday shows that over 50 percent of secondary school pupils’ state of mental health is “concerning”.
The centre presented the survey’s findings of the “Macau Secondary School Pupils’ Depression Anxiety Stress Scales and Resilience Scale” during a press conference at its office in Rua de Pedro Nolasco da Silva.
According to a statement provided by the centre during the press conference, the centre had been collecting responses for the survey since November last year, noting that over 630 secondary school pupils responded. The statement pointed out that the survey used “Depression Anxiety Stress Scales-21” (DASS-21) and “Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale” (CD-RISC-10) to assess respondents’ mental health.
The statement said that secondary pupils’ anxiety levels are the highest, adding that over half of the respondents’ mental health is “concerning”. The findings also show that high school pupils’ average depression, anxiety and stress scores are higher than junior secondary school pupils. The statement also said that many of the respondents are “seriously” or “very seriously” anxious.
The statement said that according to the DASS21 findings, 143 junior secondary school pupils’ mental condition is “concerning”, while 160 of the high schoolers have “concerning” mental conditions.
The statement also said that 56 percent of the secondary school pupils have five to seven hours of sleep. The statement also pointed out that 64 percent of the respondents go to sleep or play video games when they are stressed. The statement noted that 75 percent of the respondents talk to their friends when they are stressed, while classmates and parents are usually their second choice.
The survey findings indicate that the resilience level of the respondents scored between 22.2-22.9. According to the American standard, anyone who scores below 32 is “concerning”.
According to the statement, the centre is urging civil society to provide more resilience training and events for youths, adding that there should be more education on mental health issues.
The centre also said in the statement that it is encouraging youths to have at least eight to 10 hours of sleep per day in order to have a healthier life style.
