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Table 2 Proportion of male and female adolescents with major depressive disorder, depressive symptomatology and psychological distress, and time spent using Internet

From: Depression, psychological distress and Internet use among community-based Australian adolescents: a cross-sectional study

 

Total

Males

Females

p 1

Major depressive disordera

 With depression n (%)

288 (9.7)

89 (5.8)

199 (13.9)

p < 0.05

 Total depressive symptomatology score Mean (SD)

3.6 (5.3)

2.8 (4.4)

4.5 (5.9)

p < 0.05

Psychological distressb

 High/Very high

645 (21.7)

233 (15.3)

412 (28.7)

p < 0.05

 Total psychological distress score Mean (SD)

7.6 (6.8)

6.4 (5.8)

8.9 (7.6)

p < 0.05

Internet

 Uses Internet n (%) Yes

2941 (99.2)

1516 (99.2)

1425 (99.2)

NS

Internet use on an average weekday n (%)

NS

 2 h or less

1248 (42.4)

670 (44.2)

578 (40.6)

 

 3–6 h

1170 (39.8)

576 (38.0)

594 (41.7)

 

 7 h or more

523 (17.8)

270 (17.8)

253 (17.8)

 

Internet use on an average weekend day n (%)

NS

 2 h or less

1015 (34.5)

547 (36.1)

468 (32.8)

 

 3–6 h

1253 (42.6)

628 (41.4)

625 (43.9)

 

 7 h or more

673 (22.9)

341 (22.5)

332 (23.3)

 
  1. NS Non-significant
  2. 1Tested for significant difference between males and females in mental health measure using Chi goodness of fit test or Independent samples t-test as appropriate
  3. aMajor Depressive Disorder measured by the youth self-report module from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders Version IV (DISC-IV) criteria
  4. bPsychological distress measured by the Kessler Psychological Distress scale