Stress, anxiety, depressive symptoms and related factors among high school students in Vietnam
Keywords:
stress, anxiety, depression, related factors, adolescents, high school studentsAbstract
Background: Mental health issues, including stress, anxiety, and depressive symptoms, are increasingly prevalent among high school students. Despite this growing concern, the related factors to these problems remain insufficiently explored, particularly within the Vietnamese context.
Methods: This cross-sectional study aimed to identify factors associated with stress, anxiety, and depressive symptoms among 789 Vietnamese high school students. Univariable and multivariable logistic regression analyses were conducted to examine these associations.
Results: The current study revealed significant associations between various factors and stress, anxiety, and depressive symptoms among high school students. Regarding stress, female students reported higher odds of stress symptoms than males, and those attending gifted schools experienced higher odds compared to their peers in non-gifted schools. Furthermore, students who reported feeling less happy or unhappy or moderately happy had higher odds of stress than those who described themselves as happy or very happy. In terms of anxiety, elevated odds of anxiety were observed among female students compared to male counterparts, those aged 18–20 compared to 16-year-olds, and students with less, unhappy, or moderately happy feelings compared to those with happy and very happy feelings. Regarding depressive symptoms, higher odds of depressive symptoms were found among female students, individuals not living with either parent, those with a family history of mental disorders, students with less, unhappy, or moderately happy feelings, and those who perceived their academic environment as negative or very negative.
Conclusion: Being female, having lower perceived happiness, and experiencing negative academic or familial circumstances were significantly associated with higher odds of stress, anxiety, and depressive symptoms. These findings highlight the need for targeted mental health interventions, particularly those that address gender-specific needs, enhance students’ well-being, and improve academic and family support systems. These findings support the need for school-based mental health screening and supportive interventions, while recognizing that DASS-21 outcomes reflect symptom burden rather than clinical diagnoses.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Dat Tan Nguyen, Ly Cong Tran, Chuong Nguyen-Dinh-Nguyen, Nhan Hong Pham, Hieu Trung Le, Muthmainnah, Yuli Puspita Devi, Thao Nguyen (Author)
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