DEPRESSION PREVALENCE AND LEVELS OF PERCEIVED SOCIAL SUPPORT IN REFUGEE AND RESIDENT ADOLESCENTS

Aim: This study was a cross-sectional study aimed to determine depression prevalence and to compare levels of perceived social support among resident and refugee students enrolled in secondary and high schools in Ba？c？lar, ？stanbul. Materials and Methods: The sample of the study consisted of 563 students (277 residents and 286 refugees) enrolled in one secondary school, two high-schools and one temporary training center. Students were administered Children’s Depression Inventory (CDI) and The Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) Results: While refugee and resident students were compared in terms of presence of depressive symptoms, it was found that 30.4% refugees and 17.3% residents had depressive symptoms and the difference between them was significant (p<0.001). While the presence of depressive symptoms was compared according to gender in the refugee group, 38.9% of males and 25.3% of females had symptoms. There was no significant mean difference of MSPSS between the two groups (p=0.073). When the results of CDI were compared according to school types refugees enrolled in, 19.5% of students from public schools and 34.1% of students from temporary training center had depressive symptoms and the difference between them was significant (p=0.019). Conclusion: According to findings of the study, refugee students had significantly higher depressive symptoms than resident students. Although there was no significant difference between the groups in terms of MSPSS, there were significant mean differences between the two groups in terms of family and friend subscales of MSPSS. These means were found higher for resident students