Depression hits half of Hong Kong secondary pupils and a quarter have considered suicide, study finds
Survey finds 51 per cent of respondents showed various symptoms
Just over half of secondary school pupils showed signs of depression, according to a city-wide survey covering about 10,000 pupils.
Experts described the situation as "serious", with almost 20 per cent of the interviewed youngsters exhibiting moderate to severe symptoms.
Researchers from Baptist Oi Kwan Social Service and the Institute of Education interviewed 10,140 Form One to Form Six pupils in 22 schools through questionnaires between October last year and April this year.
A total of 51 per cent of pupils had an inclination to depression at different levels, according to the survey, which covered schools in 11 districts.
"We do not see a rising trend in depression but the numbers are consistently high," said Dr Chan Siu-miu, assistant professor in HKIEd's department of psychological studies.
"Having 12.9 per cent of pupils moderately depressed and 6.5 per cent severely depressed is a serious condition," said Chan, who has conducted similar studies with the social service group in the past four years.
