Sadness amongst school-children in Iceland

Abstract

Although it is perfectly normal to experience a low mood every now and then during adolescence as in other periods of the life-span, chronic sadness during this period can be a precursor to serious and repeated bouts of depression, anxiety, substance abuse and suicidal behavior. The current generation of adolescents is generally thought, both by the public as well as professionals, to be more susceptible to sadness than previous generations. How susceptible adolescents are to serious bouts of sadness is related to a number of concurrent factors that have to do with genetics, development and social status. The aim of the current study was to document changes in the prevalence of daily sadness amongst Icelandic adolescents from 2006–2018, and identify factors related to daily sadness in 2018.

The study is based on information gathered as part of the project Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) in which adolescents are asked about various issues relating to health, well-being and social situation. This data has been collected in Iceland every fourth year from 2006 and in the final phase of 2017–2018 a total of 7,159 students responded to the questionnaire. Prior to data collection, the questionnaire, together with a research plan, was submitted to the Icelandic Data Protection Authority and the University of Iceland Ethics Committee, neither of which had any reservations regarding the procedure. Subsequently, the same information was sent to all headmasters in Iceland in schools that had students in 6th, 8th or 10th grade, requesting their permission to conduct the study. As a follow-up, all parents and guardians received a letter of introduction with clear instructions as to how to decline a child’s participation. In the 2017–2019 phase, the questionnaire was in digitized form. The tables in the school-room were moved apart to ensure that students could not see one another’s answers. Then each student accessed the document on their computer. In the beginning there was a short introduction to the study accompanied by a clear statement that even though the study had been approved by school authorities and parents, the students were under no obligation to participate. The anonymity of answers was also emphasized.

The results show that the prevalence of daily sadness had increased by a third from 2006 to 2018, from 5.8% to 7.6% respectively. Adolescents coming from the poorest homes and those experiencing sleep difficulties almost every night had an almost 25-fold risk of daily sadness. Adolescents that experience themselves as being far too fat have a 13-fold risk, using alcohol frequently increased it tenfold and being bullied often every week increased the risk ninefold. Adolescents identifying their sex as “Other” than male or female were eight times more likely to experience daily sadness, as were those who frequently smoked cigarettes or cannabis. A fivefold increase in risk was seen amongst most frequent users of e-cigarettes, as well as among those who had poor relations with parents or school. Poor relations with friends tripled the risk. Other factors that approximately doubled the risk were immigration status, and female compared with male gender. Other variables had less impact. Tenth graders were around 50% more likely than sixth graders to experience sadness on a daily basis and disordered use of social media caused a 60% increase.

From these results one can conclude that the prevalence of daily sadness amongst Icelandic adolescents has indeed increased during the period from 2006 to 2018. Various factors influence the likelihood of daily sadness but the increase noted is probably related to upsurge in sleeping difficulties. It is important to make risk prevention easier, cheaper and more accessible to adolescents. Emphasis needs to be placed on coping skills, life skills, nurturing communication and healthy life-styles. In Iceland parents need to pay particular attention to their children’s sleeping habits, schools need to focus on reducing bullying and school stress, and society as a whole should stop stigmatizing adolescents based on gender, race, sexual orientation, body composition, economic status or skills.