Maternal depression and factors predicting depressive symptoms in adolescents in Bali, Indonesia

Abstract

Purpose

This study was conducted to investigate the predictive power of mothers’ depressive symptoms, perceived maternal parenting, perceived life stress, coping strategies, and resilience on adolescents’ depressive symptoms in Bali, Indonesia. The Transactional Model of Stress and Coping Theory was used to guide the conceptual framework.

Design

This study used a descriptive, correlational predictive design.

Methods

A total of 243 adolescents aged 15–19 years from a public school in Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia, and their mothers were recruited. A demographic data form, the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D), the Parental Bonding Instrument (PBI), the Negative Event Scale (NES), the Brief COPE Inventory (Brief COPE), and the 10-item Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC) were used to measure the variables in this study. Data were analyzed by using descriptive statistics and multiple regression.

Main finding

The mothers’ depressive symptoms, perceived maternal parenting, perceived life stress, coping strategies, and resilience could explain 40.8% of the variance in depressive symptoms in adolescents (R² = .408, F = 32.61, p < .05). Perceived life stress (β = −.366, p < .05) was the strongest predictor of depressive symptoms in Balinese adolescents.

Conclusions and recommendation

The results of this study can guide nurses to understand what could be manipulated by nursing interventions to prevent depressive symptoms in adolescents and promote optimal mental health in the vulnerable population.