Farzana Ashraf, Najma Najam.
Comorbidity of anxiety disorder and major depression among girls with learning disabilities.
Pak J Med Res Jan ;54(4):109-12.

Background: Adolescence is a stressful period of transition where new behaviors and habits have to be adapted. This transition results in mental health problems of adolescents and hinders in their dealing with new challenges and opportunities. This issue is worsened when adolescents also have learning disabilities. Study design, settings and duration: Systematic random sampling technique was used and students from two government girls’ schools were selected from December 2012 to December 2013. Subjects and Methods: .Two government schools i.e. Government Girls Pilot Secondary High School, and Government Comprehensive Girls High School, Lahore were selected for the study. Every 4th adolescent girl from each class was selected from these schools and each girl was administered Learning Disabilities Checklist questionnaire to screen those having learning disabilities and those without learning disabilities. Anxiety and depression was evaluated using Spence Children Anxiety Scale and Children Depression Inventory respectively. Co-occurrence of anxiety and depression among both groups was calculated using frequencies, percentages and Pearson Product Moment Correlation analysis. Results: Out of 111 girls, 47 were labeled as non-learn disabled and 64 as learn disabled. Coexistence of depression and anxiety symptoms ranged from 21-40%. There was significantly strong relationship between anxiety and depression between both groups, which was more significant among girls having learning disabilities. Mean symptoms of depression were higher in the learning disabled group. Conclusion: Many girls studying in schools have learning disabilities with significant numbers having depression and anxiety too. Policy message: Mental health evaluation of children in schools should be regularly carried out to screen and assist those who have mental issues.

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