Prevalence and predictors of depression among college going youth of Meghalaya: A cross-sectional study

Backgrounds: College years are characterized by transitioning from pre-adult to adulthood, a period of turmoil, adjusting to the new condition, separation from parental supervision, independence, and countering new things throughout everyday life. Depression and health-risk behaviors, including alcohol, tobacco, and illicit drug, are often found in college students, particularly during their first year. Aim: To study the prevalence and predictors of depression among college-going youth of Meghalaya, India. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional community-based study has been undertaken to find the prevalence of depression, alcohol use, and drug use in college-going youth in Shillong, Meghalaya. A random sampling technique was used for the selection of colleges, and total enumeration was used for the selection of college-going students. A total of 358 respondents were selected for the present study. Permission from the college authority was obtained, and written informed consent was taken from the students. The participants have been explained the purpose of the study and the samples were selected voluntarily. The present study’s data were analyzed and interpreted using Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 20.0. Socio-demographic datasheet, Beck Depression Inventory-II, Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale, Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test, and drug abuse screening test were administered. Results: In the present study, 40.5% fall under the normal range of depression, while 38.3% had mild mood disturbance, 10.3% had borderline clinical depression, 9.7% had moderate depression, and severe depression was found in 1.1%. Alcohol use, drug use, and gender contribute significantly to the prediction of depression among college-going students (F[5,19.551] = 855.3, P = 0.000) accounting for 21.7% variance. Conclusion: Our findings highlight the need for a college mental health program for early identification and screening of substance use and depression in college students.