study of depression prevalence rate among the guidance and secondary school students in shahreza city

the study was designed to determine the rate of depression prevalence among the guidance and secondary school students in shahreza town on 1384-85. 960 boy and girl students were selected through stratified random sampling method that was assessed through beck depression inventory (bdi). the data were analyzed through frequency and chi square test.this analysis indicated that %12/9 of students in guidance school and secondary schools in shahreza town have moderate and severe depression. also, %10 boy students in urban guidance school, %7/5 boy students in rural guidance school, %15/9 girl students in urban guidance school, %15 girl students in rural guidance school, %5/8 boy students in urban secondary school, %8/3 boy students in rural secondary school, %13/3 girl students in urban secondary school, and %26/7 girl students in rural secondary school were depressed. moreover, the difference between prevalence of depression in boy and girl students was statistically significant and depression in girls was more (p<0/001). on the other hand, the difference between prevalence of depression disorder in urban and rural students (p=0/390) and in guidance and secondary school students (p=0/171) was not statistically significant.depression prevalence in terms of gender is different, but life status (urban or rural) and academic level is not important in prevalence of depression. this result has implications for educational settings.