Mental health problems among youth in India and its correlates

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to assess the prevalence and socio-economic determinants of common mental disorders among youth in India.

Design/methodology/approach

The study utilizes data from “Youth in India: Situation and Needs 2006-2007”. One-way analysis of variance is used to compare different groups. Poisson regression models are used to test the relationship of household, parental, and individual factors with mental health problems.

Findings

An estimated 11-31 million youth suffer from reported mental health problems in India. Results suggest that the household and individual factors like place of residence, wealth quintile, age, education, and occupation are the most important determinants of mental health problems among Indian youth. Parental factors lose their statistical significance once individual factors are controlled.

Research limitations/implications

Little is known about correlates of mental health among youth. Strengthening on-going programmes and creating awareness about mental health issues through various programmes may help improve scenario. The two limitations of the study are: first, data covering all the states would have given a broader and clear picture of the issue; and second, due to cross-sectional nature of the data the study is not able to look into the cause-effect relationship.

Originality/value

There are few studies which have explored mental health problems covering smaller areas in India. This is the first and the largest study conducted on a representative population of Indian youth to determine the correlates of reported mental health problems using General Health Questionnaire-12.

Citation

Gaur, K. and Ram, U. (2016), "Mental health problems among youth in India and its correlates", International Journal of Human Rights in Healthcare, Vol. 9 No. 2, pp. 95-108. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJHRH-08-2015-0024