Depressive Symptoms and Trust of Healthcare Provider in Rural Adolescents: Relationships and Predictors.
Heather K Hardin, Hana K Alchami, Arin Connell
PMID 32721182WHAT IT FOUND
Lower trust in healthcare providers and poorer stress management predicted higher depressive symptoms in rural adolescents.
Girls were more likely to be diagnosed with depression than boys, despite similar symptom scores. Building trust and teaching coping skills may help.
Key findings
01Lower trust in healthcare providers, lower health awareness, and poorer stress management predicted higher levels of depressive symptoms.
02There were no significant differences in mean depressive symptoms scores by age or sex.
03Girls were more likely to report a diagnosis of depression by a healthcare provider than boys.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study design was cross-sectional, so it cannot determine if low trust causes depression or if depression causes low trust. Depressive symptoms were measured using only three items from a lifestyle questionnaire rather than a validated depression scale, which may have reduced the sensitivity to detect sex differences. The sample was predominantly non-Hispanic white and from a single rural community, limiting generalizability to other populations. Data were self-reported, which can introduce bias.
Declared interests
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that boys in this population are less depressed than girls. Symptom scores were similar between sexes, but girls were significantly more likely to have a formal diagnosis, suggesting boys may be underdiagnosed or under-treated.