Abstract:
Secondary school students in extended educational opportunity schools are risk of depression due to various adaptations such schools necessitate. The purpose of this predictive correlational study was to examine depression and its influencing factors among secondary school students in extended educational opportunity schools in Muang District, Chon Buri Province. Stratified random sampling was employed to select 160 students. Data were gathered by seven questionnaires: a Personal Information Form, Childrens Depression Inventory Scale, Social Intelligence Scale, Family Connectedness Scale, Friendship Intimacy Scale, Online Game Addiction Scale, and Online Chat Addiction Scale. These scales yielded Cronbachs alpha coefficientsof .89, .90, .83, .80, .80and.94, respectively. Data were analyzed by descriptive statistics and stepwise multiple regression. The findings revealed that 65.60% of the sample was experiencing depression. Among these, 28.70% had mild to moderate depression, and 36.90% had severe depression. Stepwise multiple regression analyses revealed that family connectedness (β = - .53, p< .001), friendship intimacy (β = -.23, p< .001),online game addiction(β = .18, p< .01), and online chat addiction behavior (β = .18, p< .05) had statistically significant effects on depression. These factors together explained 52.30 % (R 2 = .523, p< .05)of the variance in depression among these students. The results suggest that health care providers should be aware that depression among students in extended educational opportunity schools is an important mental health concern. Mental health programs to prevent or decrease depression by enhancing family connectedness and friendship intimacy, and by modifying online game addiction and chat addiction behaviors should be promoted.