Abstract

This study investigated the prevalence of depression among the senior secondary school students within the FCT, Abuja Metropolis.228 participants were selected for the purpose. An adapted depression questionnaire from Black Dog diagnostic test was used. The reliability of the test was calculated using the Cronbach Alpha which is 0.7. Out of the total number of participants, 29 met diagnostic requirements for depression. 23 girls representing 10.08% of the total participants, while 6 boys representing 2.63% of the participants met diagnostic criteria for the disorder. The study showed that girls were more predisposed to depression than boys. The hypothesis was tested using the Z-test. The test was calculated at 0.05 level of significance. The calculated value is 15.2, while the table value was 1.96. Because the calculated value was more the table value, the null hypothesis which stated there was no significant difference between the levels of depressions of boys and girls was rejected. The study confirmed prevalence of depression among students within the population under investigation. The levels of depression among participants were highlighted.