215 - Protective Factors for Adolescent Anxiety: A Cross-Sectional Survey

Publication Number: 2207.215

Mala Mathur, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI, United States; Paula Cody, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Verona, WI, United States; Qianqian Zhao, University of Wisconsin at Madison, ANN ARBOR, MI, United States; Megan A. Moreno, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI, United States

Background: National surveys of U.S. adolescents indicate growing rates of anxiety, now up to16.1%. While past studies have explored risk factors that predispose adolescents to anxiety, less is known about socially protective factors such as sense of belonging and connection to adults at both school and at home.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to advance our understanding of socially protective factors for anxiety among high school adolescents in one Midwestern County.

Design/Methods: The Dane County Youth Assessment (DCYA) survey was conducted in 17 public school districts with students in grades 9-12 on a range of health topics. We assessed anxiety using the Generalized Anxiety Disorder scale (GAD-7). We assessed proposed protective factors including having a sense of belonging, having an adult to talk to at school, being able to talk to parents, and having family dinners together >5 nights per week while controlling for demographic variables. Cumulative logistic regression was used to study the relationship between anxiety severity with the above variables.

Results: A total of 15,448 high school students completed the DCYA, with 49% (n=7613) male and 66% white (n=10,208). A total of 61.5% (n=9501) adolescents scored as at-risk of anxiety, with 27.7% (n=4280) at risk for mild anxiety, 20.1% (n=3102) at risk for moderate anxiety, and 13.7% (n=2119) at risk for severe anxiety. Adolescents were less likely to experience anxiety with each of the protective factors examined and the strongest protective association for adolescents were those who had a sense of belonging (OR 0.33, CI 0.30-0.35) (Table 1).

Conclusion(s): Adolescents who had social connections with adults at school and at home, family meals together and a sense of belonging had lower risk of anxiety. Targeted interventions to address these salient socially protective factors at home, school and in the community may improve mental health for adolescents.

Table 1: Socially Protective Factors for Adolescent Anxiety
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