Depressive Symptomatology in Students with Emotional and Behavioural Problems in Hong Kong

 
Vivian Woon-king Heung
 
Abstract
 
The Chinese version of the Beck Depression Inventory (C-BDI) was administered to all the 155 adolescents currently attending special schools for maladjusted boys in Hong Kong and 132 of them completed the questionnaire. Utilizing cut-off points developed by Beck, 44 adolescents (33.3%) were nondepressed, 26 (19.7%) were mildly depressed, 26 (19.7%) were moderately depressed and 36 (27.3%) were severely depressed. Total BDI scores of subjects were not significantly related to age, length of stay in special schools or acting out behaviors. However, subjects observed to have acting out behaviors by their class teachers were found to be suffering from substantial depressive symptomatology and not as what their surface behaviors indicate.