For at least two weeks, depression is defined by persistent unhappiness and a loss of interest in activities that you generally love, as well as an incapacity to function in everyday life. Anxiety is a sensation of tension accompanied by concerned thoughts and bodily changes such as elevated blood pressure. Anxiety disorders are characterized by recurrent intrusive thoughts or concerns. 

Nearly 20% of children suffer from a diagnosable mental illness. In addition, numerous mental health illnesses emerge during adolescence. Before reaching adulthood, between 20%–30% of children will experience at least one significant depressive episode. For a quarter of people, mood disorders such as depression first appear throughout adolescence. Anxiety disorders and impulse control disorders (such as conduct disorder or attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder) effect 50–70 percent of adolescents during their adolescence. As children enter puberty, existing mental health issues become more complex and acute. Adolescents with untreated mental health issues are more likely to perform poorly in school, drop out, have strained family connections, abuse substances, and engage in risky sexual practises.

Being away from home, grade, stream of study, academic performance and examination-related concerns, and cyber bullying have all been connected to depression in previous studies. According to earlier studies, sex, grade level of pupils, and kind of school (public or private), family type, not living with parents, educational level of parents, and high academic stress were all factors of anxiety.

Globally, depression is one of the leading causes of illness and disability. Even in developed nation’s depression is a known health burden among children, adolescents, and adults. One in four children in the age group of 13–15 years in India suffers from depression, which affects 86 million people in the South-East Asia region, the World Health Organization. In adolescents, major depression is projected to rank second-most cause of human illness by the year 2020.

To battle the burden of juvenile mental health concerns, researchers must investigate the extent and risk factors of symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress. Nevertheless, anxiety and depression in early teens commonly go undetected and untreated, particularly in developing countries like India, due to limited access to psychological and psychiatric care as well as the enormous societal stigma regarding mental health concerns.

Majority of population in Bareilly district is under served by health care delivery system and reside in rural area & urban slums and adolescents’ subgroup of population is very prone for mental health disorders and less research has been conducted on this topic in this area. Keeping these points in mind, an attempt will be made to assess the depression, anxiety and stress among school students in Bareilly City, Uttar Pradesh as very few studies have been conducted in this age group.