BACKGROUND Symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress experienced during childhood might have a negative impact on development. This study explores factors associated with such symptoms among Portuguese primary school-aged children. METHODS A sample of children (n = 1022, mean age = 8.77 years old) was recruited in public and private schools from the cities of Coimbra, Lisbon and Porto, Portugal. The children's version of the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-C) was self-administered. Multivariate logistic regression models were fitted to measure associations (expressed as Odds Ratio, OR and 95% Confidence Intervals, CI) between each DASS-C subscale, dichotomized by its 4th vs. 3rd or less quartiles (symptoms increase with scores), and covariates: child sex, age, socioeconomic status (SES), sports activity beyond school, children self-assessed health status, child and mother's body mass index and mother's DASS scores. RESULTS Age was negatively associated with anxiety symptoms (adjusted OR, 95% CI: 0.70, 0.57-0.87) and girls, compared to boys, presented lower odds of depressive and stress symptoms (adjusted OR, 95% CI: 0.65, 0.47-0.92 and 0.57, 0.41-0.80, respectively). A low socioeconomic status was associated with more frequent symptoms of stress (adjusted OR, 95%CI for low compared to high SES: 1.61, 1.01-2.56). Children with poorer self-assessed health status and whose mothers scored higher in the DASS also presented significantly higher odds of scoring in the 4th quartile (vs. 3rd or less) of the three DASS-C subscales. CONCLUSIONS These results suggest the need to tailor preventive efforts targeting childhood mental health symptoms.

中文翻译：

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葡萄牙小学学龄儿童自我报告的抑郁、焦虑和压力症状。

背景技术童年时期经历的抑郁、焦虑和压力症状可能对发育产生负面影响。本研究探讨了葡萄牙小学学龄儿童中与此类症状相关的因素。方法 从科英布拉、里斯本和葡萄牙波尔图市的公立和私立学校招募儿童样本（n = 1022，平均年龄 = 8.77 岁）。儿童版的抑郁、焦虑和压力量表（DASS-C）是自我管理的。拟合多元逻辑回归模型以测量每个 DASS-C 子量表之间的关联（表示为优势比，OR 和 95% 置信区间，CI），由其第 4 与第 3 或更少四分位数（症状随分数增加）和协变量二分法: 儿童性别、年龄、社会经济地位 (SES)、校外体育活动、孩子自我评估健康状况、孩子和母亲的体重指数和母亲的DASS分数。结果 年龄与焦虑症状呈负相关（校正 OR，95% CI：0.70，0.57-0.87），与男孩相比，女孩出现抑郁和压力症状的几率较低（校正 OR，95% CI：0.65，0.47-0.92和 0.57、0.41-0.80，分别）。低社会经济地位与更频繁的压力症状相关（调整后的 OR，95%CI 与高 SES 相比：1.61, 1.01-2.56）。自我评估健康状况较差且母亲在 DASS 中得分较高的儿童在三个 DASS-C 分量表的第 4 个四分位数（相对于第 3 个或更少）中得分的几率也显着更高。结论 这些结果表明需要针对儿童心理健康症状制定预防措施。