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Anxiety and Depression among Final-Year High School Students in Serbia: A Cross-Sectional Study Following a National School Tragedy Cover

Anxiety and Depression among Final-Year High School Students in Serbia: A Cross-Sectional Study Following a National School Tragedy

By: Maja Muric and  Nemanja Muric  
Open Access
|Oct 2025

Figures & Tables

Figure 1.

Mean scores of anxiety (A) and depression (B) among study participants in relation to gender.
Mean scores of anxiety (A) and depression (B) among study participants in relation to gender.

Figure 2.

Levels of anxiety and depression among study participants in relation to peer communication (A) and experiences of peer bullying (B).
Levels of anxiety and depression among study participants in relation to peer communication (A) and experiences of peer bullying (B).

Figure 3.

Levels of anxiety and depression among study participants in relation to school refusal (A) and consideration of school transfer (B) following a tragic event.
Levels of anxiety and depression among study participants in relation to school refusal (A) and consideration of school transfer (B) following a tragic event.

Figure 4.

Levels of anxiety and depression among study participants in relation to opinion to the increase in peer bullying (A) and seeking psychological help (B) following a tragic event.
Levels of anxiety and depression among study participants in relation to opinion to the increase in peer bullying (A) and seeking psychological help (B) following a tragic event.

Figure 5.

Levels of anxiety (A) and depression (B) among study participants in relation to specific emotional reactions following a tragic event.
Levels of anxiety (A) and depression (B) among study participants in relation to specific emotional reactions following a tragic event.

Level of depression in study population_

BDI-II scoreNumber (n) / Percentage (%)
No depression (0–13)99 / 68.3%
Mild depression (14–19)22 / 15.2%
Mild to moderate depression (20–28)14 / 9.7%
Severe depression (29–63)10 / 6.9%

Sociodemographic characteristics of the study population_

CharacteristicNumber (n) / Percentage (%)
Gender (male/female)47 (32.4%) / 98 (67.6%)
Family history of psychiatric disorders (yes/no)15 (10.3%) / 130 (89.7%)
Presence of comorbidities (yes/no)14 (9.7%) / 131 (90.3%)
Growing up in an intact family (yes/no)128 (88.3%) / 17 (11.7%)
Place of residence during school year (parental home/student dormitory or private accomodation)133 (91.7%) / 12 (8.3%)
Smoking (yes/no)34 (23.4%) / 111 (76.6%)
Alcohol abuse (no/rarly/at special occasios/often)41 (28.3%) / 29 (20%) / 67 (46.2%) / 8 (5.5%)
Psychoacitve substances abuse (yes/no)7 (4.8%) / 138 (95.2%)
Timely enrollment in secondary school (yes/no)143 (98.6%) / 2 (1.4%)
Enrollment in secondary school of choice (yes/no)142 (97.9%) / 3 (2.1%)
Academic success in secondary school (excellent/very good/good/sufficient(pass)/insufficient(fail))88 (60.7%) / 43 (29.6%) / 12 (8.3%) / 2 (1.4%) / 0 (0%)

Level of anxiety in study population_

HAM-A scoreNumber (n) / Percentage (%)
Minimal or no anxiety (≤7)88 / 60.7%
Mild anxiety (8–14)33 / 22.8%
Moderate (15–23)14 / 9.7%
Severe (≥24)10 / 6.9%
DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/eabr-2025-0009 | Journal eISSN: 2956-2090 | Journal ISSN: 2956-0454
Language: English
Submitted on: May 18, 2025
Accepted on: Jun 27, 2025
Published on: Oct 15, 2025
Published by: University of Kragujevac, Faculty of Medical Sciences
In partnership with: Paradigm Publishing Services
Publication frequency: 4 issues per year

© 2025 Maja Muric, Nemanja Muric, published by University of Kragujevac, Faculty of Medical Sciences
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

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