The Effect of Mental Health on Health-Related Quality of Life in Adolescents

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the effect of mental health on health-related quality of life in adolescents. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted among 1188 students studying in a public high school in Istanbul, Turkey. Data were collected using the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) and the Turkish Generic Health-Related Quality of Life Questionnaire for adolescents (Kiddo-KINDL). Descriptive statistics, correlation analysis and multiple regression analysis were used in the analysis. Results: The mean age of the adolescents was 16.61 +/- 1.17; 56.6% were female. This study shows that mental health was a negatively significantly related to all subscales of health-related quality of life (physical wellbeing, emotional wellbeing, self-esteem, family, friends, school) of adolescents (p<0.05). It was discovered that the adolescents' mental health, relationships with friends, participation in regular physical activity, school success, family relationships, class, economic situation, their ability to talk to people close to them about their personal problems and the presence of chronic illness were significant predictors of their overall quality of life (R-2=0.402,p<0.001). Conclusion: Overall quality of life increases among adolescents who do not have a mental health problem, those who have good relationships with friends, engage in regular physical activity, achieve well at school, have good family relations, are in the upper classes, have a good economic situation, those who talk to people close to them about personal problems and those who have no chronic illness. School nurses can organize health education programs and counseling services to improve the mental health of adolescents.