Psychological Distress from Adolescence to Late Adulthood: A Comparative Study in Bangladesh

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Page: 158-163

Md. Shahadat Hossain (Department of Psychology, Gopalganj Science and Technology University, Gopalganj, Bangladesh, South Asia)

The present study investigated psychological distress specifically stress, anxiety, and depression across different developmental stages of life-adolescence, early adulthood, middle adulthood, and late adulthood. A total of 387 participants from eight divisions of Bangladesh were selected through convenience sampling. The sample comprised 86 adolescents, 99 early adults, 92 middle adults, and 110 late adults. The Bangla version of Depression Anxiety Stress Scale -21 (Alim et al., 2014) was employed to measure psychological distress. Statistical analysis was conducted using SPSS 27, which included descriptive statistics, Pearson’s correlation, and one-way ANOVA, followed by Tukey HSD post-hoc tests to assess differences across developmental stages of life. Results revealed significant positive correlations between stress, anxiety, and depression. Results also revealed that developmental stages were found to significantly influence stress, anxiety, and depression, with higher levels of psychological distress observed in early and middle adulthood compared to adolescence and late adulthood. These findings contribute to our understanding of the developmental patterns of psychological distress and offer insights for age-specific mental health interventions.