Authors:
Andra Kurnianto ^1,2, Meita Dhamayanti ¹, Rodman Tarigan Girsang ^1,3, Eddy Fadlyana¹, Kusnandi Rusmil¹, Mei Neni Sitaresmi⁴, Bintang Arroyantri Prananjaya²

Affiliations

¹Department of Child Health, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Padjadjaran, Bandung, Indonesia; ²Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Sriwijaya, Palembang, Indonesia; ³Department of Mother and Child Health, Growth and Development Division, Hasan Sadikin General Hospital, Bandung, Indonesia; ⁴Department of Child Health, Faculty of Medicine, Public Health and Nursing, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, Indonesia

Background

• Adolescent mental health problems are a growing public health concern.

• Accurate screening tools are essential for early detection and intervention.

Methods

• Cross-sectional study in eight schools in Palembang, Indonesia (July–December 2025) with 274 adolescents aged 10–18.

• The DASS-Y was compared against DSM-5-based psychiatric assessment as the gold standard.

• ROC analysis identified the optimal cutoff; sensitivity, specificity, and AUC were calculated.

Key Results

• A DASS-Y total score cutoff of 24 or above gave sensitivity of 0.83 and specificity of 0.85.

• Overall diagnostic accuracy was excellent (AUC = 0.93).

Discussion & Conclusion

• The Indonesian DASS-Y accurately screens for internalizing disorders in adolescents.

• It may be a useful screening tool in Indonesia; further studies should test routine implementation.

Related SDGs

SDG 3 – Good Health and Well-Being Most directly relevant.

The study focuses on adolescent mental health, including depression, anxiety, stress, and PTSD, and supports early detection and intervention through mental health screening.

SDG 4 – Quality Education
The study identifies a relationship between internalizing disorders and adolescents’ educational level and discusses how mental health problems can affect concentration, academic performance, school attendance, and dropout risk.

SDG 10 – Reduced Inequalities
The study addresses access to early mental-health identification among adolescents and recommends further validation across different regions, rural–urban settings, and socioeconomic populations, which is relevant to reducing disparities in mental-health services.

SDG 16 – Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions(indirect relevance)
This can be connected to the study through child protection, ethical research, and strengthening systems for adolescent mental-health support. The study explicitly followed Indonesian child-protection regulations and ethical research standards

Journal Information

Journal: Psychology Research and Behavior Management

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2147/PRBM.S617191