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Abstract Background Exploring etiological clues to adolescent depression, especially in female adolescents, might be helpful to improve the social environment of female adolescents. The aim at this study is to explore psycho-social factors of female adolescents with high depressive symptomatology and gender differences in depressive symptoms among Chinese adolescents. Method We examined 4100 adolescents from Wuhan city and Jianli county via a cross-sectional study. Depressive symptomatology was screened through the Chinese version of Center for Epidemiology Studies Depression Scale. Multivariate logistic regression was performed to explore the factors related to high depressive symptomatology in female and male adolescents, respectively. Results The prevalence of high depressive symptomatology in female and male were 38.9 and 30.2% respectively. The psycho-social factors of high depressive symptomatology in female adolescents were age (Adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 1.201, 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.076 ~ 1.341), single parent family (aOR = 2.004, 95%CI, 1.448 ~ 2.772) and fathers’ education level (compared to primary school and below, [Junior middle school, aOR = 0.641, 95%CI, 0.439 ~ 0.934; Senior middle school, aOR = 0.603, 95%CI, 0.410 ~ 0.888; College degree and above, aOR = 0.639, 95%CI, 0.437 ~ 0.936]). Conclusion Fathers’ education level was associated with high depressive symptomatology in female adolescents. Female adolescents whose father with primary school education or below deserves more attention. Further epidemiologic researches need to be conducted to explore the different risk factors between female and male adolescents in China.

Abstract Background China has experienced rapid socioeconomic, and health transitions over the last four decades, and urban–rural disparities are becoming increasingly apparent. Research on depression among rural and urban students can provide evidence on the relationship between sociodemographic characteristics and adolescent depression. Methods We examined the association between sociodemographic characteristics and adolescent depression among 3605 students from Wuhan city and Jianli county that was recruited from the local junior middle school via a cross-sectional study. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression models were used to explore the sociodemographic characteristics of adolescent depression in urban and rural areas, respectively. Nomograms were constructed to calculate individual depression risk of junior middle school students. Results 32.47% of rural students and 35.11% of urban students display depressive symptoms. The protective factors of depression in urban students are exercise habit, younger, key class, better academic achievement and males, while Left-behind children (LBC), poor academic achievement and females had higher depression risk in rural area. Two nomograms were constructed to screen the adolescent depression in urban and rural junior middle school students, respectively. The clinical tools were well calibrated. Conclusion The field-based research examined sociodemographic characteristics potentially associated with adolescent depression and offered an effective and convenient tool of individualized depression risk evaluation for junior middle school students. Future longitudinal epidemiologic research on adolescent depression may help to further validate the discovery of present study, which will support developing policies and practices to minimize the factors of adolescent depression.