Boys are facing double the risk of depression, Hong Kong study shows

Teenage boys are twice as likely to suffer from depression as girls, a survey shows.

The finding is opposite to that of similar surveys conducted in Western countries. One of the researchers says traditional Chinese culture is to blame.

Associate professor Sylvia Kwok Lai Yuk-ching, of City University, said: "Chinese families have higher expectations of boys than girls. That's why boys may experience more stress from their parents to deliver better academic performances."

As the stress accumulated, Kwok said, boys were more prone to getting depressed because men - unlike women - tend to bottle up their feelings instead of confiding in others.

The survey, commissioned by social welfare organisation St James' Settlement, was conducted between October and March and involved 1,033 secondary school pupils aged between 11 and 18 at four schools in Eastern District and Sham Shui Po, one of the city's biggest working class areas.

Researchers from the university's department of applied social studies found that overall, 32.7 per cent of the pupils had a tendency to slip into depression.