Leisure Activities and Depression of 5th Graders of the Elementary School

Depression is one of the most widespread diseases in the world. Studies mapping the prevalence of depression in children report a high percentage of children with depressive symptoms. It is important to investigate what the level of depression in children is related to, thanks to which we can come up with more effective prevention and intervention. The study analyzed the relationships between the level of depression in children and their school performance and leisure activities. The ensemble consisted of 102 pupils, of which 43 were boys and 59 were girls aged between 10 and 12. The monitored variables were depression (measured by the CDI Self-Assessment Depression Scale for Children), school performance (measured by the Czech language grade and math grade), leisure activities (number and type of clubs, preferences for how to spend free time). The results showed that lower school performance is correlated with the scale of bad mood, lack of performance and overall, with a higher level of depression. No connection was found between the level of depression and the number or type of interest groups. On the contrary, the sports, outdoor and relational way of spending free time (outside of organized interest groups) is related to a lower level of depression (some of its subscales) compared to the passive way of spending free time, which is related to a higher degree of feelings of ineffectiveness and anhedonia. The results indicate that the level of depression in children is related to the preferred way of spending free time rather than participation in organized interest groups.