Abstract:

In the post-COVID-19 context, mental health problems in adolescents have intensified; therefore, the assessment of depressive symptoms in technological baccalaureate students provides key evidence for implementing school mental health strategies. Given this scenario, this study analyzed the prevalence and characteristics of depressive symptoms in 3,761 students from 15 technological baccalaureate schools in Baja California, Mexico, through a cross-sectional descriptive design conducted in May 2025. The Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II) was applied to assess 21 symptomatologic dimensions organized in cognitive-affective, behavioral, somatic, and neurovegetative categories.

The findings reveal critical prevalences that constitute risk indicators in student mental health. Twenty-one percent of participants manifested thoughts related to death or suicidal risk behaviors, including 6% with severe forms involving death wishes or specific plans. In the affective and behavioral domain, more than half of the students reported loss of life satisfaction, sleep disturbances, and fatigue that interferes with their daily activities, while nearly half referred psychomotor slowing, persistent sadness, pessimism toward the future, and excessive guilt feelings. In the somatic domain, around one-third presented appetite loss and concerns that affect their academic concentration.

These results demonstrate the need to strengthen mental health care in the school environment through early detection protocols and timely referral mechanisms to specialized services. The study provides fundamental epidemiological evidence for designing suicide prevention programs, school mental health initiatives, and early intervention strategies in technological education, offering key elements for school management to strengthen risk detection and specialized care. The findings are part of broader research on quality of life in technological baccalaureate schools in Mexico.

Keywords:

Depressive symptoms, risk factors, early detection, student mental health, school management.