International Journal of

ADVANCED AND APPLIED SCIENCES

EISSN: 2313-3724, Print ISSN: 2313-626X

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 Volume 13, Issue 6 (June 2026), Pages: 161-169

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 Original Research Paper

Mental health, substance use, and psychosocial difficulties in Vietnamese adolescents: A large school-based study with PCL-5 ROC screening

 Author(s): 

My Thi Diem Nguyen 1, Hanh My Mai 1, Tri Minh Nguyen 2, 3, Hoi Duc Dinh 4, *

 Affiliation(s):

1Faculty of Psychology, Ho Chi Minh City University of Education, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
2Faculty of Psychology, University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
3Faculty of Psychology, Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
4Department of Early Childhood Education, Thai Nguyen University of Education, Thai Nguyen, Vietnam

 Full text

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 * Corresponding Author. 

   Corresponding author's ORCID profile:  https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0926-6142

 Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

 
https://doi.org/10.21833/ijaas.2026.06.016

 Abstract

This study investigated the prevalence of mental health symptoms, psychological strengths and difficulties, and substance use among Vietnamese secondary school students, and examined the relationships among these variables. A cross-sectional study was conducted with 1,062 students in grades 6 to 9 using standardized self-report instruments, including the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS-21), the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), the Alcohol, Smoking and Substance Involvement Screening Test (ASSIST), and the PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5). Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, multiple regression, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. The results showed that more than half of the students reported normal emotional states, although anxiety symptoms were more common than depression and stress. Peer problems were the most frequently reported psychological difficulty, and alcohol use was the most common substance use behavior. The SDQ scores were moderately correlated with DASS (r = 0.557) and PCL-5 (r = 0.563), while PCL-5 had a strong correlation with DASS (r = 0.761, p < 0.001). Regression analysis showed that both SDQ (B = 0.385, p < 0.001) and PCL-5 (B = 0.440, p < 0.001) significantly predicted DASS scores. ROC analysis indicated excellent discrimination (AUC = 0.983, 95% CI [0.976, 0.989]) with a school screening cut-off value of 28.5 (sensitivity = 0.955; specificity = 0.933). Because the reference classification was based on the same PCL-5 items, these results should be interpreted as evidence of internal consistency and preliminary screening usefulness rather than diagnostic validity against an independent clinical standard. Overall, the findings emphasize the importance of integrating school-based mental health screening into national education and health programs, strengthening collaboration between teachers and counselors, and developing preventive interventions that address adolescents’ psychosocial contexts.

 © 2026 The Authors. Published by IASE.

 This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

 Keywords

Adolescent mental health, Psychological difficulties, PTSD symptoms, Substance use, School-based screening

 Article history

Received 15 November 2025, Received in revised form 12 March 2026, Accepted 18 June 2026

 Funding

This research is funded by Ho Chi Minh City University of Education Foundation for Science and Technology under grant number CS.2024.19.03TĐ. 

 Acknowledgment

No Acknowledgment. 

 Compliance with ethical standards

 Ethical considerations

This study was conducted in compliance with the regulations of the Ethics Advisory Council of Ho Chi Minh City University of Education (June 25, 2024) for Project No. CS.2024.19.03TĐ and adhered to the ethical principles of the Declaration of Helsinki and its later amendments. 

 Conflict of interest: The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

 Citation:

Nguyen MTD, Mai HM, Nguyen TM, and Dinh HD (2026). Mental health, substance use, and psychosocial difficulties in Vietnamese adolescents: A large school-based study with PCL-5 ROC screening. International Journal of Advanced and Applied Sciences, 13(6): 161-169

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