Assessment and Treatment of Depression in Adolescence
Abstract
Today’s youth are faced with many challenges including depression, substance use and suicide. Depressive disorders in adolescence are a major health concern. Depression often disrupts normal development due to the negative impact it has on social and educational functioning. This paper focuses on adolescent depression, as well as its assessment and treatment. Additionally, an examination of both risk and protective factors of adolescent depression, and implications these relationships have for prevention and adolescent health behavior.
Adjusting to physical and hormonal changes, becoming more independent, an increase parent-child conflict, social and academic responsibilities, and a desire for intimacy with others are examples of stressors that may predispose an adolescent to experience depression. The challenges faced by youth today are reflected in a host of problems, including depression, substance use or abuse and suicide (Garland & Zigler, 1993). Whether depression is defined as a symptom, syndrome, or psychiatric disorder, affective disorders in adolescence are a major health concern. The presence of depression disrupts the young person’s maturational development through the detrimental impact it has on social and educational functioning. For example, evidence indicates that major depression slows down some aspects of cognitive development and interferes with the acquisition of verbal skills; which can lead to dropping out of school, (Kovacs, 1989). Moreover, research indicates that in the long-term, depression that reoccurs leads to an increased risk for depressive disorder and dysfunction in adulthood, (Garber, Kriss, Koch, & Lindholm, 1988). Not only is adolescent depression the most significant predictor for adult depression; it also predicts increased risk among females of higher divorce rates and estrangement from parents, while among males there exists increased risk for higher rates of unemployment and car accidents. Both have increased risk for intimacy problems and legal activities (McFarlane, Atchison, Rafalowicz, & Papay, 1994). Thus, the study of adolescent depression and its predictors are of utmost importance.
Depression remains one of the most significant mental health problems throughout the life span as reflected in its high prevalen...
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Clinical depression, which affects about 10% of the adult population (Holtz, Stokes, 1138), is charact...
As reported by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), depression occurs in over 26% of adolescents and can lead to morbidity, mortality, and social problems that can last into adulthood (SCREENING FOR DEPRESSION IN ADOLESCENTS -- RISKS AND BENEFITS, 2015). Signs of adolescent depression can sometimes be different than adults, and possibly harder to identify. It is most often identified as an increase in negative behaviors or somatic complaints such as an upset stomach (SCREENING FOR DEPRESSION IN ADOLESCENTS -- RISKS AND BENEFITS, 2015). Behavioral changes that are associated with adolescent depression include an increase in irritability, tantrums, anger outbursts, decrease in school performance, and social isolation (SCREENING
Dissociative Identity Disorder, also known as Multiple Personality Disorder is a psychological disorder that can be caused by many things, but the most common cause is severe childhood trauma which is usually extreme, repetitive physical, sexual, or emotional abuse. A lot of people experience mild dissociation which includes daydreaming or getting momentarilly distracted while completing everyday tasks. Dissociative identity disorder is a severe form of dissociation. Seveer Dissociation causes a lack of connection in a person's thoughts, memories, feelings, actions, or sense of identity. Dissociative identity disorder is thought to stem from a combination of factors that may include trauma experienced by the person with the disorder. When a
The sample consisted of adolescents between the ages of thirteen and eighteen, who met the criteria for DSM-III-R (American Psychiatric Association, 1987), major depression and with the Beck Depression Inventory (Beck et. al., 1988) score greater than or equal to 13 (p. 907). All participants were nonpsychotic, non-bipolar, without obsessive-compulsive disorder, eating disorder, substance abuse, or ongoing physical and/or sexual abuse. There were 122 adolescents who were eligible for the study but only 107 (87.7%) participants agreed to randomization. One third (32.7%) of participants were chosen through
People constantly overlook the severity of depression, more importantly, major teen depression, which presents a legitimate obstacle in society. The intensity of teen depression results from society’s general lack of acknowledgement of the rising affair. In 2012, “28.5% of teens were depressed” and 15.8% of teens contemplated the option of suicide (Vidourek 1 par. 1), due to their major depression going unnoticed or untreated for. Even teenagers themselves often ignore their depression or remain in denial because neither them nor anyone else recognizes the signs. “A sudden change in behavior is a main sign of someone being depressed, which could lead to having suicidal thoughts,” stated Pam Farkas, a clinical social worker in California (Aguilar 1 par. 8). The warning signs and risk factors of teen depression include behavioral issues, social withdrawal, and inadequate interest in activities (Adolescents and Clinical Depression 2 par. 3), yet the unawareness of these signs does not allow professional medical attention to intercede. Deaths, illnesses, rejection, relationship issues, and disappointment present passages down the negative path of teen depression, but treatments, such as psychotherapy, intervention programs, and antidepressants express ways to subdue this major problem. Knowledge of the increasing dilemma needs to circulate, in order to promote stable teen lives in the present and future world. Understanding major teen depression, the events and incidents that lead to depression, and how to overcome the problem will lead to a decrease in major teen depression and its growing issue in society.
Pine, D. S. , Cohen, P. , Curley, D. , Brook, J. & Ma, Y. (1998). The Risk for Early - Adulthood Anxiety and Depressive Disorders in Adolescence With Anxiety and Depressive Disorders. Arch Gen Psychiatry, 56-64.
My topic of choice for this research paper is Dissociative Identity Disorder or DID. This appellation is rather new; therefore, most are more familiar with the disorder's older, less technical name: Multiple Personality Disorder or MPD. When first presented with the task of selecting a topic on which to center this paper, I immediately dismissed Dissociative Identity Disorder (which for the sake of brevity will be referred to as DID for the remainder of this paper) as a viable topic due to the sheer scope of the disorder. However after an exhaustive examination of other prospective topics, I found myself back at my original choice. There are several reasons why I chose DID. The foremost of which is the widespread fascination of this disorder by many different types of people; most of whom otherwise have no interest in psychology or its associated fields. One would be hard pressed to find someone who hasn’t been captivated at one time or another by the extraordinary, all too well known symptoms of this disorder. This fascination… dare I say ‘allure’ to this disorder is exemplified by the myriad of motion pictures that have been produced based on cases, real or fictitious, of DID. Another reason for my choice is what I feel is the insufficiency of effective treatments for DID. Despite what is known about this disorder, (which is relatively a lot) there are only two chief treatments for DID; the first and most prevalent is psychotherapy; also known as ”talk therapy”, the second is medication. The third and final reason for my choice is my own enchantment with DID. I must admit that ever since I read about Sue Tinker, a woman who was diagnosed with over 200 different personalities. In writing this paper I hope to discover more about this disorder and perhaps be able to identify a few areas that I feel might require more research on the part of psychologists specializing in DID.
Adolescent suicide rates are increasing in our society. "Suicide is the third- leading cause of death for 15 to 24 year olds", according to the Center of Disease Control and Prevention "after accidents and homicides" (as cited in Feldman, 2012, p.364). This information is unpleasant to know because there is something wrong that make it happen.
twenty-four, experience a serious level of depression. Women are generally the most commonly affected among young people. A depressed teen is more likely to get into various forms of trouble such as rebellion, truancy...
Teenage depression is a growing problem in today's society and is often a major contributing factor for a multitude of adolescent problems. The statistics about teenage runaways, alcoholism, drug problems, pregnancy, eating disorders, and suicide are alarming. Even more startling are the individual stories behind these statistics because the young people involved come from all communities, all economic levels, and all home situations-anyone's family. The common link is often depression. For the individuals experiencing this crisis, the statistics become relatively meaningless. The difficult passage into adolescence and early adulthood can leave lasting scars on the lives and psyches of an entire generation of young men and women. There is growing realization that teenage depression can be life- changing, even life threatening.
Depression is the most widespread mental illness in today’s society. Studies have found that, 1 out of 8 teens are affected with this disease. It also predominantly affects young ladies than it does males. (www.kidshealth.org). Teens are at a position in their lives when they must face significant transition and peer pressures. They are trying to identify with themselves and trying to figure out where there puzzle piece fits in society, all of which can show the way to behavioral and emotional changes. This is also a stage when families suffer from poor communication: teenagers often tend to keep their feelings and concerns to themselves away from their parents and other authority figures. Therefore, identifying depression in teenagers can be difficult for adults to notice. However, it is very essential that adolescents with depression get assistance on handling their problems. For this reason, the focus of this paper will be about how parents can identify if their child are depressed. If adults are able to identify and have an understanding about depression so many lives could be saved.
Empfield, M., Bakalar, N. (2001). Understanding Teenage Depression: A Guide to Diagnosis, Treatment and Management, Holt Paperbacks, New York.
Keith A. King, and Rebecca A. Vidourek. "Teen Depression and Suicide: Effective Prevention and Intervention Strategies." The Prevention Researcher (2012): 15. Web.
...ide vary for every person. Depression does not just affect the teenagers, it affects those in their lives as well. Depression has an extremely negative impact on the person who has it and those surrounding him/her. Teens are more likely to stay around their peers, who may have the same situations, rather than encounter their own families (Belliner 65). Depression is a shift in mood where one becomes unhappy with their life for an amount of time,short or long. The thing about depression is that it is not always recognizable. A teen might play it off as if nothing were happening and carry on with their life. Even though it is not noticed among many there are numerous warning signs to watch for. The most common signs in adolescents include: negativity, angry outbursts, continuous worry, lack of interest in activities they previously enjoyed, become reckless,