Depression in Adolescents
Kayla Denne
Symptoms
According to the Berk text,
- feelings of sadness or frustration
- hopeless about life
- loss of interest in activities
- isolation
- lack of sleeping and eating
- self-critical
Factors
- Genes
- Experience
- Self-esteem
- Stress
- Other environmental influences
Sex differences
Evidence
Researchers conducted a study of adolescent males and females to see if a decrease in self-esteem corresponds with social phobia and depression. The study was conducted on a large group of ninth grade students, with a good mixture of males and females. A total of 2,038 students were surveyed. For the survey they used the Beck Depression Inventory, the Social Phobia Inventory, and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale.
The scores were tallied, and the results came back as expected. The decrease in self-esteem is associated with symptoms of social phobia and depression. Surprisingly it showed more in boys than in girls. This study proves that the decreasing self-esteem in adolescents is an important factor for depression. Self-esteem corresponds with how each gender copes with things.
Treatment and Prevention
- Be aware and educated of the symptoms of depression so you can detect it in your teen
- Antidepressant medications
- Compassionate listening
- Individual, family, or group therapy
- Strong family and peer support
Sources
Berk, L. (2007). Emotional and Social Development in Adolescence. In Development through the lifespan (4th ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon.
Väänänen, J., Isomaa, R., Kaltiala-Heino, R., Fröjd, S., Helminen, M., & Marttunen, M. (2014). Decrease in self-esteem mediates the association between symptoms of social phobia and depression in middle adolescence in a sex-specific manner: A 2-year follow-up of a prospective population cohort study. BMC Psychiatry, 14doi:10.1186/1471-244X-14-79