Adolescent Depression
Parental Guide
What is depression?
Berk states, " feeling sad, frustrated, and hopeless about life, accompanied by loss of pleasure in most activities and disturbances in sleep, appetite, concentration, and energy (2010)."
Girls or Boys?
Early maturing girls are more prone to depression than boys. Excessive amounts of depression can lead to suicidal thoughts and could lead to actions.
What factors relate to depression?
Depression can be passed on through the genes of parents, " Genes can induce depression by affecting the balance of neurotransmitters in the brain, the development of brain regions involved in inhibiting negative emotion (Berk, 2010)." Also, the environment in which the adolescent is in can also affect their emotions, such as divorce, stress, friends, and school.
HELP?
Parents can help by being observant and noting any emotional changes they are seeing. Also, the parent can try and talk to the teen, if not see if they would like to talk to a counselor. Finally, they can see a doctor to see if it is serious enough where medication may be involved.
ADAP
Adolescent Depression Awareness Program, is used in high schools for teens to bring awareness to the severity of depression. The ADAP program uses questionnaires to see where the teen falls in their emotional state. The program allows for teens to realize there is help out there (Ruble, 2013).
Contact
Email: adap@jhmi.edu
Website: http://www.adap-training.com/
Phone: 1 (855) 780 8336
Sources
Berk, L. E. (2010). Development through the lifespan. (Fifth ed.). Boston: Pearson Education Inc.
Teen Depression Awareness