Major Depressive Disorder and Societies Youth Lisa Somerville Argosy University- Nashville Campus December 13, 2007 Abstract In an attempt to better understand depression in today’s youth, I have chosen to explore the depths of Major Depressive Disorder and how it affects the young people in our society. Depression amongst school age children and adolescents are the primary focus. The prevalence, adversities, and treatment of the depression are discussed as well. After exploring these few facets of the disorder, I will talk briefly about the Ecological Model developed by Urie Bronfenbrenner and Morris in 1998 that is used by counselors to help evaluate and assess the children who are referred by teachers or medical …show more content…
The adversities that I researched and that showed up most often are: Parental drinking, economic hardship, parental mental illness, violence in the family, parent’s marital problems, death of mother or father, or the absence of a loved one. These earlier childhood adversities can be predictors for what may arise in later years. These situations cause anxiety in children and for this reason children should not be exposed to these adversities. Anxiety tends to be a precursor for depression. (Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology 33.1. pg. 13)(Feb. 2005). Today schools are taking a much more effective role in detection of depression in the younger generations. Because school is like work for adults and is where children spend most of their days, I thought it would be appropriate to discuss a model developed by Urie Bronfenbrenner and Morris in 1979, which addresses the totality of the child’s life up to the present moment. This model gave school counselors a tool to work from while assessing the children. This model puts every aspect of the disorder on a continuum that professionals can use as a guide during questioning and diagnosis. Due to the fact that depression is hard to detect in young children, this process allows the counselor to see all symptoms present even if they don’t fit the DSM IV criteria to comprise a diagnosis. The Ecological Model takes a look at the child as a whole. This includes, home,
An article titled, Depression in children and adolescents: The role of school professionals implies that twenty- eight percent of teenagers will experience
Treatment is crucial for middle schoolers suffering from depression as students suffering from depression in middle school are associated with many negative consequences. One being these students tend to be socially withdrawn. This can be tremendously damaging as students at this age are just beginning to learn how to develop and maintain social relationships. These students also often struggle with motivation and the ability to experience pleasure. Moreover, these students are also often at a higher risk for developing bipolar, an anxiety disorder, and/or for adapting suicidal ideations (Auger
According to the definition given by Butcher, Mineka, and Hooley, depression is the emotional state that is characterized by extraordinary sadness. Since 1967, Aaron Beck has provided us with a model of his theory on depression. Beck’s diathesis-stress theory suggests that depression leads back to a dysfunctional formation early on, which left the individual vulnerable to depression if encountered with stressors (Butcher, Mineka, Hooley, 2010). Butcher, Mineka, and Hooly (2010) discuss that according to Beck the parent or guardian are responsible for providing the child or adolescent’s schema. These may lie dormant until activated by a critical incident. It then triggers automatic negative thoughts that lead to depression. Reports of child abuse have suggested an increase in negative self-worth, negative self-attitudes, and negative self-associations. They tend to get caught up in a negative mood, which leads to depression (van Harmelen, deJong, Glashouwer, Spinhover, Penninx, and Elzing,
Major Depressive Disorder and Major Depressive Episodes affect many across the country in various forms and degrees. Though many are affected by MDD/MDE most do not receive the help they need. A group that may not always be acknowledged in suffering from major depressive disorder/major depressive episodes are adolescents. Consequently, more often than not, adolescents do not receive a diagnosis or support with their struggles. Mental illness symptoms in adolescents may be dismissed for various of reasons, but can have a serious impact on various aspects of their lives.The struggles could be mitigated and managed by a public health approach. Public health approach may help to first collect the information on the extent of the issue. The
One of the most common mental illnesses that is found in teens and greatly impact their development and families is Major Depression.
It is estimated that 20% of adolescents will experience a major depressive episode by the age of 18. According to the 2014-2015 National Comorbidity Survey-Adolescent Supplement, adolescents diagnosed with a major depressive disorder have a lifetime prevalence rate of 11%, and a 12 month prevalence rate of 7.5%. Of those diagnosed with depression, only about 60% receive treatment. Which lends to the questions of why some adolescents receive treatment and others do not, and what treatment options are most effective in reducing depression among adolescents. However, before those questions can be addressed, it is important to understand how and where adolescents are screened for depression.
Depression, a mental disorder in which sadness, dejection, and anger last for a prolonged period of time, affects an estimated 350 million people
Depression may as of now show up amid childhood (Nierenberg, 2016). A depressive child may exhibit physical pathologies, for example, migraines, stomach-throbs, fever, may decline to go to class, be drearily joined to a parent, or stress for the conceivable death of a parent (Halli, 2015). Since ordinary conduct shifts starting with one phase of childhood then onto the next, it might be hard to comprehend if the child is essentially experiencing a physiological stage or else is experiencing depression. Parents and educators may watch adequate changes in conduct to bring about caution. Once more, here a pediatric assessment ought to avoid whatever other reason for physical symptoms and the child ought to ideally to seen by a child neuropsychiatrist. Depression in men is regularly masked by liquor and medication mishandle, or hyperactivity in working life (Halli, 2015). It might happen that depression in men doesn't manifest as absence of expectation, or powerlessness to get help, but instead as peevishness and outrage (Nierenberg, 2016). Along these lines, this sort of depression might be harder to distinguish. An increase in patients of mood disorders with age 6 to 17 years of mood disorders was noted during 2015. A study found that mood disorder patients are among the highest population who are uninsured in
In some studies, it shows that school children or a young person going through adolescents may be going through bad depression or anxiety.
Adversity in childhood can be characterized in a number of ways and is not always negative in its outcomes. However, according to the relevant literature, it is the experience of adversity in childhood which creates the foundation of the chronic stress response which is then responsible for the associated latter life negative health outcomes. Adverse childhood experiences can include any number of negative experiential aspects. These include obvious characteristics such as recurrent physical or emotional abuse, as well as less obvious experiences such as growing up in a household where someone was in prison, or where early exposure to one or both parents occurs with chronic depression, mental illness, or where one biological parent was lost to the child for whatever reason (Felitti, 2002). According to a multitude of studies, experience
This paper includes a comprehensive review of the literature on this topic. The paper also has a method section that consists of participants in the study, instruments used, treatments, procedure, and analysis of the results. Participants included 50 eighth graders who were identified with significant levels of depression
Depression is a disorder that affects the lives of hundreds of thousands teenagers in the United States. Kuehn, B. (2009) states that the “US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommends screening adolescents aged 12 through 18 years for depression, but only when systems are in place to ensure proper diagnosis and to provide psychotherapy and follow-up care” (p. 2085). Adolescents need to be heard and understood. A therapy group allows them to see and understand that they are not alone. Role-playing exercises and group activities are beneficial for this group. They are able to get positive support and encouragement from their peers which have a lot of
Research indicates teen’s depression and health professionals say it’s important to get help as soon as a problem is present. Diagnostic criteria are the same for adolescence and adults, with the exception that adolescence may express irritability rather than sad or depressed mood. Major depressive disorder in adolescents is a common condition that affects physical, emotional, and social development for which are more likely to experience anhedonia, boredom, hopelessness, hypersomnia, weight change, alcohol or drug use, and suicide attempts. (MacPhee, 2006) Another major difference between adult and adolescent depression is that depression in adolescence usually involves more social and interpersonal difficulties which directly leads to self-esteem problems. (Seth J. Schwartz, 2012) Correlational studies have consistently shown a significant negative relationship between self-esteem and depression. (Seth J. Schwartz, 2012) People with low self-esteem are typically unhappy. Their sense of fulfillment and pleasure with life is usually resulting from how they feel about themselves. For some people, low self-esteem may contribute to depression and even the inability to function in life. School related stress plays a role in triggering predisposed conditions; the potential for conflict and for psychological stress is high in schools for students because of pressure that comes with adolescences. Ignoring
The mind is full of emotions, knowledge, memories, and much more. The adolescent stage is very complex where a child is attacked with different emotions and events where they begin to feel excluded from society. In this stage, teens start using their mind for moral behavior and decision making. This is when children, begin puberty and start an irregular hormonal stage. As physical characteristics change in a teen’s body also does the perception of themselves start to develop in their mind. For example, when teenagers are not acknowledged by their peers they begin to exclude themselves from the outside world. Additionally, if the teen feels out of place they start isolating themselves from society and start a long journey of depressive thoughts. Depression is a mood disorder that causes an individual to feel sad and isolated.
Depression is a mood disorder characterized by pervasive sadness and psychophysiological changes like changes in sleep patterns, sexual desires, loss of pleasure in previously enjoyed things, and even suicidal thoughts (Belmaker & Agam, 2008, p. 55). Its rise in prevalence in Western society means that students with depression or depressive symptoms are more common in our schools. The students experience difficulty in motivation and self-esteem, and depression is often comorbid with disorders like ADHD, anxiety, and learning disabilities. This means that students need additional support in classrooms, and depression is very treatable with cognitive behavioral therapies.