The Difference of Sadness and Depression in Children Essay

Divorce is one of the most common happenings in the world experienced by children. Most children go through different adjustments to become comfortable with the fact that their parents are not together anymore. Children of divorced parents are prone to lifelong effects. Seventy-five to eighty percent of children have divorced parents and twenty-five percent of those children have serious social, emotional, or psychological problems for the rest of their life. Most adults think that it is best for parents to stay together for the sake of their child because having two parents in different households can become difficult for the child socially and academically.

Many experts on divorce and the effects on children agree that the actual separation of parents may not be the leading factor in depression. Robert Aseltine explains, "Divorce is seen as setting off a chain of negative events and transitions that are causally related to youths' psychological distress and may be more potent stressors than the physical separation of parents" (134). My personal experience has shown that money does not last as long when only one income supports the same number of children as two incomes previously supported. Aseltine concurs by stating, "Economic hardship is…thought to play a prominent role in explaining children's distress…Disrupted families generally experience dramatic declines in standard of living…" (134). When any person goes from one standard of living to a substantially lesser standard of living in a short amount of time they will have emotional stresses that will be difficult to deal with. This will cause great stresses in their lives creating barriers toward success. Financial situations are not always the main stress factor in depression among children of divorced parents.

Depression is defined as a mental illness in which a person is experiencing deep sadness and loneliness. It is known as one of the most common mental illnesses and it affects all kinds of people, regardless of sex, age and religion. Many people are not aware that depression is not only diagnosed in adults, but in children and adolescents as well. Therefore, there is a debate about whether children suffering from depression should be allowed to take antidepressants. Antidepressant drugs should be prescribed for children suffering from depression under the conditions of doctors limiting the medication, including therapy and having the parents informed/educated.

Depression in children stem from a variety of factors relating to health, history, life events, genetic vulnerabilities, family history, and biochemical imbalances. Every individual shows different symptoms when suffering from depression; however, these symptoms interfere with the child’s daily living at school and home. Psychotherapy and medication are the most common treatments for children with depression (Depression in

Another mental health problem a child can develop is depression. A child with depression may be sad more often than not, feel guilty or helpless, and may lose interest in pleasurable things or things they previously enjoyed. Other mental health issues that may arise from the divorce of the child’s parents are antisocial behavior and hyperactivity (Strohscein, 2012).

(16) found a connection between mother’s that experience motherhood as stressful and the development of general anxiety, depression, and having a hard time to adapt to life changes. Mothers are already dealing with a great deal of stress prenatally and postpartum and this increases the risk of them developing these mental health disorders, not just temporarily but long term as well. Depression caused from stress and other factors in mothers can also be transferred to fathers which plays a role in increased divorce rate (2 & 16). Depression in one parent can lead to depression in both parents due to this transfer effect. Other factors that can be attribute to depression and depressive symptoms in fathers include: lack of education, unemployment, finding parenting stressful, difficulties between the spouse, and social support variable. Both mothers and fathers are dealing with different factors that lead to the cause of depression but the reoccurring factor for both is stress. (7) found that depressed parents interactions with their infant were impaired, but in some instances when just the mother was depressed the father could make up for the mother’s impaired interaction. In instances when the transfer of depression occurs there is no parent to help make up for the other’s compromised interaction. The effect on the infant of mother’s with depression has shown infants to have higher

Depression is the most common mental disorder, not only for adults, but for children and teenagers as well. The DSM-IV classifies depression as a mood disorder. It states that an individual has suffered a “major depressive episode” if certain symptoms persist for at least two weeks, including a loss of enjoyment in previously pleasurable activities, a sad or irritable mood, a significant change in weight or appetite, problems sleeping or concentrating, and feelings of worthlessness. These symptoms of depression fall into four categories: mood, cognitive, behavioral, and physical. Depression affects how individuals feel, think, behave, and how their bodies work. People with depression may experience symptoms in any or all of the

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The researchers (Reising, et al., 2013) demonstrated parents who suffered from depression as well as financial hardship did not have a great relationship with their children impacting their psychopathology internally and externally. Thus (Reising, et al., 2013) revealed there are countless children living in the United States surrounded by triggers that may direct them to apprehension, for instance, parents who have suffered or are still suffering from compulsive dejection, financial economic hardship, and parents who are neglectful are a few characteristics that can and may influence children and adolescent to stress leading them to behave in a manner that is not aligned with their community. The following research article are in accordance with the previous literature review relating to parental stress and depression does have an influence on children’s behavior:

Until recently depression in children and adolescents had not received a great deal of attention. Increasing interest can probably be traced to a number of influences.

People used to believe that children had no reason to be depressed it wasn’t till a few years ago: “No one thought that children could suffer from real depression; there wasn’t even an official diagnosis for childhood depression until 1980” (Fassler 4). But really who would have thought that such a thing could be possible. Sadly today we know that it’s a real disease and it affects more adolescents than we think: “ The National Institute of Mental Health estimates that as many as 2.5 percent of all American youngsters under the age of eighteen or over 1.5 million children and adolescents are seriously depressed” (Fassler 2).

Depression is another concern for children who have experienced divorce. Children are more likely to suffer from depression if their parents are split than if they are still together (Fox 2001). Depression affects the way a child acts in daily life. Children from divorced houses are more likely to suffer from some form of depression or another than those from married families (Doherty et al. 1989, as cited in Fox 2001). Fox 2001 studies the effect divorce has on children by a survey given to 118 students ranging in ages 18-25. The survey includes True of False questions on their ?attitudes, opinions, interests, and other characteristics regarding the divorce that affected them (Fox 2001).? This study found that 26% of the students surveyed needed some kind of counseling regarding depression post divorce (Fox 2001). Separation of parents can have extremely harmful and lasting affects involving depression. Divorce negatively affects a child?s psyche and makes them more depressed.

Depression has numerous causes and effects which affect not only the person but the people around them. Depression doesn’t have a specific cause; in most cases it’s different for everyone. It is a common, treatable mental illness that can be experienced at any time in life. It is often described with feeling sad, unhappy, miserable, or “down in the dumps”. Most people have these feelings on occasion. There are several types of depression. These different types of depression describe slight, but often important, diagnostic differences. True clinical depression interferes with mood disorder in everyday life for weeks, months, or even years. Most people think depression affects only one

To begin with, let us make clear what is depression. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, depression is described as a serious mental disorder in which a person suffers long time of sadness, loneliness, and other negative feelings. Depression affects how you feel about yourself such as lack of energy and concentration, lose interest in work and hobbies, and have trouble of insomnia. Depression makes life more and more difficult and dispirited. More importantly, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), major depression is the leading cause of mental disorder for people in the United States aged 15 to 44. Recent estimates show that about 10 to 15% of children and teens experience depression at

Sadness is how the human being reacts to the loss of a loved one, the struggles of life, the disappointments, and the frustrations. Although it is a normal feeling in all these situations, there is a broad difference between being sad and being depressed. Unlike normal feelings of sadness, depression overwhelms a person, last a long time, and interferes with his or her day-to-day life. According to the World Health Organization in 2010, depression was reported as the most common mental disorder; it affects 120 million people globally and is among the leading causes of disability. The person that suffers from depression has to deal with being misunderstood and under-diagnosed on a daily basis, which leaves the patient with physical,