Depression in Adolescents

Paper Summary:

Depression in adolescents can be difficult to diagnose due to problems with differentiating between the normal, transient difficulties and developmental issues that occur in this age group and actual depressive symptoms. This paper examines the causes, symptoms, and treatment of adolescent depression. The paper explains that accurate and early diagnosis and treatment of depression in adolescents is essential to prevent impairment in academic, social, emotional, and behavioral functioning and to prevent suicide and the increased risk for depression and suicide in adulthood.

From the Paper:

"According to one study in which parent-adolescent interactions were videotaped, parents of depressed adolescents increased their facilitative behavior in response to their adolescents' depressed behavior, thus suggesting that these parents may be inadvertently reinforcing depressive behavior (Sanders 2001). Parental depression is another frequently studied risk factor for adolescent depression (Sanders 2001). One recent study revealed a greater proportion of depressed adolescents had depressed mothers, 47 percent vs 18 percent in the control group, although the rates of paternal depression did not differ between the two groups (Sanders 2001)."

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