Depression

Paper Summary:

This research demonstrates that while there are individual factors (based on genetics, biology and personal experience) that incline an individual toward depression, there are also macro-level social factors that make a person more likely to suffer from depression. The paper explains that among these factors may be membership in a minority community that is the subject of prejudice from the majority community. This is certainly the case with African-American youths, whose race and age (along with sex and gender in some cases) causes them to be subject to a higher than usual level of stress. The paper concludes that a better understanding of the connection between environment and depression for African-American adolescents can help provide the basis for better treatment for this at-risk group.

Paper Outline:
Etiology of Depression
Socially Reactive Depression
Relationships Among Ascribed Status and Depression
Treatment of Depression Tied to Knowledge About the Disorder

From the Paper:

"Overall, minority adolescent girls are at higher risk of depression than are minority boys because both female gender and minority racial status are " at least indirectly " risk factors for serious depression and suicide. Such increased risk for girls and minorities would, we may assume, disappear relatively quickly if society became free of bigotry and sexism. In other words, while depression will always affect some members of every community, the high rates of depression that attend members of minority communities would in all likelihood be substantially reduced if the social conditions that prompt such depressive reactions were removed. However, any possibility for treatment must be based on a complete understanding of the causes of depression in a particular community."

More papers on Depression:

• Research Paper # 144107 : "What Triggers Depression?"
• Analytical Essay # 130618 : "Depression: A Life Long Process and Treatment"
• Persuasive Essay # 32925 : "Theories of Depression"
• Research Paper # 7342 : "Postpartum Depression"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: