Depression in Young Adolescents: High Prevalence, High Risk - Research Proposal

Introduction

Depression in young adolescents is a severe problem that has high prevalence as well as a contributing factor to the high suicide risk. Depression among adolescents has a high chance of re-occurring during adulthood and, at the same time, may result in other dark psychiatric conditions. Even though the knowledge concerning the causes of depression among adolescents have multiplied, there is still difficulty in accurately predicting which adolescent may be affected due to the numerous factors involved. However, a suitable predictor of a depressive adolescent has been identified as stressful life, difficulty in regulating emotions, as well as the indicators, whether verbally or through the writing of suicide. If untreated, depression can lead to attempts or successful suicidal tendencies among adolescents. Therefore, it is essential to understand the correlation between depression and suicide among adolescents in order to identify appropriate treatments methods.

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Definition

Depression can be identified as a collection of specific symptoms that are associated with impairment. Furthermore, the diagnostic, as well as clinical characters of the condition, are similar in adolescents and adults on a broad range. However, depression in adolescents is mostly overlooked due to the prominence of mood reactivity, irritability, as well as fluctuating symptoms that are associated with the adolescence stage. Furthermore, depression can be missed if the adolescent has behavior problems, eating disorders, a decline in academic performance, and anxiety. Depression in teenagers is often perceived as the on-set subform of depression in adults due to the likelihood of reoccurrence in adulthood (Thapar et al. 2012).

On the other hand, suicide can be identified as the direct or indirect expression of a suicidal idea or the intent to harm or kill self that is articulated verbally, through artwork or writing (Cash & Bridge, 2009). Furthermore, Shain (2016) explained that problems associated with personal mental health that may stimulate suicidal tendencies include depression, sleep disturbances, bipolar disorder, substance use and intoxication, posttraumatic stress disorder, psychosis, a history of aggression, panic attacks, impulsivity, and severe anger among others.

Literature Review

Adolescence is a challenging phase during the development of a child into an adult. Furthermore, this phase is accompanied by numerous psychological and physical changes that may be stressful for the teenager. Stressors such as loss, relational challenges as well as health threats can be attributed as significant contributors to depression, which can further escalate to suicidal tendencies among teenagers. Stressful life among adolescents plays a significant role in depressive symptoms as compared to other types of stress, such as academic stress. Moreover, depressive symptoms can also result in stressful life events for teenagers which translates to a reciprocal relationship (Stikkelbroek et al. 2016).

Major Depressive Disorder

A major depressive disorder is attributed to a depressed or irritable mood throughout the day for most days. As a result, the teenager may demonstrate reduced pleasure or interest in most or all activities that they may engage in such as classes. Furthermore, the teenager may experience insomnia or hypersomnia, fatigue, inappropriate guilt, feelings of worthlessness, or the diminished ability to think or concentrate. The adolescent may also experience recurrent thoughts of death, a suicide attempt, or a specific plan for committing suicide, or suicidal ideation without a specific plan (Bernaras et al., 2019). Bernaras et al. (2019) note that major depressive disorder among teenagers is three times higher than those aged between 18 and 29 years old, with girls having a higher prevalence of 1.5-3 times more than the boys. Additionally, Glied and Pine (2002) explain that this type of depression increases the risk of suicide in adolescents and children that is similar to that experienced in adulthood. The authors further note that nearly 20% of the youth seriously consider attempting suicide in the preceding year. Also, depression can often be associated with co-occurring mental disorders such as substance or alcohol abuse and, if left untreated, can further accelerate the risk of suicidality. Thus, although depression is a clear predecessor for suicide, adolescents who turn to alcohol have an even higher risk of committing suicide (Galaif et al., 2007).

Roots of Depression and the correlation to Suicide among adolescents

To better understand the role of depression among teenagers, the causes of depression have to be addressed. Identifying the main causes of depression may be essential in determining which factors influence suicide via their effects on depression.

Age and Race

The age effects on depression are vast and different as compared to suicide attempts. According to Cutler, Glaeser, and Norberg (2000), younger teens have a higher likelihood of being depressed as compared to older teens. Furthermore, girls are more likely to be depressed as compared to boys. In contrast, older teenagers are more likely to attempt or commit suicide as compared to younger teens. In regards to race, whites are less likely to be depressed as compared to the other ethnic, racial minorities.

Families

The absence of a specific member of the family, such as a mother or a father, is a significant predictor of depression among adolescents. The relationship between a teenager and the parent is essential such that teenagers who never knew their fathers are more likely to be more depressed than teenagers who know their fathers are never home. However, both groups are more likely to be depressed and attempt suicide as compared to teenagers who report interactions with their parents (Cutler et al, 2000).

Delinquency

There is a clear correlation between delinquency and depression such that a teen may engage in delinquency due to depression. Similarly, a delinquent teen may experience depression due to excessive guilt. The result of this excessive expression may be attempted or successful suicide or addiction to alcohol or other drugs. Furthermore, teenagers may engage in delinquency behavior because they were hurt and were trying to express their emotions. However, failure to sufficiently express their hurt, combined with the guilt of committing an offense, the teenager may become depressed and even commit suicide (Cutler et al., 2000).

Social Interactions

There is a noteworthy connection between social interactions and depression. Adolescents who watch more television are more likely to get depression as compared to teens who watch less television and are engaged in social activities such as club memberships. Students who are involved with social activities are more exposed to their peers, have more interactions with people, and thus are happier as compared to those who isolate themselves (Cutler et al., 2000). As a result, isolation may lead to depression that may be a risk factor for suicide if it is not diagnosed and treated in time.

Rationale

Depression is underrecognized in teenagers more than in adults resulting in untreated depression cases. However, untreated depression among adolescents may have many severe results such as lower educational achievement as well as poorer physical health. Additionally, depressed adolescents may be exposed to future adverse outcomes if the conditions are not treated aside from the current impaired functioning and suffering. The dire reality is that some depressed teenagers commit suicide. Thus, there is a dire need for proactive assessment and treatment (Maslow et al, 2015). Furthermore, an alarming 75% of adolescents suffering from depression would attempt to end their lives as they reach adulthood. Despite these adverse outcomes and statistics, the causative mechanisms that contribute to the start and continuation of depression among adolescents are still unclear (Auerbach, 2016). Therefore, the main aim of this paper would be to identify the correlation between depression and the rate of suicide attempts among adolescents. This analogy is obtained by identifying the root causes that are most likely to catapult depression into suicide among adolescents.

Method

This article is a critical review of ten empirical studies. The paper follows a systematic procedure to obtain the current literature that is relevant to adolescent suicidality and depression. The literature used by the author was obtained from scholarly websites such as Jama Network, NCBI, PubMed, as well as references cited in various articles and web sites related to suicidality and depression in adolescents. All the literature research used in this article were limited to English language journals that investigate suicidality or depression among teenagers. In regards to the sample population, the majority of the reviewed studies included community samples among communities that were predominantly Caucasian. The age range across the studies included adolescents that were between 9 years old and 18 years old. Furthermore, the majority of these articles reviewed in this paper applied cross-sectional research design.

Potential Harm to Participants

The information applied in this paper is free of any form of deception. Furthermore, the paper utilizes literature that is freely and easily accessible from the internet. Thus, the paper does not pose any potential harm to the participants.

Anticipated

There is a distinctive need to integrate the existing empirical research into the explanatory model to advance the current knowledge of adolescent depression and suicidality. The sensitivity of suicidality and depression among adolescents calls for the need to comprehend the psychosocial antecedents of depression as well as it is reciprocal relationships in order to prevent further self-destruction among teenagers. Adolescents are at serious risk for depression and can be targeted early on in order to implement early and effective suicide prevention and depression treatment programs.

References

Auerbach, R. P. (2015, November). Depression in adolescents: Causes, correlates and consequences. https://www.apa.org. https://www.apa.org/science/about/psa/2015/11/depression-adolescents

Bernaras, E., Jaureguizar, J., & Garaigordobil, M. (2019). Child and adolescent depression: A review of theories, evaluation instruments, prevention programs, and treatments. Frontiers in Psychology, 10. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00543

Cash, S. J., & Bridge, J. A. (2009). Epidemiology of Youth Suicide and Suicidal Behavior. Curr Opin Pediatr, 21(5), 613-619. https://doi.org/ 10.1097/MOP.0b013e32833063e1

Cutler, D. M., Glaeser, E. L., & Norberg, K. E. (2000, May). Explaining the Rise in Youth Suicide. https://www.nber.org. https://www.nber.org/papers/w7713.pdf

Galaif, E. R., Sussman, S., Newcomb, M. D., & Locke, T. F. (2007). Suicidality, depression, and alcohol use among adolescents: A review of empirical findings. International Journal of Adolescent Medicine and Health, 19(1). https://doi.org/10.1515/ijamh.2007.19.1.27

Glied, S., & Pine, D. S. (2002). Consequences and correlates of adolescent depression. Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, 156(10), 1009. https://doi.org/10.1001/archpedi.156.10.1009

Maslow, G. R., Dunlap, K., & Chung, R. J. (2015). Depression and Suicide in Children and Adolescents. Pediatrics in Review, 36(7), 299-310. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1542/pir.36-7-299

Shain, B. (2016). Suicide and suicide attempts in adolescents. PEDIATRICS, 138(1), e20161420-e20161420. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2016-1420

Stikkelbroek, Y., Bodden, D. H., Kleinjan, M., Reijnders, M., & Van Baar, A. L. (2018). Correction: Ado...