how do adolescents define depression? - cIRcle - University of ...

Chapter V: Discussion
Association ofSelf-Recognition of Depression within the Past Two Weeks to Depressive
Symptomatology
Thirty one adolescents self-recognized depression within the past two weeks, 13 boys and
18 girls. Out of the 31 adolescents, only 14 or 45% of these 31 participants were screened as
"Depressed" using the RADS-2 (see Table 26). Out of the 13 (9% of the boys) boys who self-
recognized depression within the past two weeks, 5 (39%) were screened as "Depressed." Out of
the 18 (10% of the girls) girls who self-recognized depression within two weeks, 9 (50%) were
screened as "Depressed." It seems that the percentage of boys and girls who self-recognize
depression within two weeks is fairly equal for boys and girls. Screening out "Depressed"
adolescents qualified only about half of the boys and girls who self-recognized depression within
two weeks. In other words, the key finding revealed by this calculation is that just under half of
these adolescents who self-recognized depression in the same time frame that their depressive
symptomatology was assessed qualify into the potential threshold depression criteria based on
the DSM-IV-TR (APA, 2000). Hence, this discrepancy raises further questions that need to be
addressed. These questions can have relevance to early detection and early intervention of
depression in adolescents, as well as possible lessons in how to communicate with them.
Several questions that need to be addressed as a result of these findings that the screening
tool for depressive symptomatology only picked up less than half of the adolescents who self-
recognized depression within the two-weeks, are presented in this paragraph. The findings in this
study revealed that the mean and the median for the RADS-2 (Reynolds, 2002) total score were
higher in those adolescents who self-recognized depression than in those adolescents who did not
self-recognize depression. Hence, are these adolescents who self-recognized depression in the
subthreshold state of their depressive symptomatology and can self-recognize their vulnerability
to depression but are screened out because the assessment tool can only screen out the potential
threshold individuals with depressive symptomatology? How do we want to communicate to
these young people when addressing their depressive symptomatology, particularly when they
are telling us that they recognize depression in themselves? Do we want to involve all these
adolescents who self-recognized or self-diagnosed their depression within the past two weeks or
continue to select out only the potential threshold half by simply staying within the boundary of
"screened depression" according to a measure? We already know that most adolescents do not
access support services and those who do, do not receive adequate care. Hence, we need to think
157