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

Chapter V: Discussion
about the other half of adolescents who self-recognized depression within the two weeks who are
screened as "Not Depressed."
If the aim is to better to communicate with adolescents and for adolescents to take
ownership of their own understanding of what depression means to them, we need to redirect our
thinking according to what these young people are telling us. The finding that the self-
recognizers of depression have a significantly higher mean and median than the non self-
recognizers of depression on the Depression Total Score on the RADS-2 (Reynolds, 2002) can
be an integral part of the important factors that translate into early detection and early
intervention of depression in these adolescents. This finding suggests that adolescents' self-
recognition of depression as part of the critical factor in detecting depressive symptoms in
themselves can be verified just by asking them if they think they are depressed. Self-recognition
of depression involves adolescents' integration of their understanding and conceptions of
depression, including their rating of the importance of their depression. To self-recognize
depression, the individual needs to be able to conceive of what depression means to him or her
personally. This may be the initial step to early detection of depression in the adolescent. The
potential for early detection of depression through self-recognition of depression can help
individuals maintain control of their depression. Recent studies indicate that depressive
symptoms or subthreshold depression exist on a continuum (Judd & Akiskal, 2000; Lewinsohn et
al., 2000a; Lewinsohn et al., 2000b; Ruscio & Ruscio, 2000), and that dimensions on this
continuum are appropriate models for diagnosis (Goldberg, 2000; Slade & Andrews, 2005).
Once individuals move into the more severe dimensions of depressive symptoms, they
may not be able to recognize the condition as readily. In these findings, self-recognition of
depression is associated significantly with the presence of screened depression; it may be the
critical factor that informs early detection of depression before any help-seeking begins. In a
theoretical paper, Cauce et al. (2002) contend that help-seeking cannot begin in earnest until the
problem of mental health need is recognized; and according to Piaget, thought precedes action as
cited in Chapman (1988).
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