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

CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW
Organization of Literature Review
Chapter II: Literature Review
The literature review is organized into five main sections. First, an overview of the
research on depression in general is presented. In the second section, an overview of the
literature on depression in adolescence is reported. Included in this section are: the history of
adolescent depression, factors associated with depression in adolescence, and literature that may
link with adolescents' conceptions of depression. Prevalence, assessment, treatment, and burden
of depression in adolescence are also discussed in this section. Next, an overview of the literature
on the relation of adolescents' self-recognition of depression to social cognitive theory is put
forth. This section continues with the review of the literature on the pathways to seek support for
mental disorders, which include approach-oriented coping via thinking about own need to talk
and the action of seeking support. In the fourth section, theories of social perspective
coordination and emotions in relation to depressive symptomatology are discussed. Finally, I
present the cumulative summary of the literature and this study's research questions.
Depression
Defining Depression
Studies on the concept of adolescent depression abound (APA, 2000; Brockless, 1997;
Reynolds, 1994a; Rutter & Sroufe, 2000; Street, Sheeran, & Orbell, 1999), yet the understanding
of the condition has been impaired by definitional tensions, and other uncertainties. Researchers
and practitioners actively debate the definitions of depression (Good & Kleinman, 1985; Kangas,
2001; Rounsaville et al., 2002). One major challenge is how to operationally define and measure
depression (Compas & Oppedisano, 2000). Defining depression in adolescents involves
assessing or distinguishing its specific features. Measuring depression involves grouping cases
according to those features (Compas & Oppedisano, 2000). Both definitions and measurements
are susceptible to conceptual bias (Rutter, 2000).
Researchers and practitioners use different labels to define depression, including
depressed mood, depressive syndrome, and depressive disorder. Depressed mood refers to
depression viewed as affect (Angold, 1988a) -- unhappiness, sadness, or blue feelings -- for an
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