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

Chapter 11: Literature Review
which a clinician identified an individual as depressed, whereas the person did not self-identify
as such. Further, in an open-ended format, clients and clinicians were asked to provide reasons
for their identification of themselves or their client as depressed. Their comments were grouped
into three categories paralleling the subscales of the instrument utilized to measure their
depressive symptomatology (e.g., Cognition/mood, Anxiety/arousal, Vegetative signs). The
fourth category contained "Other" comments that did not fit the three categories. There were
differences noted between the clients' and clinicians' comments across all categories, however
almost half (47 percent) of the clients generated comments clustered in the "Other" category, and
no significant details were reported on these differences.
Similar to the example above, asking adolescents to define depression gives voice to the
young person's vulnerability to depression that may be distinct from research on adolescent
depression. Subjective elements may also influence depressive thinking in adolescents (Cicchetti
& Toth, 1998). Understanding these elements may be intertwined with one's vulnerability and
experiences before the onset of depression.
Exploring the Meaning of Concepts
Because adolescents' conceptions of depression are being explored, I include a review of
the literature on conceptions, as well as a review of cognitive development at the adolescent
stage.
In the mid 1750s, Hume defined conceptions as being derived from perceptions (objects,
events, or other people we perceive). The term perception referred to a category he used to
distinguish between impressions and ideas (Hume, 1998). Impressions are the materials first
presented to the mind. Impressions are defined as original perceptions (original sensations,
passions, and emotions). Ideas are faint copies or faint images of impressions. Ideas are derived
from impressions and become the instruments for imagining, thinking, and symbolizing (Hume,
1998).
In "Studies in Cognitive Development," Elkind (1969) described four facets of "a
conception of a concept" (p.186): 1) the nature of environmental variability or variations
between and within things (e.g., dogs, cats); 2) the essence of the concept or the commonality
among things; 3) the major function of the concept, which includes the discrimination of
"between-and within-things types of variability" (p. 187); and 4) the content of the concept.
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