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

Chapter II: Literature Review
externalizing symptoms, whereas depressed adolescent females show more internalizing
symptoms (Frydenberg, 1997; Gjerde, 1995; Schonert-Reichl, 1994).
Girls who derive their self-worth from physical appearance versus those who do not, have
a higher level of depressive affect (Harter, 1999) or depressed mood at this age (Wichstrom,
1999). Dissatisfaction with body image in high school adolescents appears to be tied to gender
(Allgood-Merten, Lewinsohn, & Hops, 1990; Hankin & Abramson, 2001; Hankin et al., 2001).
Transition from elementary to junior high school, together with pubertal changes, has been found
to account for poor self-esteem and depressed mood among girls rather than boys (Wichstrom,
1999).
Evidence supports the thesis of interplay between gender role and negative environmental
events (Hankin & Abramson, 1999). Girls are more likely to experience adversity within the
family and within the stereotypical female gender role (Wichstrom, 1999) and become depressed
(Hankin & Abramson, 1999). In a prospective study of 168 at-risk youth, Duggal, Carlson,
Sroufe, and Egeland (2001) found that maternal depression was correlated with depression in
adolescent females but not in males. In another study of 1,208 students in grades 9, 10, and 11,
Gore, Aseltine, and Colten (1993) found that within the context of family stress, girls who were
involved in their mother's problems or who had a strong interpersonal caring orientation, had
elevated depressed mood (Gore et al., 1993). In contrast, Robins and Robertson (1998) found
that the likelihood of people experiencing adverse life events was affected by their own
psychological dysfunction. These findings indicate that there may be an interrelationship
between the environment and adolescents' vulnerability to depression, particularly in girls.
Biology and Environment
Although parental depression increases the chance of mood and medical disorders in the
offspring (Kramer et al., 1998), its specificity to depression is not established. Twin and adoption
evidence shows that genetic factors account for 50 percent of the transmission of mood
disorders, and additional impact comes from the child's environment (Parker & Roy, 2001).
Although genetic factors play an important role in individual differences, environmental effects
occupy an equally essential component (Rice, Harold & Thapar, 2002; Rutter, 2000). Goodman
(2003) reports that offspring may inherit a psychosocial or environmental vulnerability to
depression rather than a biological risk for the disorder.
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