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

Chapter II: Literature Review
can increase the risks. The characteristics associated with depression in adolescents (e.g.,
depressed appearance, cognitions, emotions, social impairment or contextual influences) are
matched by the literature on comorbidity in both clinical and community population samples,
although the findings are limited in examining which factors are meaningful to adolescents'
understanding of depression.
In essence, what is the effect of loneliness on depression? Is loneliness more meaningful
than another factor such as irritability? Are these factors meaningful in adolescents' conceptions
of depression? What is their significance in their access to support for depression? Mental health
is prominent in adolescents' concerns, yet little is known about what these concerns really mean
to them. Adolescents tend to shy away from existing mental health services. Those who try them
often drop out early in treatment, perhaps because of the lack of meaning for the factors they
associate with depression. This present investigation examines adolescents' conceptions of
depression in association with age, gender, depressive symptomatology, and pathways to talking
to someone when feeling depressed, to determine which conceptions can be useful to researchers
and adolescents alike.
Adolescents' Self-Recognition of Depression and Pathways to Choosing to Talk to
Someone When Feeling Depressed
Introduction
The study of factors associated with adolescent depression, including the presence of
adolescents' perceived mental and physical health concerns, their understanding of what
depression actually means, and their ability to recognize its presence, is a new area of research.
One Australian study (Fuks Geddes, 1997) examining self-recognition of depression in a sample
of 340 adolescents, showed that adolescents' self-recognition of depression was associated with
more severe depression. However, questions remained about what depression meant to the
adolescents. Understanding whether an individual thinks he or she has depression can be the
most critical factor in detecting depression, ease in communicating with them, and in planning
meaningful interventions.
Most adolescents with mental health problems do not seek access to available services;
and most adolescents who do enter treatment often stop the treatment within the first seven visits
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