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

Summary of Findings
Chapter II: Literature Review
Awareness and regulation of emotions and self-management of emotional expressions
like sadness and irritability can affect adolescents' conceptions and self-recognition of
depression. Maturity and competence in social perspective coordination can also add to the
adolescents' self-recognition of depression. Poor awareness of emotion may lead to emotions
being expressed in a non-constructive way, like anger (Penza-Clyve & Zeman, 2002), which may
also affect adolescents' understanding of depression. Noam et al. (1995) maintain that "the ways
people represent themselves...and their social world are essential in understanding the
individual's psychological world. These representations... are continuously updated based on
maturation and social interaction, providing an important key to a developmental understanding
of health and dysfunction" (p. 430).
Cumulative Summary of the Literature
In summary, the review of the literature reveals that we do not have comprehensive
knowledge of adolescents' understanding of depression yet. Research into adolescents'
definitions of depression and their ability to recognize depression in themselves seems to be
unavailable. Gaining knowledge of adolescents' conceptions of depression is relevant for
theoretical and practical reasons. In theory, adolescents' conceptions and self-recognition of
depression can inform their cognitive, social-cognitive, and emotional development, and in turn
their development can influence their conceptions and self-recognition of depression. From a
developmental perspective, adolescents' conceptions of depression would vary as a function of
the developmental milestones and social goals salient for this particular age group.
In practice, adolescents' conceptions of depression can provide detailed distinguishing
characteristics of depression. Knowing those characteristics can have implications for the
adolescents themselves and for those with whom they interact, and in detecting particular
characteristics associated with depression in adolescents. Adolescents' interpretations of
depression may be linked in influencing the adolescents' willingness to acknowledge the
associated characteristics and to engage in support before more severe complications arise. This
consideration may determine whether past research on adolescent depression is of concern in the
same light to adolescents themselves.
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