Depression Condition in adolescents
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Depression is common in adolescent where statistics show that about 21% of adolescents are affected. Unfortunately, most depressed adolescents are not given adequate treatments. The condition disrupts their feelings, leading them to experience low interests or happiness in things they should otherwise appreciate and increases their irritability even when they are not offended. Depression in adolescent is related to lack of individual attention, relationships that are not secure and poor parenting. In the following research paper, long-term relationship between adolescents and close family members and friends will be researched on to establish if it has any correlation with adolescent depression. The objective will enhance evaluation on how to improve intervention on easing access to care that is evidence-based for depressed adolescents. Such intervention would mainly focus on cognitive-behavior therapy and administration of antidepressants drugs to the victims in relation to the conventional care for depressed adolescents seen in primary care settings. There is a high correlation between lack of treatment for depression among adolescents and suicide, which is being rated the number one cause of death among adolescents. Untreated depression among adolescents has also been associated with school dropouts, early pregnancy, internet addiction, and substance abuse. The proposed phenomenon regarding adolescent depression is that adolescents who experience long-term poor relationships characterized by simultaneous, conflicting emotions whether negative or positive towards events or other people are at higher risks of falling victims of the disorder than those that are in secure attachments. This paper provides literature reviews that attempts to explain and furnish the proposed phenomenon with collaborating evidence.
According to a research conducted by Lewinsohn (2002), the study was based on search for answers to the following questions. The first question was on whether the adolescents who were the subjects would match in quality and frequency to relationship patterns provided by other researches. Another question guiding the study was whether the character traits of adolescents in secure relationships would be related with character traits reported by studies on infants and children. The objective of the study was on adolescent male relationship patterns, specifically between the males and their mothers through interview method. The proposed phenomenon is that secretly attached males identifies with their mothers more strongly and positively, are characterized by higher self-esteem and rarely get depressed. On the other hand, males who experienced simultaneous, conflicting emotions are likely to experience poor identification with their mothers, lack high self-esteem, and ultimately get depressed.
In the current research, the initial sample of the subject was one thousand and five hundred participants. The subjects were randomly selected from a class of psychology students at a middle-level college. However, the methods included certainly well defined screening procedures to ensure only those who met the selection criterion were used in the study. In addition, it was paramount to use approximately equal subjects to represent all groups of attachments. The selection criterion on the subjects therefore reduced the number of participants to thirty who were finally used in the research.
The results of the study conducted by Lewinsohn (2002) defends the proposed phenomenon in his research that the relative rates of relationships whether secure, conflicting or avoidant would relate to those given by the researchers who used infant subjects. The percentages in the just concluded research were; 74% had secure relationships, 15% experienced simultaneous, conflicting emotions to other people and events, and 9% experienced an anxious personality disorder. This is important in analyzing the report provided by researchers on infants, which reported the percentages as follows; 1% secure relationships, 19% simultaneous, conflicting emotions to others and 11% anxious personality disorder. From the results, it can also be concluded that there was a meaningful variation in personality traits between individuals with anxious personality disorder and those in secure relationships. Adolescents experiencing anxious personality disorder were found to experience more depression and gave a higher formal account of low self-esteem than adolescents give in secure relationships attachments. The group experiencing anxious personality disorder was rated between the securely attached group and group experiencing simultaneous, conflicting emotions in terms of the degree of adolescent depression and lack of adequate self-esteem. However, the variation was not meaningful from either group. It is also paramount to note that the male adolescents with secure relationships have a higher ability positively to identify with maternal attachments than the adolescent with simultaneous, conflicting emotions to other people and those with personality disorder were placed in the middle of the two groups. This is a significant finding in relation to the proposed phenomenon stated on this particular research work.
When the already mentioned results are summed together it is possible to ascertain the proposed phenomenon that personality traits such as positive inherent disposition, ability to get along with other people, and one’s overall self evaluations of his or her emotions, of adolescents in secure relationships is parallel personality traits in infants and children in secure relationships.
It is important to note the related methodological controversies that probably influenced finding. This research had a limitation in that it was cross-sectional rather than being longitudinal. Similar information should have been tracked on same subjects at several points in life repeatedly over a lengthy period preferably a decade. The study should have followed the adolescents from infancy as they developed. The second limitation to the research was that the selected subjects comprised of only males. There may have been a meaningful variation in terms of correlation had adolescent girls been included too.
Another literature review that attempts to explain and furnish the proposed hypothesis with collaborating evidence relates adolescent depression and social network but still connects to attachment in adolescence. According to a study conducted by Rahdert (1991), one question that needed address was on whether adolescent depression may be because of inadequate social network. Another question that required answer was whether adolescents experiencing depression perceived the emotional disorder of close relatives as more negative. The objective of the research is to establish the social networks of adolescents experiencing depression regardless of whether they have another disorder in addition to depression, which is the main condition and correlate the findings with social networks of adolescents who are not depressed. The research methodology involved initial sampling of 350 subjects aged between 15 and 19 years. The subjects comprised of both gender. Thorough screening was later done on the sample to ensure only the subjects that met the requirements were left, which reduced the subjects to 10 who were used in the study.
The results of the study showed that the subjects with experiences of acute depressions do not significantly vary from non-depressed adolescents. Majorly depressed adolescents are socially interactive, have adequate relationships and their families provide enough moral support. It is difficult to discuss such results but it is important to report that majorly depressed adolescents are not much affected by their depressive situation. On the contrary, adolescents with high-level depression, referred to as dysthmia perceive their primary caregivers as not adequate in their services despite being available than control subject. Subjects with acute depression also perceive their family situation as less positive compared with controls. These findings of the study support the proposed phenomenon that depression in adolescence is correlated with inadequate social networks and that the affected adolescents see their family situations as more negatives. There are limitations that influenced the validity of the research. One weakness in this study is that the data collected was sourced only from the adolescents. The study did not involve the parents to the adolescents. Another weakness in the research was that the control was sourced from the remaining individuals after screening by obtaining a score below moderate depression. It is not possible to ascertain if the controls sourced from the remaining group were 100% depression free.
In connection to the above, correlation of adolescent depression and attachment is studied using a hypothetical model. In the research work by JAMA (2005), processes associated with depression among adolescents are studied. The main objective of the study was to develop a model that comprises of parent involvements, parent relationships, peer relationships, separation individualism, self-esteem, and critical awareness for one self. The objective of the study was to establish how the elements of the models could be used to discern the symptoms of adolescent depression when they are summed together. The sample subjects involved 65 males aged between 13 and 17 years, from secondary institutions. It is expected that there is a correlation between attachment experienced with the current parenting and past parenting. In addition, maternal care and control are correlated regarding the attachment. Finally, it is expected that attachments in adolescents correlate directly to parental attachment.
The finding of the research showed that depression among male adolescent manifested through interpersonal concerns, self-critical evaluation, and long-term relationships with parents and peers, perceived child rearing and the struggle to develop into an adult. The outcome of the study shows that male adolescents are more likely to develop signs of depression if they lack high quality parenting. Signs of depression may also develop among the males if they have feelings of regrets for their actions; have feeling of dependence, auto-critique, and lasting poor relationships with both parents and peers. Through the maternal care and control, it was possible to predict attachment with parents. The results of this study showed that if parental care is above a certain level chances are that depression is likely to occur among the adolescents. The outcome therefore contradicts the hypothesis but is valid because beyond a certain limit, maternal care can result to negative influence. There are a few weaknesses in this study. The time offered by the school for the study was limited, which led to use of shorter versions of some variables because the research had to be completed within the time available. The second weakness is that the study concentrated only on male subjects and their attachments with their mothers. If female subjects were included, outcomes that are more valid would have been realized.
Next, the following discussion of attachment and its correlation with depression among adolescents is studied through testing factors in connection to attachments. According to a research by JAMA (2005), the proposed phenomenon is that adolescents who believed they have stable long-lasting relationships are likely to be more trusted and communicate better with other people and are less likely to be alienated compared with those that had simultaneous, conflicting emotions with events and other people or even those that have personality disorder. Furthermore, adolescents who felt insecure in their relationships with parents and peers are more likely to show signs of depression and anxiety than adolescents who perceive themselves as secure. In addition, adolescents experiencing depression are likely to score lowly in terms of trust and communication with others. The study sample comprised of 185 subjects both male and females aged between 15 and 18 years. The subjects were given tests in class under the guidance of their teacher who was with them throughout the test period.
The results of the study on attachments for securely attached adolescents, those that experienced simultaneous, conflicting emotions and those with personality disorders are consistent with the outcomes of the studies conducted on infants, but also with Lewinsohn’s (2002) research. Percentages for the current research were 71% secure, 15.9% simultaneous, conflicting emotions and 10.9% personal disorder. The outcomes supported both the hypothesis made in the researches except on the correlation of communication and depression among adolescents. The study had a few weaknesses the first one being the assumption that attachments at old age is a product of attachment experienced in the early development stage of the concerned adolescent. Another weakness in the study was on the validity of categorical test on whether using questionnaires for attachment for the age group would be more effective compared with dimensional measure.
Considering all the above results on the studies about attachment and its correlation with adolescent depression it is clear that attachment is a significant determinant on adolescent depression. If an adolescent receives adequate care at the early stages of development, he or she is less vulnerable to depression. Future relationships among adolescent are products of the attachments they received during their infancy, which determines their conducts and psychological wellbeing latter in life. It would be important to research more using longitudinal studies. Future studies also need to include all stakeholders in the life of adolescents such as parents and other primary caregivers to obtain testimonies that are more reliable and establish the extent of the disorder.