Adolecent Depression: How to Recognize and Treat Your Teens Disorder

Table of Contents

Adolescent Depression Defined 3

Causes of Adolescent Depression 3

Family Issues 3

Other Life Experiences 3

Characteristics of Adolescent Depression 4

Denial 4

Treatment 5

Psychotherapy 5

Anti-depressants 6

Group Therapy 6

Prevention 7

Statistics 7

Boys versus Girls 8

Conclusion 8

Bibliography/Works Cited 9

Definition of Adolescent Depression

Adolescent Depression is a disorder occurring during the teenage years of life. This type of depression is noticeable by constant sadness, discouragement, loss of self-worth, and loss of interest in usual activities.

Depression is a serious medical condition. In contrast to the common emotional experiences of sadness, loss, or passing mood states, clinical depression is persistent and can interfere significantly with an individual's ability to function (Barnard 7-8).

Causes of Adolescent Depression

Causes of teen depression or apparent triggers include situations of Social rejection, Family turmoil, and other life experiences.

Family Issues

Depressed children often have depressed or stressed parents.

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A depressed, hyperactive child may be hard to raise. Some parents have more coping skills than others. A child may learn to give up because parents have not modeled good ways of coping with stressful situations. Some suggest that parental patterns of irritability and withdrawal lead to low self-esteem in the child and that this predisposes the child to depression. Some suggest that a genetically vulnerable child is more likely to develop depression when exposed to family stress (Barnard 38-39).

Other Life Experiences

A teen's reactions to life events outside of their control can affect the child's mood and emotions. A stressful life event can plunge a teen into clinical depression, especially if a person is at risk for depression due to other factors. Some events the trigger a teens depression are Lingering medical illness, Illness or death of a loved one, Ending a relationship with a boyfriend...