Complete 8 pages APA formatted article: A Health Promotion Intervention for Adolescents Suffering from Depression.
Teenagers are in a stage vulnerable to a variety of emotions. Biologically, their bodies undergo a number of changes, and their hormones trigger emotions that may be unfamiliar to them making it difficult to handle. Adolescence is a time when people may need a support system to help them understand many life situations that may be difficult to process.
It is alarming to note that adolescent depression is often related to suicide, the third leading cause of death for those aged 15-24. In 2002, 1531 youth between the ages of 15 and 19 committed suicide (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2005). According to the CDC Web site, “Adolescents and young adults often experience stress, confusion, and depression from situations occurring in their families, schools, and communities. Such feelings can overwhelm young people and lead them to consider suicide as a ‘solution’” (CDC, n.d.). Evans, Van Velsor, and Schumacher (2002) called adolescent depression “one of the most overlooked and undertreated psychological disorders” within this period of development (p. 211). A chilling statistic compiled by Columbia University: 60% to 80% of adolescents with depression go undiagnosed or untreated (Morais, 2007).
Depression is usually manifested with negative behaviors stemming from negative emotions. Sometimes, the person experiencing it is not even aware that he is undergoing depression. Brent and Birmaher (2002) noted that depression in both children and adolescents is not always featured by sadness, but rather takes the form of irritability, boredom, and the inability to find pleasure. Symptoms of depression may also vary depending upon the stage of adolescence. Younger adolescents may show more anxiety-related symptoms—clinging behaviors, unexplained fears, and physical symptoms—while older adolescents may experience a greater loss of interest and pleasure and also have more morbid thinking (Mondimore, 2002). Lewinsohn, Rhode, and Seeley (1998) found that nearly 89% of depressed adolescents reported disturbances in sleep. Other symptoms that were frequently reported included a disturbance in weight/appetite (79.5%) and anhedonia (77.3%). . .
