Depression in Adolescents

Depression in Adolescents
April Caldera
Professor Arrieta
April 10,2016

Depression in Adolescents

Abstract
Depression is a world wide issue and most do not speak of it since it is a horrible
topic and most want to keep it a secret. It is not the best thing when someone hears
you have depression. However not speaking and actively fighting against depressions
leads to worse circumstances as discussed throughout the paper. Depression is a
problem we face in our discourse community of El Paso as many young adolescents
fall victim to this disorder. Depression results in many things, However the most
sever is suicide and that is why El Paso needs to take any preventative measures to
ensure the safety the children at home and at school since they are not always home
and under their guardians watchful eye. By learning ways to minimize depression,
how it affects our community and what kind of depression types are out there and the
symptoms, we can decrease the amount of suicide related deaths to depression
According to Ramirez, s. (2013). TX teen suffering fro depression speaks out, hopes
parents will see signs and save lives. NBCLATINO. A teen speaks out on his
depression and how he didnt know it was depression until he didnt want to go to
school anymore and his parents figured out why. Now he speaks up hoping to avoid a
loss another guardian should have to face if they had not caught the symptoms and
encouraging others to talk to a guardian about what is going on and to ensure them
that they are not alone.

Depression in Adolescents

Depression in adolescents
Depression is a silent killer and sadly it is the 3 rd cause of death in the world.
Many adolescents often refer to drugs and alcohol as a coping mechanism that most
often ends in the result of death. If death does not occur first, many disorders occur
when the body is trying to find the balancing act in the process, and sometimes it is
too late to cure or treat effectively. With depression and disorders, comes suicide.
Now suicide takes the life of about 33,000 each year according to disease control and
prevention. In El Paso depression takes lives of many, but it is never expressed as an
issue. This issue needs to be targeted and by doing so it needs to be known what kinds
of depression is out there, how it affects Latinos in adolescents and ways to minimize
the death rates cause by this mental health.
There are many kinds of depression such as PTSD AND ADHD (post traumatic
stress disorder and attention deficit hyper-activity disorder). There are many others
such as seasonal affective disorder and persistent depressive disorder and these cause
lack of energy, low self esteem, feeling hopeless, or too much or too little sleep
according to WebMD depression health center, however these are most common
according to Chapter 11: Mental health of children and adolescents. (2005). Mental
Health: Facing the Challenges, Building Solutions (pp. 83-91). World Health
Organization. Now with both of these disorders leading into depression the cost of
therapy and emergency health care visits can be very costly, especially since el Paso
Texas is one of the poorest cities in the U.S Many cant afford this kind of healthcare
so these cases usually end in the results of suicide. However, if parents educate

Depression in Adolescents

themselves on the risk factors that are presented with suicide and depression we can
decrease the percentage of suicide that occurs daily in all states and prevent
adolescents feeling as not a part of a discourse community.
With suicide being the 3rd cause of death, ethnicity does play a factor on how
the rates are calculated. For Example Approximately 82.2 percent of the population in
El Paso County is Hispanic, and 13.4 percent are non-Hispanic whites. African
Americans make up 3.1 percent of the population, and other ethnicities comprise 4.9
percent of the total population. According to Healthy Paso del Norte. (2015). [graph
illustration age adjusted death rate due to suicide by gender bar graph October 2015] [
graph illustration age adjusted death rate to suicide by race/ethnicity bar graph
October 2015]. retrieved from http://www.healthypasodelnorte.org/modules.php?
op=modload&name=NS-Indicator&file=indicator&iid=19055247, this graph shows
how ethnicity effects suicide, now even through a majority of El Pasos population is
Hispanic. A 13 percent of the population is non Hispanic whites. With that being said,
one should talk to their adolescents and have an open communication or have group
therapies at school where it can be completely anonyms to avoid suicides in young
ones. As well since many children spend their time at school, students should be able
to talk to their teachers and teachers should observe the childs behavior in class and
if there are any factors that are clearly noticeable they should contact the guardians. In
these graphs one can see how gender tremendously affects suicide and some wonder
why gender? Gender affects suicide due to the fact that men dont want to appear as
weak or unable to take care of a situation. As opposed to women who are more
nurturing and socially vocal especially when it comes to emotion. Despite the gender

Depression in Adolescents

the age of these suicide rates should be decreased substantially especially in a small
city like El Paso.

Lastly according to Albert, L. S. (2009). Screening for

depression in children and adolescents: U.S preventative services task force
recommendation statement. Annals of Internal Medicine, vol.164 (No.5), 360-366.
There are many ways to minimize depression and suicide rates. For example, ten
percent of children aged 5 to 13 years and 19% of adolescents aged 13 to 18 years

Depression in Adolescents

with depression attempt suicide. Within these rates, we need to keep an eye on
children and watch their behavior. Sometimes we cant always watch everything with
life going on so making sure having a primary care physician that not only looks at
the physical aspects of your child but the mental health as well can decrease the
amount of depression that develops in children. Now depending on how old the child
is the primary care physician will determine factors such as potential harms, burdens,
and the needs and gaps in the patients life. Usually physicians always ask how is
school going? with the guardians present and of course the child is going to say
good. However, this is when the parent needs to have open communication with her
child and communicate to the doctor about what is going on. Many physicians dont
only have training and education only in medicine, they also take psychiatric training
and social development classes to aid adolescents who have concerns. As well
According to contemporary Pediatrics screening adolescents for depression, they
have a form called GAPS that relate to preventative services for health care
physicians. According to Corona, Marissa. McCarty, Carolyn Richardson, Laura.
Modern Medicine Business screening adolescents for depression, July 1,2013 web.
April 2016. If a Physician wants a thorough evaluation there is an example of an
approach called HEEADSSS that stands for Home, education and employment,
eating, activities with peers, drugs, sexual actively, suicide and depression and safety.
However, in order to get the truthful answers, the physician must have openness and
honesty with the adolescent.

Depression in Adolescents

Screening for depression is very tricky and most people who have this disease
are ones who dont like to ask for others help or like to feel any more different than
they already feel. A few ways to screen for depression are by doing routine screening
starting at the age of 11 for depression and making sure physicians have a proper
system in place for those who result as positive during this screening. This is why
depression leads to suicide as an escape, however this death rate can be decreased by
Knowing what kind of depressions are out there and the factors associate with them,
also How depression affects the region and city around you and the rates of suicide
based on gender and age. Lastly knowing a few ways to minimize suicide is knowing
how to approach the situation and if one does not know how to approach it always
refer to your local health care physician.

Depression in Adolescents

References
Albert, L. S. (2009). Screening for depression in children and adolescents: U.S
preventative services task force recommendation statement. Annals of Internal
Medicine, vol.164 (No.5), 360-366.

Chapter 11: Mental health of children and adolescents. (2005). Mental Health:
Facing the Challenges, Building Solutions (pp. 83-91). World Health Organization.
Corona, Marissa. McCarty, Carolyn Richardson, Laura. Modern Medicine Business
screening adolescents for depression, July 1,2013 web. April 2016.
Healthy Paso del Norte. (2015). [graph illustration age adjusted death rate due to
suicide by gender bar graph October 2015] [ graph illustration age adjusted death rate
to suicide by race/ethnicity bar graph October 2015]. retrieved from
http://www.healthypasodelnorte.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=NSIndicator&file=indicator&iid=19055247

Kam, A. J., Castro, G. F., Wang, N. (2015). Parent-child communications attenuating

effects on Mexican early adolescents perceived discrimination, depressive symptoms,
and substance use. Human communication research, vol 41 (issue 2), 204-225.

Ramirez, s. (2013). TX teen suffering fro depression speaks out, hopes parents will
see signs and save lives. NBCLATINO. Retrieved from

Depression in Adolescents

http://nbclatino.com/2013/11/20/tx-teen-suffering-from-depression-speaks-out-hopesparents-will-see-signs-and-save-lives/