Adolensce Teen Suicide and Depression, Literature Review Example

From depressive disorder numerous children and adolescents are struggling. Various even do not look for treatment or any kind a help due to the fact that their signs or symptoms are not realized as depression. Adolescents and children who suffer depression actually view their selves as weak person, and with that social stigma connected to mental illness they usually do not obtain needed treatment. Sometimes the symptoms of depression are very devastating that affected adolescents are not able reach for help. Signs sometimes are wrongly diagnosed.

Every year around 19 million individuals get effected from the Depression which a very critical mental disorder. Roughly 20% of youth have documented the experience of signs and symptoms of depression at some point of their lives and on the other hand the suicide is the third leading reason of adolescents’ death. Approximately 70% children and adolescents who faces major depressive episode experience the recurrence within 5 years. The number of Adolescents with depressive disorder has been growing and few of them get the treatments needed. In children and adolescents depression is not unusual, for many outcomes it usually escapes diagnosis. Until 1980, it was not considered as a childhood disease by many professional psychiatric. It was believed that children could not suffer from a depressive disorder. Out teens are facing many challenges including constellations, violence, drugs that are available at every corner, economic meltdown and most importantly loosening community bonds.

“The National Institute for Mental Health (2000) has reported that in the United States as many as 3% of all children and 8% of all adolescents are diagnosed with depression. Statistics provided by the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry state that once a young person has experienced an episode of major depression, he or she is at risk of experiencing another episode within the next five years”(Bailey, 2007 ).

Problem suicide

In the United States teens suicide is becoming critical problem. According to the data collected recently shows those approximately 7000 completions and 40000 attempts of suicide among the teens population in the United States. Suicide was 3^rd leading cause of death five years ago among 11 to 24 year age. While during 10 year period, suicide among white males jumped to 40 percent. It is very hard to quantify the full extent of adolescents suicide problem due to the fact that many suicide are reported as accidents because of religious believes , family embarrassment or community discomfort.

Suicidal ideation and behavior is closely link to depression which is psychiatric disorder. It is believed that most of suicide attempters and suicide completer have mood disorder. Before reaching to adulthood one in five teens will got through one depressive episode. The disorder is twice as common in females as well as one of the significant factor of disability for males. Adolescents who are depressed and remain untreated are more likely to have difficult time establishing and sustaining very close personal relationship and also stays behind academically as well as in occupational domains.

As we know that adolescent depression is the leading factor to recurrent or chronic depression in adults, therefore, managing depression properly during adolescents can make a big difference in handling adolescent’s long term development. Depression runs in families and consider as an illness. Changes in depressed person’s brain and the brain chemistry associated with depression which causes the irregularity of his or her mood and the negative emotions. If we leave these individuals untreated then a depression episode lasts four to eight months and continuously will have remaining symptoms afterwards.

Causes of depression more often comes from sleep disturbance, inferiority complex, blaming self, poor concentration, and getting away from normal social interactions. “Some researchers suggested that depression can be considered primarily.

• Affective (characterized by worry and anxiety),
• Cognitive (characterized by self-deprecation), and/or
• Motivational (indicating withdrawal or decreased performance)” (Leschied, A. 2008).

In the United States, the rates for antisocial behaviors as well as maladaptive aggression have been on the rise in severity and frequency among adolescents and children over the past 50 years. Despite the fact that a majority of the youth population isn’t seriously antisocial or aggressive, such an increase in these rates is alarming. A serious public health problem for society is created due to the consequences of youth violence and similar activities. Identifying, containing, referring, assessing and treating aggressive youth poses a challenge for community institutions such juvenile justice authorities and clinical mental health resources. Juvenile justice statistics on rates of both victimization and offenses are next considered” Then, the rates for teenage suicides are evaluated since suicide is viewed as the ultimate act of aggression against oneself and the risk of suicide is increased with violent behavior.

Current research explains that there is no connection between the use of alcohol and/or drugs and suicide. Drugs like that, are contributing factor of suicide but not the direct cause.

“Adolescents are particularly vulnerable to suicide actions; in fact, white males between 14 and 20 years old are the most likely to commit suicide in the United States. Furthermore, the teenage suicide rate has doubled since 1980. “Suicides among young people continue to be a serious problem. Each year in the U.S., thousands of teenagers commit suicide. Suicide is the third leading cause of death for 15-to-24- year’s olds” (American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 2004).

The numbers of suicide victims who have alcohol abuse history are twenty to thirty percent. Treatment plan based on the assessment of depression and such treatments are recommended for different kind of mood disorders, for instance, bipolar disorder and seasonal affective disorder. “Differentiating among these mood disorder diagnoses requires careful differentiating among these mood disorder diagnoses requires careful assessment. Depressive disorders also share features with other classes of psychiatric conditions that require different treatment approaches, including anxiety disorders and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Depression also co-occurs with other disorders that affect the patient’s functioning, suicidal risk and response to treatment for depression” (Evans, 2001). Finally it is very important to monitor whether the treatment is effective or not.

Most of the time teenagers are starting out their lives, and are very anxious and excited to plan for career or vocation and explore relationship with opposite sex. While on the other hand small minority plan suicidal career. It is very sad that child would find life so empty of hope and would prefer death. Most of adolescents have few psychic scars along the way to adulthood and can cope with daily life stress. “In an attempted to understand the contingencies which make some adolescents vulnerable to suicide, we will explore some factors: dysfunctional relationships, and societal provocations and pending catastrophes” (Goldney, 2000).

Dysfunctional Relationships

There is no evidence that suicide is genetically inheritance even most of the time there is no psychopathology within the family. Like mentioned before suicide does run in families and its cause is and emotional and sexual abuse. Based on research it has been proved that in societies where family ties are close, suicidal rates are low and if there is no close relation suicidal rates are high. Close relationship with parents inversely linked to depressive mood in adolescents.

Societal provocations and pending catastrophes

There is little evidence that link to problems that can be threat to human society to rise in adolescents suicides. On the other side negative social trends and frightening world events can engender feelings of despair in all of us. In an essay titled , the Adolescent Philosopher in a Nuclear World, Austin and Mack (1986) observed that traditionally the adolescent struggle has occurred in relation to a stable but progressive social order” (Capuzzi, et. al, 1988). In today’s generation suicide is on the rise due to the fact that every teenager faces crisis. Therefore, a look at the formidable issues that loom large for our youth is worth taking.

Treating attempted suicide

Cognitive behavioral Therapy

Usually, suicidal teens hold irrational ideas about themselves and the world. The purpose of this theory is to teach teenage how to test the validity of these ideas. The objective of cognitive behavioral therapy is to teach them problem solving skills, and force them to consider alternative solutions for their problems. But on the other hand they can only see two alternatives: a total solution or a total cessation. It is also fact there is few of problems that yield to a total solution; total cessation of pain. While on the other hand it can be achieved by anyone with the means. Clearly, the objective is to make sure that the suicidal person’s constricted perspective is broaden. “In a suicidal state, Shneidman (1987) believed, a person, “… cust his or her throat and cries out for help at the same time. The individual must learn how to separate these two acts; to get help without being self destructive. In an intervention called “stress-inoculation,” solutions to difficult situations are role played and rehearsed” (Capuzzi, et. al, 1988).

Group Therapy

Suicidal teenagers are often socially isolated. In group therapy, clients know that they are not the only one and can share feelings with others. They learn social skills through role modeling and feedback. Group theory is like family therapy for the adolescent in florid rebellion against his or her parents. On the negative side, suicidal ideation and behavior could spread to all group members.

Family Therapy

According to system theory, any family member with a symptom maintained by faulty family structure. Therefore, the client is the family not the suicidal youngsters. Boundaries between families whether they were blurred or rigid can be examined. “Examples of boundary problems would be when individuation is stifled in the name of family loyalty, a child forms an alliance with one parent against another, or a child is forced to assume adult responsibilities” (Bailey, 2007). This theory can also consider the communication problems. Dysfunctional communication means when conflicts are ignored at the intimacy expense, productive interaction remains to minimum by excessive blaming, or because of powerful unspoken rules family secrets are kept.

If there is a family session then therapist would ask from each family member about the events that lead to suicide attempt. Generally, the suicidal member will be in a scapegoat role. Anger escalates and complaints are voiced. However, in a therapeutic setting such outburst are not dangerous than bottled up rage with a decline into depression. Indeed, in dysfunctional families relationships are very intensively ambivalent. Behind hate there is love. Parents are stuck in the middle of their two wishes. One to see their children succeeded and at the same time they fear their child autonomy. The therapists’ job is to change the hopefulness and hateful situation in a new light. “For example, an angry outburst can be reframed as an attempt, albeit ineffectual, to communicate. Hope is the antidote to despair and the therapist’s faith that a family can go beyond a suicidal crisis to renewed living is essential” (Leschied, 2008).

Methodology

Not a lot of information is known about the depressive disorders in adolescents. There is hardly any documented data about the feelings, experiences, call for help or other important areas in the school lives of school age children or adolescents even though the rate of depression among them has been on the rise. Although research regarding the effectiveness of counseling and psychopharmacological treatments for adolescent depression exists, the research is usually gathered from the reports of adults such as medical personnel, counselors, parents and clinicians and is mostly quantitative (Leschied, 2008).

Very few qualitative studies exist where depressed adolescents have been interviewed, and qualitative studies that explore the experiences of adolescents with depression in middle schools are basically nonexistent. According to qualitative researchers, a single, ultimate truth does not exist; instead, there is various point of views of different individuals with each point of view having equal truth or validity (Evans, 2001). Qualitative research supporters indicate that the greatest perspective and insight of any one experience comes directly from those who have experienced the experience (Goldney, et. al., 2000). Thus, the researcher decided to use a qualitative research design for the project after which he requested and received the Institutional Review Board at Texas A&M University’s permission.

Conclusion

From case to case, childhood and adolescent depression’s causes are uncertain and different. Adolescent depression can have its own causes. Usually, many researchers maintain that childhood and adolescent depressions manifest themselves in other behaviors or symptoms, for instance irritability, hyperactivity, aggressiveness, delinquency, somatic complaints, hypochondria, anorexia nervosa, substance abuse, obesity, poor school performance, school phobia, loss of initiative, social withdrawal, sleep disturbances, and attention deficit disorder.

Divorce also has negative effects which is connected to depression and to excessive anger, self destructive behavior, decreased academic achievement, juvenile delinquency, thoughts of suicide, and sexual promiscuity. Children of divorce usually go through feelings like death, shock, disbelief, and ignorance. They also feel like they are abandoned, feel guilty and inadequacy. On the other hand being aware of their feelings, being able to express them, giving and receiving positive feedback and knowing that others experience similar feelings had a positive impact on adolescents in group counseling.

References

American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, (2004), Facts for Families: Conduct Disorder. Retrieved from http://www.aacap.org/galleries/FactsForFamilies/33_conduct_disorder.pdf

Bailey, C. L. (2007, October). Pharmacological treatment of childhood and adolescent depression: What school counselors and school psychologists need to know. Paper based on a program presented at the Association for Counselor Education and Supervision Conference, Columbus, OH.

Capuzzi, D.; Golden, L. B., (1988), Preventing Adolescent Suicide. Retrieved from Google Ebooks.

Evans, D. L., (2001), Bipolar Disorder: Diagnostic Challenges and Treatment Considerations. Retrieved from J Clin Psychiatry 2000; 61 (supple 13).

Goldney RD, Wilson D, DalGrande E, Fisher LJ, McFarlane AC. Suicidal ideation in a random community sample: attributable risk due to depression and psychosocial and traumatic events. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Mental Health Nursing. 2000;34:98–106

Leschied, A. (2008). Childhood Predictors of Adult Criminality: A Meta-Analysis Drawn from the Prospective Longitudinal Literature. Canadian Journal Of Criminology & Criminal Justice, 50(4), 43