Adolescent depression and risk factors.
Seventy-nine high school seniors were administered the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D), as well as a questionnaire on parent relationships, peer relationships, positive and negative feelings including suicidal thoughts, and lifestyle variables including academic performance, exercise, and drug use. The group of adolescents who scored above the clinical cutoff for depression on the CES-D (n = 29) had poorer relations with parents. Further, the incidence of paternal depression in that group was greater. The depressed adolescents also had less optimal peer relationships, fewer friends, and were less popular. They experienced less happiness and more frequent suicidal thoughts. They spent less time doing homework, had a lower grade point average, and spent less time exercising. The depressed group also reported more use of marijuana and cocaine. A stepwise regression indicated that physical affection with parents, homework, well-being, exercise, happiness, and parent relations explained 55% of the variance.
Field
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T
Touch Research Institutes, University of Miami School of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Florida 33101, USA. tfield@mednet.med.miami.edu
Diego
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M
Sanders
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C
D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000209:etiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008019:Life Style; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012307:Risk Factors; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D013406:Suicide, Attempted / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires