A qualitative study of Mexican American adolescents and depression.
Depressive disorders are present in a high percentage of Mexican American adolescents. Among the US Mexican American population, suicide is the fourth leading cause of death among 10- to 19-year-olds. Little research, however, has focused on Mexican American adolescents' knowledge and views about depression and seeking help for depression. Results from a qualitative study on Mexican American adolescents' attitudes about depression are investigated in this paper. Sixty-five high school and middle school students in a largely Mexican American, urban school district in San Antonio, Tex, participated in 9 semistructured, focus group interviews where participants were asked questions to elicit their understanding of depression, treatment for depression, and words used to describe it. Coding of salient words and themes from transcribed interviews were entered into Atlas. ti for qualitative analysis. Three themes emerged: (1) adolescents' definitions of depression, (2) beliefs about adolescent depression, and (3) treatment for adolescent depression. While depressive symptoms among Mexican American adolescents are common and recognized, resource and treatment knowledge is scarce. An understanding of the beliefs, attitudes, and knowledge of these adolescents can provide crucial information about the content and structure of a universal, school-based, peer-facilitated depression awareness program.
South Texas Health Research Center, The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, 7703 Floyd Curl Drive, Mail Code 7791, San Antonio, TX 78229-3900, USA. fornos@uthscsa.edu
Laura B
LB
Fornos
Virginia Seguin
VS
Mika
Bryan
B
Bayles
Alberto C
AC
Serrano
Roberto L
RL
Jimenez
Roberto
R
Villarreal
D000293:Adolescent; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy; D004644:Emotions; D005190:Family; D005260:Female; D017144:Focus Groups; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D017058:Mexican Americans; D012572:School Health Services; D012737:Sex Factors; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000209:etiology* / Q000523:psychology; D013781:Texas; D014505:Urban Population