Stress and Depression Among Adolescents Research Paper

Adolescents with poor problem-solving skills are at greater risk of suicide, according to an article in the Journal of Clinical Psychology (Grover, et al., 2009). The authors concentrate on the problem of "chronic stress" in adolescents, saying it involves "deprivation or disadvantage" that is ongoing and those dynamics create a "continuous stream of threats and challenges" for the adolescent. The therapy in this research? Counselors, therapists, parents and teachers all need to help adolescents learn "well-developed problem-solving abilities" in order to "buffer the negative impact of both episodic and chronic stress…" (Grover, p. 1286).

Conclusion

Earlier in this paper it was asserted that up to 20% of adolescents in the U.S. will encounter some form of depression due to stress. The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) suggests that the best treatment for severely depressed youths is a combination of psychotherapy and antidepressant medication; that formula works better than either one of those treatments alone. Depression is a serious health problem and what this paper has pointed out as well is that healthcare professionals diagnose only a relatively small percentage of adolescents that are depressed. The reasons for this lack of diagnosis are several, but the bottom line is that in order for schools and parents to assure their children are not suffering from a chronic illness like depression, due to a myriad of kinds of stressors (well documented in this paper), testing must be made available to schools and must be conducted by trained personnel.Works Cited

Bradley, Kristen. (2002). Survey Shows High Levels of Teen Stress. International Child and Youth Care Network. Retrieved April 10, 2011, from http://www.cyc-net.org/today2002/today021016.html.

Byrne, D.G., and Mazanov, J. (1999). Sources of Adolescent Stress, Smoking and the Use of other Drugs. Stress and Health, 15(4), 215-227.

Cherry, Kendra. (2009). What Is Emotional Intelligence? About.com. Psychology. Retrieved April 10, 2011, from http://psychology.about.com.

Ciarrochi, Joseph, Deane, Frank P., and Anderson, Stephen. (2001). Emotional Intelligence

Moderates the Relationship between Stress and Mental Health. Personality and Individual

Differences, 32(2), 197-209.

Garcia, Carolyn. (2010). Conceptualization and Measurement of coping during adolescence: a Review of the literature. Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 42(2), 166-186.

Grover, Kelly E., Green, Kelly L., Pettit, Jeremy W., Monteigh, Lindsey l., Garza, Monica J.,

And Venta, Amanda. (2009). Problem Solving Moderates the Effects of Life Event Stress

And Chronic Stress on Suicidal Behaviors in Adolescence. Journal of Clinical Psychology,

65(12), 1281-1290.

King, Kevin M., and Chassin, Laurie. (2008). Adolescent Stressors, Psychopathology, and Young Adult Substance Dependence: A Prospective Study. Journal of Studies on Alcohol

And Drugs, 69(5), 629-638.

National Institute of Mental Health (2007). Depressed Adolescents Respond Best to Combination Treatment. Retrieved April 10, 2011, from http://www.nimh.nih.gov.

Pereira, Susan L., Egan, Mari, and Stevermer, James J. (2010). Screen Teens for Depression:

It's Quicker than you Think. Journal of Family Practice, 59(11), 643-645.

Sorkhabi, Nadia. (2010). Sources of Parent-Adolescent Conflict: Content and Form of Parenting. Social Behavior and Personality: An International Journal, 38(6), 761-783......