Depression rates growing among adolescents, particularly girls

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-11/jhub-drg111516.php

Public Release: 15-Nov-2016
Depression rates growing among adolescents, particularly girls
Study shows 1 in 6 girls report experiencing an episode of clinical depression over previous year
Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health

The rate of adolescents reporting a recent bout of clinical depression grew by 37 percent over the decade ending in 2014, with one in six girls reporting an episode in the past year, new Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health-led research suggests.

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Suicide rates have been increasing in recent years, particularly among adolescent girls and young women. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention this month reported that suicide rates among American middle school students - those aged 10 to 14 - were higher than rates of death from motor vehicle crashes in that age group.

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The findings were based only on self-reporting, not on clinical diagnoses. The researchers controlled for substance abuse and socioeconomic factors.

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The researchers say it is unclear what is driving the rise in major depressive episodes, particularly among girls. They say adolescent girls may have been exposed to a greater degree of depression risk factors in recent years. Cyberbullying, for example, may have increased more in girls, as studies have shown that they use mobile phones more frequently and intensively than boys and problematic mobile phone use among young people has been linked to depressed mood.

The results coincided with a major economic downturn, however, there has not been an increase in the prevalence of clinical depression among adults over the period and this study found no increase among those age 21 to 25.

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