| Abstract: | The purpose of this study was to quantify the behavioral cues adolescents use to identify their peers as depressed in order to gain a more accurate understanding of the factors associated with adolescent depressive symptomatology. Because of limited information about depression in adolescents, a questionnaire was constructed to explore the concept in this age group. Ninety-nine middle and high school students, 12 to 18 years old, completed the questionnaire which included open-ended and forced choice questions. The results indicated that social isolation was an important component of adolescents' concepts of depression among their peers. Subjects felt that there was a higher frequency of alcohol and marijuana use among depressed as compared to non-depressed peers. Eighty-six percent of the subjects believed that most depressed adolescents had suicidal thoughts, but only 35% believed that most depressed adolescents had attempted suicide. Factor analyses of the subjects' responses to the open-ended questions delineated several underlying dimensions of depressive symptomatology which adolescents appear to use in identifying their peers as depressed. |
