Key Points:
- Depression in this age group should be taken seriously. Youth suicide is the third most common cause of death in this age group.
- It can be hard to distinguish adolescent turmoil from depressive illness, especially as the young person is also forging new roles within the family and struggling with independence, and academic and career decisions.
- Both biological and developmental factors contribute to depression in adolescence. If bipolar disorder or psychosis is suspected biological causes would need to be examined.
- In tracking down difficulties it can help to consider some of the areas that the adolescent is dealing with: school, family, peer group and intimate and/or sexual relationships.
Depressive illnesses/anxiety may be disguised as, or presented as, eating disorders such as anorexia or bulimia, drug/alcohol abuse, sexual promiscuity, risk-taking behaviour such as reckless driving, unprotected sex, and carelessness when walking across busy streets, on bridges or cliffs. There may be social isolation, running away, constant disobedience, getting into trouble with the law, physical or sexual assaults against others, obnoxious behaviour, failure to care about appearance/hygiene, no sense of self or of values/morals, difficulty cultivating relationships, inability to establish/stick with occupational/educational goals.