Poverty has been linked to a variety of health,
learning and behavioral problems, including depressive symptoms for both adults
and children (Butler, 2014). Americans
who are in poverty are more likely than those who aren’t to struggle with
chronic health problems and depression disproportionately affects those in
poverty the most. According to Brown,
about 31% of American in poverty say that have at some point been diagnosed
with depression compared with 15.8% of those not in poverty (Brown 2013). Some of the most common symptoms for both
children and adults include feelings of loneliness, sadness, hopelessness,
worthlessness, having little interest of pleasure in activities, fatigue,
insomnia and thoughts of suicide.
The relationship between low socioeconomic
status and depression has been well documented in child and adult
populations. About 10-15% of children
report a moderate to severe level of depressive symptoms at any given time and
between 14% and 15% of children and adolescents will experience at least one
episode of major depression before adulthood (Zimmerman, Galea, McCauley,Stoep, 2008). There are many possible
pathways that exist for how living in poverty might lead to elevated symptoms
of depression among children. Therefore,
poverty has a direct relation to depression among adolescences.
The negative association between
poverty and mental health is robust (Butler, 2014). In a study conducted by Lorant et al, they
found a meta-analysis of 51 studies, which indicated that adults with low
socioeconomic status are 80% more likely to be depressed than are higher
socioeconomic adults (Lorant et al., 2003). There are two primary theoretical pathways
through which poverty has been proposed to lead to childhood behavioral
disorders (Conger & Donnellan, 2007).
One pathway is the family investment model,
which implies that poor parents cannot afford to live in safe neighborhoods,
send their children to schools in which they will thrive, or provide adequate
supervision of their children’s activities. Thus, poor children are more likely
to be exposed to harsh and potentially traumatic conditions with lasting
emotional repercussions (Butler, 2014). The environmental experiences in crime-riddenneighborhoods from which the family cannot afford to escape, can create trauma bywitnessing the victimization of other people.
A second pathway is the family stress model,
which proposes that poverty affects children’s mental health primarily through
its negative effect on parents (Conger et al., 1993). A number of researchers have used the family
stress model to interpret the relationship between economic hardship and depressive
symptoms (Butler, 2014). “There is also evidence that certain potentially
traumatic events, including emotional abuse and witnessing the victimization of
other people are more likely to be experienced by low-income children” (Finkelhor,Ormrod, Turner, & Hamby,2005). Economically pressured parents may
perpetrate childhood trauma such as emotional abuse or domestic violence, and
so childhood poverty increases the likelihood of depressive symptoms among
adolescents (Butler, 2014).
“If poverty leads to depressive symptoms, it may
be the experience of poverty might have the strongest impact during early
childhood when important developmental tasks, such as attachment, must be
negotiated (Bowlby, 1980; Mash & Dozois, 2003)”. Further more, “depression represents a
critical health problem during the developmental stage of adolescence.
Adolescent depression is associated with recurrent depression in adulthood,
increased risk for suicide, and comorbidity with other psychological problems
such as substance abuse” (Compass, Conner, & Wadsworth 1997; Compas, Ey,& Grant, 1993). Depressed mood is recognized as the most commonly occurring
taxonomic level of the disorder, affecting 15-40% of the general adolescent
population (Compas, Ey et al., 1993).
Research
consistently reveals a relationship between socioeconomic status and depressive
symptoms among urban African-American youth (Goodman, 1999; Taylor, 1996).
Combined with other potential socioeconomic stressors, such as racial
discrimination, poverty represents a major risk factor for adverse mental
health outcomes for urban African-Americans adolescents (Hammack, 2003).
However,“In a study in the February 2011 issue of the Journal of Child and AdolescentPsychiatry, researchers from the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory inAtlanta, Georgia analyzed five years of data (2004-2008). This study evaluated
a national representative sample of 7,704 adolescents, from 12 to 17 years of
age, who were diagnosed with major depression within the past year. Researchers
studied the differences in treatment for depression across four racial/ethnic
groups of adolescents with major depression (i.e., non-Hispanic whites, blacks,
Hispanics, and Asians)” (Elsevier, 2011).
“In their article Dr. Janet R. Cummings and Dr. Benjamin G Druss report
that after adjusting for demographics and health status, the percentage of
non-Hispanic whites who received any major depression treatment was 40%
compared to 32% in blacks, 31% in Hispanics, and 19% in Asians. Black,
Hispanic, and Asian adolescents were also significantly less likely than
non-Hispanic whites to receive treatment for major depression from medical
providers, and to have any mental health outpatient visits, with Asians
exhibiting the lowest rate of service use on each measurement” (Elsevier,2011). A short description of professional treatment for depressed adolescentsis given by Dr. David Brent of the University of Pittsburgh.
In conclusion,
depression is one of the biggest challenges that face adolescence who live with
their poor families and lead both of adolescents and their families to chronic
diseases and bad behaviors such as the use of drugs. However, teenagers and pre-teens don’t
deserve to be depressed or led to bad habits because of poverty. As depressed adolescents grow up with these
symptoms, they tend to influence other people around them negatively. Therefore, governments and other people like
those who are rich can play a role in impacting communities’ especially poor
communities to practice a good lifestyle.
For instance, better school systems, mandatory charity and counseling
services can be provided for poor people by governments and those who can
afford it. Many teenagers need someone
who can listen to them effectively. Once
they find the right person that cares about them and can advise them properly,
they may start to feel better and behave better.
In addition, there are
some strategies that can be used for preventing depressed adolescents due to
poverty. Many cases of poverty can be
decreased if the child has the motivation to work hard and is determined to
help itself. Another solution is to
prevent having kids if the adults are considered to be low on the socioeconomic
ladder. Poor couples ought to plan to
have kids when they are capable of affording the needs of their children. Although, having kids is a pleasure, parents
should have the sense that they are not easy or cheap to raise.
Roya Afghan, Stephanie Vazquez, Ricardo Rodriguez, Turki Altharaman & Phoenix Toliver
References:
Bowlby, J. (1980). Attachment
and Loss: Vol. 3. Loss: Sadness and depression. NY: Basic Books.
Butler, A. C. (2014). Poverty and adolescent depressive
symptoms. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 84(1), 82 http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/h0098735
Brown, A. (2013, October 30). With
Poverty Comes Depression, More Than Other Illnesses. Retrieved November 28,
2014, from
http://www.gallup.com/poll/158417/poverty-comes-depression-illness.aspx
Elsevier (2011). Racial and ethnic
minority adolescents less likely to receive treatment for major depression February 2011 issue of the Journal of the American Academy
of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (JAACAP)
Carson NJ. (2011). The Devil You Know: Revealing
Racial/Ethnic Disparities in the Treatment of Adolescent Depression. Journal of the American Academy of Child and
Adolescent Psychiatry; 50 (2):106-107
Compas,B.E.,Con.P.Gullottanor,J.,&Wadsworth,M.(1997).Prevention
of depression.InR.P.Weissberg,T, R. L. Hampton,
B. A. Ryan, & G. R. Adams (Eds.),Issues
in children’s and families’ lives: Vol. 8. Enhancing
children’s wellness
(pp. 129–174). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Compas, B. E., Ey, S., & Grant, K. E.
(1993). Taxonomy, assessment, and diagnosis of depression during
adolescence. Psychological Bulletin114, 323–344.
Conger, R. D., Conger, K. J., Elder,
G. H., Lorenz, F. O., Simons, R. L., & Whitbeck, L. B. (1993). Family
economic stress and adjustment of early adolescent girls. Developmental
Psychology, 29, 206-219.
Elsevier. (2011, February 22). Racial and ethnic minority
adolescents less likely to receive treatment for major depression, study finds.
ScienceDaily. Retrieved November 29, 2014 from
www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/02/110222092609.htm
Finkelhor, D., Ormrod, R. K.,
Turner, H., & Hamby, S. L. (2005). The victimization of children and
youth: A comprehensive, national survey. Child Maltreatment, 10,
5-25.
Goodman, E. (1999). The role of
socioeconomic status gradients in explaining differences in U.S.adolescents’
health. American Journal of Public Health 89, 1522–1528.
Hammack,
P. L. (2003). Toward a uniļ¬ed theory of depression among urban African American
adolescents: Integrating socioecologic, cognitive, family stress, and
biopsychosocial perspectives.
Journal of Black Psychology, 29,187–209
Hammack, P. L., Robinson, W. L.,
Crawford, I., & Li, S. T. (2004). Poverty and depressed mood among urban
African-American adolescents: A family stress perspective. Journal of Child
and Family Studies, 13(3), 309-323.
Mash, E. J., & Dozois, D. J. A.
(2003). Child psychopathology: A developmental-systems perspective. In E. J.
Mash & R. A. Barkley (Eds.), Child Psychopathology (2 ed., pp.
3-71). NY: Gilford.
Taylor,
R. D. (1996). Adolescents’ perceptions of kinship support and family management
practices: Association
with adolescent adjustment in African American families.
DevelopmentalPsychology32, 687–695.
Tracy, M., Zimmerman, F. J.,
Galea, S., McCauley, E., & Stoep, A. V. (2008). What explains the relation
between family poverty and childhood depressive symptoms?. Journal of
psychiatric research, 42(14), 1163-1175.
VIDEOS I—IV
VIDEO I
Poverty and Depression
http://youtu.be/f7qYtfyybSM
VIDEO II
Adolescent Depression Intervention : a description of what goes on during therapy
Sara
Reyes (Cute, lively, explained by teenagers).
VIDEO
III
The
Best Treatment for Adolescent Depression: professional description of what the
treatment is about. Dr. David Brent University of Pittsburgh
VIDEO
IV
Professional Resources: Evidence-Based Treatment of
Depression inAdolescents:Publishedon Jan 11, 2013
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYnojA9qEhI
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