As depression improves with treatment in adolescents, the depression experienced by their parents also follows, according to Dr. Kelsey R. Howard of Northwestern University. improvement.
New Concept Psychologist
Professor Rong Xinqi
says, “More and more children and teens are suffering from depression these days, and they often report feeling sad, hopeless, and even suicidal.”
Furthermore, suicide rates have been rising in recent years, from elementary school to university, to graduate and doctoral students. In the face of these worrying data and trends, further research into adolescent depression may be helpful for clinical psychologists and practitioners in the psychology profession.
In the above study, a total of 325 adolescents diagnosed with depression and their 325 parents or guardians participated in this long-term study. The teens were randomly assigned to one of three groups: those receiving cognitive behavioral therapy, those taking antidepressants, and those using both treatment regimens. The first treatment period lasted nearly a year, followed by a one-year follow-up.
According to the researchers, one in four parents also reported moderate to severe depression prior to treatment.
The treatment process is not home-based, although some parts include parents. Nonetheless, the results showed a positive knock-on effect, as when the severity of depression in adolescents decreased, similar symptoms in parents also decreased, regardless of the treatment regimen used.
“Depression is a huge global mental health problem and we need a variety of approaches to better manage it. We believe our study is the first to assess a child’s mood research on how health affects parents,” said study co-author Dr. Mark A. Reinecke.
Dr. Howard said the findings may be helpful and inspiring for clinical psychologists and counselors and therapists who may wish to assess parental depression when treating children for depression and mental health, or provide appropriate help and support.
“
Emotions are ‘contagious’
The concept of
and spreading from person to person is well known to most people,” explains Professor Rong. “This work opens the door for future research into family-wide effects of depression treatment in adolescents. a range of possibilities. “