Running Head: RESEARCH REPORTING ANALYSIS: CHILDREN’S DEPRESSION INVENTORY Research Reporting Analysis: Children’s Depression Inventory Holly Squires University of Phoenix Research Reporting Analysis: Children’s Depression Inventory Depression had been regarded as an adult disorder until the 1970s. At that time, however, experts learned that this disorder also occurs in children. Depending on the child’s age, the symptoms of depression are expressed differently. Because of the ambiguous symptoms of depression in children, and other contributing factors in the difficulties in diagnosing the illness, the Child’s Depression Inventory (CDI) was developed. This paper will summarize a research article
As researchers stated, "These young adults exhibited many problems, including depression, anxiety, eating disorders, and suicide attempts (Silverman, Reinherz, & Giaconia, 1996). Children that have been abused or neglected have been known to do poorly in school. Children that are abused or neglected often have difficulties in relationships later in life with other adults as well as their peers. Physical abuse also has behavioral consequences such as difficulties during adolescence, juvenile delinquency and adult criminality, alcohol and other drug abuse, and abusive behavior. Most children that have been neglected or abused often develop behavioral ranging from delinquency to mental health problems.
ADHD is one of the most common childhood disorders and can carry on through adolescence and adulthood. Symptoms include difficulty staying focused and paying attention, difficulty controlling behaviour and hyperactivity. Scientists are not sure what causes ADHD, but many studies suggest that genes are a factor. In addition to genetics, researchers are looking at possible environmental factors, and are studying how brain injuries, nutrition, and the social environment might cause ADHD. Children who have suffered a brain injury may show some behaviour similar to those of ADHD.
Studies suggest that younger children may be more vulnerable to the effects of witnessing domestic violence than older children (Johnson and Lieberman, 2007) so it is very disturbing to recognize that young children are more likely to witness incidents of violence than older children (Ybarra, Wilkens, & Lieberman, 2007). Witnessing these acts of violence has a detrimental effect on the cognitive development as well as emotion regulation and internalizing and externalizing behaviors in preschoolers (Lieberman, 2007; Ybarra, Wilkens, & Lieberman). Studies show that dysfunctional development can be deterred through a positive relationship with mother and child, and that resilience is possible if a nurturing relationship exists in which the mother is attuned to her
Kendler 1995 studied twins in Virginia. He found women are predisposed to depression, meaning their twin already has been diagnosed, are far more likely to develop symptoms when faced with negative life events than women who are less at risk. Adoption studies provide the best way of disentangling genetic factors from environmental as they are brought up away from biological families. Caron and Zhang 2005 found that the neurotransmitter serotonin is important in mood regulation and low levels of serotonin in the brain have long been associated with depression. This mutant gene has been found to be 10 times more likely to occur in depressed patients.
The social dynamics of school, puberty, life at home, and many other factors affect the psyche of teens during this time in their life both positively and negatively. Some of these transitions cause emotional instability in the lives of adolescents, spiraling some into depression. When dealing with major depression, antidepressants are often used to help the adolescent cope by creating a feeling of balance. There is debate on adolescents using antidepressants. Stephen Barlas reports in Psychiatric Times that antidepressants are found to cause “possible suicidal ideation and suicide attempts as side effects” (2006).
For example, a child will regress in their development, become accident-prone, become clingy, engage in risky behaviors, and complain more about physical ailments than adults with PTSD do. Often times, traumatized children are wrongly diagnosed as having “attention deficit hyperactivity disorder” (ADHD) because of their trouble sitting still, focusing, or managing their impulses. More times than not, adults with PTSD are also either mistakenly misdiagnosed, or are also diagnosed with other disorders. These include bipolar disorder, eating disorders, and other anxiety disorders like panic disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, social anxiety disorder, or obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). If symptoms of PTSD are found in these tests, the doctor will begin another evaluation by doing a complete medical history and physical exam.
ADHD, THE STRANGE ATTENTION EATER Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, ADHD, is a psychological disorder that affects almost eight percent of the United States population. ADHD is a disorder that a person is born with and is not contagious. ADHD is a disorder that is found in children and can go away as the child ages. ADHD “Began in the United States in 1917 after an encephalitis epidemic. Damage to the central nervous system caused by the disease led to poor attention, impulsivity, and over activity in children who survived, researchers began to look for signs of brain injury in other children who had similar behavioral profiles.
The family can be put under a lot of stress and people’s emotions get minimized as the pain of what they live in is denied. The family support system breaks down and children lose sense of what is ‘normal’. As the adults around them struggle to regulate their emotions, the child learns abnormal ways to deal with the chaos around them and struggle to make sense of what is happening around them. The family’s routine begins to revolve around the addict and the children end up fending for themselves. Children in an environment of addiction often find themselves taking on the roles of the adults and take on the stress of dealing with the addiction.
According to Noland, Price, Dake, and Telljohann’s (2009) study on adolescent sleep behavior, teenagers need more sleep as the “majority of the participants indicated that not getting enough sleep had the following effects on them: being more tired during the day (93.7%), having difficulty paying attention (83.6%), lower grades (60.8%), increase in stress (59.0%), and having difficulty getting along with others (57.7%)” (p. 227). These stats prove that there are students who are experiencing the negative impacts from lack of sleep. Since the majority of the students in the study, 93.7%, state that they are tired during the day, and another 83.6% declare that they have concentration issues as a result, it is probable that this may apply to other students as well as the ones in the study. It is safe to conclude that these negative effects are reversible with healthier sleeping patterns. As part of the same (Noland and others, 2009) study, the conclusion of a later school day as a solution for teenagers was reached as “previous studies have determined that people who go to bed and rise at the same time each day, including the weekend, have a higher quality of sleep and are less likely to report sleep deprivation” (p. 229).