Violence and Depression in Adolescents
Although other causes of teen suicide and violence exist, depression is a major factor. Adolescent violence may be interrelated to a broader problem - the lack of identification and treatment of adolescent psychiatric disorders like depression and bipolar disorder.
Contents
Despair Among the Young: Adolescent Depression and Violence
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"Today, violence is the second leading cause of death for Americans between the ages of 15 and 24 - and the leading cause for African Americans in this same age group... According to recent statistics, the death rate from homicide for teens 15 through 19 doubled between 1970 and 1994 to 20 per 100,000. It has also doubled for children 10 through 14. For African American males, the homicide rate was 136 per 100,000 - nine times that of white males the same age.. Suicide is also a leading cause of death for young people. In 1995, about 24 percent of children in grades 9 through 12 - almost one in four - reported that they seriously considered taking their own lives in the previous year. And almost 10 percent reported actually attempting suicide.
(Julius Richmond Lecture, Harvard University, Boston, Massachusetts, November 21, 1997, italics added)
Depression, according to the National Institutes of Health, occurs with greater frequency among teenagers today than in the past. Because many adolescents' behaviors are attributed to "normal adjustments", they are often not identified as troubled and do not get the help they need. Many teens who believe their problems to be unsolvable, become so despairing that they attempt suicide... and many succeed.
Although other causes of teen suicide and violence exist, depression is a major factor. Adolescents often "act out", obscuring depression with aggression, elopement, or antisocial acts. Manic-depressive disorder also begins in post puberty and may be manifested by impulsive episodes, irritability and loss of control alternating with periods of withdrawal and excessive sleeping. If these behavioral signs are considered by parents and professionals as natural to adolescence, the disorders go unrecognized and untreated.
Adolescent Violence: Cultural Enigma or Sign of the Times
Late 18th-century, German romantic literature was influenced by the conception of Sturm und Drang (i.e., storm and stress), the theme involving a struggle of a highly emotional individual against conventional society. Possibly a metaphor for youth, adolescent antagonism was represented during the 19th Century largely as rebellion and arguing against parental expectations. By the 1950's, fistfights between peers escalated to chains, pipes, and knives, with zip guns appearing infrequently. After four decades, we have witnessed a significantly increased frequency of firearm-related homicides and suicides by youth.
Recently, the nation was stunned by methodically planned murders in a middle-class Denver suburb in April, 1, taking the lives of 15 (including the young killers) and wounding 28. Barely a month later, a 15-year-old wounded 6 classmates before surrendering. In 1998, a 14 year old opened fire in a school hallway, wounding a teacher and volunteer, a 15-year-old killed 2 students in the school cafeteria, wounding 18 more, this after his parents were found dead in their home. An 18-year-old honor student fatally shot a classmate who was dating his ex-girlfriend. Six more fatalities occurred in 1997 in 2 separate shootings involving a 14 and 18 year old. (Knapp, 1999; The Washington Post, 1999)
Whether homicide or suicide, violence among adolescents has forcibly brought these problems to the forefront of our attention, while other, less sensational yet far more frequent adolescent dramas occur among our youth on a daily basis. These appear intimately interrelated to a broader problem in our lack of identification, understanding, and treatment of adolescent disorders in the home, the school and the clinic.
Misinterpreting Adolescent Depression: A Personal Perspective
Recently, I have dealt with "Ronny", a close relative who is 15 years old, a gifted student, athlete and musician. Over two-years, he showed increased moodiness, agitated depression, withdrawal and frustration over peer relationships. These traits, along with the appearance of secondary sex characteristics, were assumed typical and expected in a "normal kid".
Starting Fall, 1998, he accepted weekly psychotherapy with a School/Clinical Psychologist. Nevertheless, his mood deteriorated and, never having administered testing, the therapist requested a psychiatric consult. Medication was prescribed, although—to date--neither psychologist nor psychiatrist offered a diagnosis.
reviewed by:
Harry Croft, MD (Psychiatrist)
Medical Director, HealthyPlace.com
Created on December 07, 2008 Last Updated on June 24, 2011
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