M.Phil. (Adolescent Guidance) / Research studies indicate that so-called non-clinical or normal depression is a common and widespread phenomenon amongst adolescents and that the rate of depression increases dramatically in early adolescence, particularly amongst adolescent girls. Although depression is generally considered as a mood isturbance, it is in effect a whole body experience involving the mind, body and spirit of the adolescent and can cause a variety of future adjustment problems. Current research on adolescent depression indicates that depression is particularly responsive to intervention and that early identification will prevent the development of a pernicious form of depression in adolescents. This study thus focuses on the early identification of non-clinical or normal depression in girls in early adolescence. Guidelines are described to support them in their experience of normal depression. The application of guidelines is thus preventive in nature and aimed primarily at supporting the young adolescent girls. The research design followed in this study can be described as a qualitative design with an exploratory, descriptive and contextual focus. Data was collected by means of phenomenological interviews and field notes. A literature control was used to verify the findings. The study was conducted in two phases. In phase one young adolescent girls' experience of non-clinical depression was explored. In phase two the collected data was used as the basis for inferring and describing guidelines to support young adolescent girls who experience non-clinical depression. After the data was analysed, two broad themes were identified and were used as a basis to describe guidelines that can support young adolescent girls who experience normal depression. The first theme reflects their perception of how they experience nonclinical depression, while the second theme reflects the influence of dysfunctional interpersonal relationships between their family, peers or teachers and themselves in precipitating or maintaining their experiences. Guidelines inferred from these themes were described that could be applied to support them in these experiences. The findings from this study reveal that the young adolescent girls are not yet clinically depressed, However, if intervention measures are not implemented to support them, their feelings and experiences could develop into clinical depression. It is hoped that this study will assist in the early identification of non-clinical depression in young adolescent girls and that the guidelines will support them so that the development of clinical depression can be prevented.

This study focuses on the perception of teachers who have depressed adolescent learners in their classrooms as well as explores how teachers cope with teaching depressed adolescent learners in their classrooms. For the purpose of this study, a qualitative research method was employed. Data was collected in the form of twelve semi-structured interviews with teachers in order to ascertain their perceptions on including and accommodating depressed adolescent learners in their classrooms. The data was analysed for emerging themes and sub-themes according to Tesch‟s eightstep data analysis process. This study highlights the characteristics, symptoms and causes of depression in adolescents and the effect it has on learners within our educational system. The results of the study indicate that the inclusion of depressed adolescents in the classroom can be problematic for teachers since they feel that they are not suitably trained to deal with these learners in a teaching and learning environment. The participating teachers indicated that they are not able to identify and support depressed adolescent learners in their classrooms effectively. The participating teachers feel that they require further training on how to refer these depressed adolescent learners and their parents for further intervention and support. Based on the findings of this study, the researcher constructed guiding principles in order to address the issues raised by the participating teachers. In the light of the guiding principles, recommendations were made towards teachers, parents, schools, health professionals, the Department of Education, the Department of Health and further research in order to accommodate depressed adolescent learners in South African schools effectively.

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Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2007. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Text in Afrikaans / A significant percentage of adolescents in children's homes are depressive in consequence of multiple experiences of loss. There is a possibility that experiences of depression are maintained in a systems context. Group therapy using an ecosystemic approach was embarked upon in order to study and to alter within a systems context the phenomenon of depression, the accompanying negative experiential and meaning-assignment worlds of the depressive adolescent girl in a children's home and the interactional behavioural patterns. It was hypothesised that behavioural change brought about in the group therapy context would extend to systems beyond the therapy system. A group of five adolescent girls in a children's home, of whom two were severely depressive, were taken for eight group therapy sessions. The principles of ecosystemic epistemology as a paradigm for family therapy were applied in the sessions. These principles stress inter alia the use of metaphor. Circular questioning was employed in order to explore the relationships within the group. Moments of depression were observed and recorded directly and indirectly according to both linear and circular approaches, and the therapeutic process was described. The manner in which the therapeutic group changed metaphorically by the group itself. A decrease in girls' level of depression was observed during therapy. Their cognitive, affective and normative functioning also changed, and alterations affecting relationships, self-concept and self-realisation could be perceived in the therapeutic process. These changes in relationships and the decrease in the level of depression were confirmed quantitatively. The transfer of these attitudes and relationships to the children's home system was confirmed by interviewing the children's home "parents" of the adolescents involved. / Psychology of Education / D. Ed. (Sielkundige Opvoedkunde)

published_or_final_version / Nursing Studies / Master / Master of Nursing

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2006. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Depression in adolescents if unrecognized, can interfere with every aspect of the individual’s life, increasing the risk for illness and interpersonal difficulties in the future. Therefore, it is imperative that significant levels of depressive symptoms be recognized, assessed, and treated. The usefulness and psychometric properties of new measures of depression are determined, in part, through comparison with existing measures. The current study investigated the concurrent validity of the Clinical Assessment of Depression (CAD; Bracken & Howell, 2004) with the Beck Depression Inventory-Second Edition (BDI-II; Beck, Steer, & Brown, 1996) for an adolescent population. The sample for this investigation consisted of 23 adolescents (13-18 years) with a primary diagnosis of unipolar depression and 98 adolescents that did not have a clinical diagnosis. Correlation coefficients were large and statistically significant between the CAD and BDI-II, ranging from .97 to .66. The CAD was able to distinguish between clinical and non-referred groups on the basis of mean group scores. Using the BDI-II classification as the criterion, a contingency table was computed and a classification consistency of 82% for the total sample was found. Findings of the current study indicate that the CAD appears to have adequate validity to support its use with adolescents.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2000. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 88-101). Also available on the Internet.