Thesis (Ph. D.)--West Virginia University, 2000. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains ix, 138 p. Vita. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 104-117).

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Wyoming, 2009. / Title from PDF title page (viewed on July 13, 2010). Includes bibliographical references (p. 27-32).

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2005. / The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file. Title from title screen of research.pdf file viewed on (November 27, 2006) Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Illinois State University, 2001. / Title from title page screen, viewed March 21, 2006. Dissertation Committee: Daniel Graybill (chair), Connie B. Horton, Karen S. Pfost, Mark E. Swerdlik. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 82-90) and abstract. Also available in print.

Thesis (D.Clin. Psych.) - University of Queensland, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references.

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

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Bowling Green State University, 2007. / Document formatted into pages; contains xiv, 160 p. Includes bibliographical references.

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

While there is extensive research on adult conceptualisations of mental illness, as well as on children’s understanding of physical health and illness, research on children’s conceptualisations of mental illness is limited. The primary aim of this thesis is to provide a detailed account of children’s and adolescents’ conceptualisations of depression. In the first study, individual semi-structured interviews with primary school pupils (N=105) from two age groups (mean ages: 8.9 and 11.8 years) were conducted, with the use of depression and control vignettes, to elicit children’s depression concepts, help-seeking intentions and desired social distance. Children’s depression conceptualisations were organised according to the common-sense model of illness representations (CSM). Quantitative content analysis was performed to allow for descriptive analysis; in turn, inferential statistics were used to examine age, gender and self-reported direct and indirect experience differences. Children differentiated between depression and control vignettes, however did not spontaneously label depression or recognised the mental health nature of difficulties. Children provided a wide variety of possible causes that reflected common risk factors for depression, primarily referring to interpersonal factors. Children considered negative consequences of untreated depression, and identified that depressed characters need help. They suggested numerous sources of help, which were mainly informal. Children considered depression to be curable and would seek help primarily from parents if depressed. Older children showed more sophisticated conceptualisations of depression. No substantial gender or experience differences were found. Subsequently, a single session school-based mental health literacy intervention on adolescent depression, adapted from an intervention created by NHS mental health professionals, was developed, using the mental health literacy and CSM frameworks. The second study consists of a pilot evaluation of the intervention, using a controlled before and after design, to examine the effect of the intervention on young people’s depression literacy, help-seeking and help-providing intentions as well as social distance. Young people’s depression literacy was measured by the Adolescent Concepts of Depression Questionnaire (ACDQ), developed for the purposes of this study. Exploratory factor analysis was conducted to indicate the factor structure of the ACDQ, which was in turn used to examine participants’ baseline depression literacy and the effect of age, gender, current depressive symptomatology and direct/ indirect experience with depression and other mental illness (Study 2a). In turn, the effectiveness of the intervention is presented (Study 2b). 339 adolescents (mean age: 13.4 years, 168 female) were allocated to either the intervention (N=171) or a control group (N=168), and completed the ACDQ one week before and following the intervention. Mixed results were found for gender, depressive symptoms and experience differences. Mixed ANOVA was conducted between time and group; the results show that the intervention was effective in informing young people’s depression literacy (ACDQ total score), and specifically in young people’s knowledge of treatment options for depression (treatment subscale), perceived curability of depression (curability subscale), symptom recognition, help-seeking and help-providing intentions. No significant improvements were found for social distance, perceived helpfulness of sources of help, and two of the ACDQ subscales. The contribution of this thesis lies upon the detailed examination of children and adolescent depression conceptualisations, adding to the limited evidence base, especially in children’s mental health literacy. The pilot evaluation of the intervention is promising, and upon re-evaluation could be standardised and implemented in Scottish schools. Implications for clinical practice and mental health literacy are also discussed.

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)