M.Ed. / Depression of adolescents is often misunderstood or misjudged. Depression is an universal disorder worldwide and there are more than 300 million people who are suffering from it (Star, 11 April 1999). Approximately nine percent of all children experience symptoms of depression. It increases from twenty two to forty percent among adolescents (Offord, 1987:10). On any given point of time there are as much as one out of every thirty three children and as many as one out of every eight adolescents suffering from clinical depression (Dubuque, 1998:64). Unfortunately depression has become part of our society and we shall have to learn how to handle it in order to render assistance to people who are suffering from this disorder. It is a shocking fact that more and more adolescents are trying to commit suicide. This is one of the findings that came to light in September 1999 during a Symposium of the South African Council for Child and Family Care. The following question arises: what is the experience of adolescent girls who are in a place of caring and who are suffering from depression and which guidelines could be provided to psychological educationists to accompany girls and to promote their mental health?A qualitative, describing and conceptual design was used to collect data and describe the adolescent girl in a place of caring and who is suffering from depression. The research took place in two phases. In Phase One in depth phenomenological interviews were conducted. In Phase Two logical inference was used to generate guidelines to psychological educationists to provide accompaniment to adolescent girls who are in places of care and who are suffering from depression.From the research it appeared that the following themes continuously came to the front amongst girls who are in places of care and who are suffering from depression: • need of acceptance and fear of loneliness; • a lack of hope and purpose in life; and • psychological coping mechanisms as a way of handling situations. The following sub-themes of adolescent girls who are in places of care and who are suffering from depression are identified: • a negative self concept; • poor self acceptance; • poor interpersonal relationships; • fear which is related to the girls' own helplessness and inability to escape from situations; and • defence mechanisms: rationalisation to make depression more acceptable; and suppression to suppress emotions in this way. From the research certain needs were identified by adolescent girls who are in places of care and who are suffering from depression: • the need of acceptance and the need of the addressing the fear of loneliness; • the addressing of feelings of lack of hope and purpose in life; and • the need of healthy coping mechanisms as a way in which situations could be handled. Guidelines to psychological educationists for the accompaniment of adolescent girls who are in places of care and who are suffering from depression are set out as follows: • guidelines to address the need of acceptance and the fear for loneliness; • guidelines to address the lack of hope and purpose in life; and • guidelines to develop healthy coping mechanisms.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:uj/uj:1715 |
| Date | 21 November 2011 |
| Creators | Coetzee, Euline |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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