Introduction
There are many reasons why teenagers become depressed. The most trivial are lack of attention, lack of friends, or love problems. All of these, in one way or another, traumatize the child’s psyche and prevent him or her from feeling like a full member of society. A large number of adolescents now suffer from this problem and, what is more, a large number of them have no idea whether it is a bad mood or a mental disorder. It was therefore decided to conduct an experiment on this very topic and find out how many children know whether they are depressed or not.
What research has been made?
To experiment, it was necessary to conduct relevant research that would show the real picture of the problem. For further research, it was necessary to read the materials available in the public domain and find out what the symptoms of the disorder are and how it affects the teenager. This was done by reading the material titled “Teen Depression and Suicide A SILENT CRISIS” which provides data on the current metrics of the problem as well as symptoms and treatment tips. This work helped me a lot in moving my research forward, and based on it, it was easier to construct the experiment. In the table here can be seen how deep this problem is, and how important it is to highlight its effect on children. Looking at this table it can be seen, that many children attempted suicide, which is unacceptable.
What are the background researches?
In conducting such an important study, it should be understood that it touches upon not only what is hoped for, namely to investigate adolescents’ understanding of their inner state, but also other equally important topics. One of them was the openness of the subjects when talking about such an intimate topic. Many of the interviewees tried to avoid answering the question directly, as they were afraid that their problems could be ridiculed. Alas, this was not only true of this experiment, but also of a simple conversation in general. When trying to establish contact with teenagers, out of 65 people, only thirty were able to talk openly with me, which is less than half of the possible participants.
What is the hypothesis?
I hypothesize that due to the lack of opportunities for teenagers to share their experiences, they close themselves off and do not have the opportunity to cure themselves of such an unpleasant illness. In today’s society, admitting that something is bothering you becomes a shameful act, and children have no opportunity to express their emotions, to share the most difficult period in their lives. Moreover, because of the lack of understanding of what is going wrong in their lives, teenagers begin to suffer even more, which, sometimes, leads to total consequences. My hypothesis raises a rather difficult question and makes us think about how we can help the current teenage generation.
What survey was used?
As we can see, the survey consisted of several questions to which the participant in the experiment had to give an honest answer. Before this, the adolescents were given a survey consisting of several questions, the most important of which was “Do you feel depressed?” Next, after taking the survey, the participant was asked to rate their answer choices and compare them to what they assumed before the experiment. It turned out that of the 18 people who confirmed being depressed at the beginning of the test, only 6 of the guesses were true. At the same time, of the 6 people who were sure they were not depressed, all were right. The remaining 6 people who could not decide on the answer were also not depressed and did not notice the problem. Unfortunately, this survey did not pass any recognition and cannot be reliable.
Conclusion
Summarizing everything that has been said before and the process of the experiment itself, we can say that it has indeed been confirmed. As was said at the beginning, about 10 percent of adolescents are indeed depressed. Our experiment showed that out of 65 theoretically possible participants, only 30 agreed to participate, of whom only 4, judging by the survey, were found to be depressed, which is about 13 percent. Of course, the data are only approximate, and it is impossible to say for sure how true the answers to the questions on the questionnaire were. However, even this data is enough to show that depression in teenagers is an important problem today, and the creation of centers for such victims of this illness would greatly reduce their numbers. For this to have a greater effect, it is advisable to make visits to such places anonymous. They should talk to the parents of the teenager and make them realize how dangerous the problem is. It will be years before there is a point at which children can feel open about it.
References
DeNoon, D. J. (2018). Teen Depression. WebMD; WebMD. Web.
Depression Test for Teenagers | Healthy Place. (2018). Web.
Dube, N. (2018). No one understands me : The cry of every teenager : Depression, suicide, drugs, gangs, social media, sex, careers. Dvg Star Publishing.
Kroning, M.& Kroning, K. (2016) Teen depression and suicide. Journal of Christian Nursing. 33. 78-86. doi: 10.1097/CNJ.0000000000000254.
Riera, M. (2020). Field guide to the American teenager : A parent’s companion. Perseus Pub.
Tracy, N. (2021). Depression test for teenagers. HealthyPlace. Web.