Main Causes of Depression - Term Paper Example

?Outline Lack of social support *Humans are social beings who would long for social support. *Social support is a necessity in life. * Based on the study conducted to adolescents aged 14-16 years old, depression was associated with family structure. *Based on social determination theory, social relationship, as integral part of social support can potentially lead to depression in it absence. High stress level *Financial matters as commonly the sources of high level of stress can lead to depression. *Relationships have an impact on individual’s mental functioning which made it other remarkable sources of stress. Alcohol or drug abuse *Drugs and alcohol make an individual susceptible to mental disorders. Causes of depression Introduction Depression is considered one of the most common mental health disorders in the United States (McCree & Jones 2010). In 2001 to 2002, around 7.06 percent of US adults were reported to have suffered from major depression (Levine 2007). Having a bad impact on people's lives, depression can be caused by a lack of social support , high stress levels with family, job, finances, and relationships, and also by a history of current alcohol or drug abuse. The proponent of this paper included these in the discussion as some of the reasons that cause depression. Lack of social support Individuals have to look forward to something that is completely part of being human. One of these is to look forward to social support. In fact, this very basic need is observed from the very beginning on the life of an individual through an infant who is looking forward to parental support and complete nourishment and care. This implies that social support is a complete necessity in one’s life. A study was conducted in order to determine the impact of perceived support to explore the sociodemographic determinants of depression (Heino, Rimpela, Rantanen & Laippala 2001). The said study was under the School Health Promotion and was able to acquire 16,464 adolescent respondents aged 14-16 years old. According to the authors, the respondents’ level of depression was measured using the Finnish modification of the 13-item Beck Depression Inventory. They were able to find that depression was associated with the family structure common to both boys and girls. They particularly found that among girls, parents who have moved recently with low level of parental education were considered significant sources of their depression. On the other hand, they also noted that among boys, unemployment in the family was found to be among the real sources of their depression. Furthermore, they also found that the lack of social support has the same effect on the respondents’ tendency to be depressed. The authors presented these results as conclusive and they also emphasized that the health services should pay attention to adolescents facing remarkable changes in life including in those areas in line with their needs for social support. This is supported by another study claiming that social relationships can influence the well-being of those depressed individuals both positively and negatively (Rovillard & Kuiper 2011). The proponents generated this finding due to the application of self-determination theory which further allowed more meaningful understanding of the human’s basic psychological needs including the necessity for social support. Based on the above evidences, social support is found to have a strong association with depression considering that humans are social beings who have basic psychological needs for effective and appropriate socialization. High stress level It has become a common understanding that family, job, finances and even relationships are significant sources of depression because they could potentially generate high stress level. A high stress level has been known to contribute to depression. For instance, financial well-being and psychological well-being are highly associated based on the study conducted among large households with children in Great Britain (Bridges & Disney 2010). The authors tried to make sure that this research was in line with some existing studies linking the relationship between high level of stress in debt and depression. At some point, the results generated by the proponents from the above-mentioned study would somehow give significant meaning on the association between financial matters causing high level of stress, and depression. As also stated earlier, relationships can pose significant mental disorder and it would substantially start form extreme level of stress as an upshot when an individual would fail to cope. This is substantially illustrated in the study of Rovillard and Kuiper (2011) revealing that social relationships have potential impacts on an individual’s healthy mental functioning. Alcohol or drug abuse A study was conducted to test the coping mechanisms of Black and White Americans to stress revealed that unhealthy behaviors such as alcohol and drug use does not guarantee protection against depression at any stress level (Keyes, Barnes & Bates 2011). This study specifically suggests that the use of alcohol or drugs for the mean time may help cope with stress but it does not warrant protection against depression. In other words, if it does not guarantee to fight depression then it may be a contributing factor of it at some point. A study in Australia using respondents with alcohol use disorder significantly observed these subjects for 12 months (Burns & Teesson 2002). The authors reported that those with problems with alcohol abuse were having higher susceptibility to mental disorders such as drug use disorder, and anxiety disorder. This study significantly points out that alcohol abuse is a contributing factor that at some point would guarantee higher susceptibility to common mental disorders including depression. Alcohol or even drugs are chemicals that once an individual intakes will provide chemical reactions in the body. Based on this idea, there is enough reason to conclude and even based on some evidences that alcohol or drug indeed has the ability to influence effective mental capacity of a person. At some point the unhealthy behaviors such as alcohol abuse has the potential to promote undesirable effects including mental disorders such as anxiety and even depression. Conclusion There are different possible causes of depression and this would only mean that this subject requires thorough studies to generate substantial evidences. From psychological perspective, so much have to be said about depression. However, what is important is the fact that biological, environmental and psychoanalytic perspectives can be used in order to help explain the possible causes of depression. Based on these perspectives it is evidently clear that depression can be due to a lack of social support, high stress levels with family, job, finances, and relationships, and also by a history of current alcohol or drug abuse. In other words, all of these factors are actually in line with those issues confine with those deliberately tackled within the biological, environmental and psychoanalytic perspectives in understanding depression. Depression has been noted as a mental disorder. Since it is a mental disorder, the number of many studies in line with its full understanding is in an upward spiral which especially includes those in line with finding its major causes. The above stated causes of depression are still on the process of deliberate discussion and further research, which means they might not be either finally conclusive, but at some point would contribute to the growing evidences in this subject area, which actually help pave the way for more meaningful understanding of mental disorders in great detail. References Bridges, S., & Disney, R. (2010) Debt and depression. Journal of Health Economics. 29, 388-403. Retrieved January 15, 2012, from http://www.sciencedirect.com/ Burns, L., & Teesson, M. (2002). Alcohol use disorders comorbid with anxiety, depression and drug use disorders: Findings from the Australian National Survey Mental Health and Well Being. Drug and Alcohol Dependence. 68, 299-307. Retrieved January 15, 2012, from http://www.sciencedirect.com/ Heino, R. K., Rimpela, M., Rantanen, P., & Laippala, P. (2001). Adolescent depression: the role of discontinuities in life course and social support. Journal of Affective Disorder. 64, 155-166. Retrieved January 15, 2012, from http://www.sciencedirect.com/ Levine, B. E. (2007). Surviving America’s Depression Epidemic: How to Find Morale, Energy, and Community in a World Gone Crazy. Vermont: Chelsea Green Publishing. McCree, D. H., & Jones, K. T. (2010). African American and HIV/AIDS: Understanding and Addressing the Epidemic. London: Springer. Rovillard, M. S., & Kuiper, N. A. (2011). Social support and social negativity findings in depression: Perceived responsiveness to basic psychological needs. Clinical Psychology Review. 31, 342-352. Retrieved January 15, 2012, from http://www.sciencedirect.com/ Keyes, K. M., Barnes, D. M., & Bates, L. M. (2011) Stress, coping, and depression: Testing a new hypothesis in a prospectively studied general population sample of U.S.-born Whites and Blacks. Social Science & Medicine. 72, 650-659. Retrieved January 15, 2012, from http://www.sciencedirect.com/ Read More