14 DAY TRIAL // The human mind indeed works in mysterious ways, researchers from the University of Washington (UW), who have recently concluded a 7 year-long study designed to give them a new perspective on the triggering factors of depression in early adolescence, say. They learned that anti-social behavior and anxiety were the most likely factors to cause depression after 7 years of study. Surprisingly enough, early signs of depression were not necessarily linked to the appearance of the disease later in life. For the new study, first- and second-grade girls were analyzed, as far as mood and mental health goes.
“Anti-social behavior has typically been viewed as a big problem among boys, so it tends to be ignored among girls. Boys with early anti-social behavior typically go on to show more anti-social behavior, while girls may turn inward with symptoms, morphing into other mental health problems such as depression, eating disorders, anxiety and suicidal behavior during adolescence,” UW educational psychology professor James Mazza, who is also the lead author of the new study and the past president of the American Association of Suicidology, explains.
“One finding from this study that is a mind-grabber is that young children can identify themselves as being anxious and depressed. When they had scores that were elevated, we were a bit surprised because we thought they would say, 'My life is fun and I play a lot.' But they are able to understand and report feeling depressed or anxious, and tell us so. This suggests giving health surveys in early elementary school is a good idea and we should talk to kids in the first and second grades because they can give us valuable information,” the professor adds.
Depression and anxiety share a number of common traits, UW researchers argue. And, apparently, their presence in teens can be the warning signal that other mental health issues may be on their way. “When all the risk factors were analyzed, anti-social behavior and anxiety were the most predictive of later depression. It just may be that they are more prevalent in the early elementary school years than depression,” Mazza goes on to point out.
Nearly 400 girls participated in the research, and the investigators collected data about them from parents, teachers, friends, and the kids themselves, every year. The children also had to answer various questionnaires, designed to provide specialists with a better view of the way they felt. On the other hand, parents were questioned too and asked to give details about the status of their marriage and the number of conflicts they engaged in at home, so that scientists from UW could rule out parental influence in the way kids developed over the years.