Notes on Depression
and Suicide
Youth depression affects many more
children, adolescents and young adults
in Oregon than most people realize.
One study by Lewinsohn, et al., at the
University of Oregon showed that more
than 20% of a relatively large sample of
high school students in our state had
experienced at least one episode of major
depression, either past or current. Based
on this study, if you are a teacher with 30
students in your class, at least six of your
students will have experienced clinically
significant depression by adulthood?
depression that causes problems at home,
with peers, in the classroom and/or on
the job. Of the several different types of
depression, major depression is the most
severe form and the one we need to be
most aware of.
Upon reaching puberty, girls are affected
by clinical depression twice as often as
boys. Youth have been at increased risk
for developing mild-to-moderate depression
during the latter part of this century,
showing some correlation with the sharp
increase in the suicide rate during this
time. Depression also affects children
starting at a younger age than in the
past?children as young as four years of
age have been treated for depression.
While girls are three times more likely
to attempt suicide, boys are three times
more likely to die by suicide, in part
because boys tend to use more lethal means
(e.g., guns). Children younger than five
years of age have been known to try
to kill themselves; the youngest completed
suicide in our state was that of a seven-year-
old. Many of these deaths can be prevented if youth, parents and other
adults learn to recognize the warning
signs of depression and have the youth
referred for mental health evaluation and
treatment.
Depression is a medical illness that will
likely affect the youth later in life, even
after the initial episode improves. Youth
who experience a major depressive episode have
a 70% chance of having a second major depressive
episode within five years. Many
of the same problems that occurred with
the first episode are likely to return, and
may worsen.
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