Epidemiology of Depressive Symptoms in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health

• NCJ Number: 193397
• Journal: Journal of American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry Volume: 41 Issue: 2 Dated: February 2002 Pages: 199-205
• Author(s): Jerry L. Rushton M.D.; Michelle Forcier M.D.; Robin M. Schectman MSPH
• Date Published: February 2002
• Length: 7 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study provides a description of the range of depressive symptoms reported by adolescents in a large, nationally representative sample.

Abstract

Secondary analysis was done on National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (AddHealth) data from 13,568 adolescents who completed the initial survey in 1995 and follow-up 1 year later. Main outcomes of Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression Scale (CES-D) scores were analyzed by comparisons and sample-weighted logistic regression. Results showed that the study represented a diverse sampling of the population of adolescents in the United States. Depressive symptoms were relatively common. Age, gender, and other demographics had important effects on CES-D scores. Although mean CES-D scores for the entire group of adolescents were identical at wave I and wave II, most individuals reported different levels of depressive symptomatology 1 year later. For adolescents with minimal depressive symptomatology at baseline, very few reported moderate/severe depressive symptoms 1 year later. The large majority of these students maintained their category of minimal depressive symptoms. However, the other two categories of adolescents with mild and moderate/severe depressive symptoms varied greatly 1 year later. For adolescents with mild symptoms, 17 percent progressed to moderate/severe symptoms 1 year later, yet 46 percent of adolescents reported reduction of symptoms to the minimal category. Nearly half of adolescents with moderate/severe depressive symptoms at baseline reported the same level of moderate/severe symptoms 1 year later; however, a majority experienced a decline in depressive symptoms to the mild or minimal category. Some factors were associated with a lower likelihood of moderate/severe depressive symptoms 1 year later. These included reports of being close to their father, family having fun together, and a family member completing suicide. 1 figure, 3 tables, 38 references