4 Troubled Teens Blog

Many depressed teenagers do not seek treatment -- and a new study from the Rand Corporation indicates that they may be avoiding treatment for their depression because they are afraid of their parents' reactions.

According to details of the study that were published in journal Medical Care, Lisa Meredith and her colleagues studied 368 teens (half of whom suffered from depression) and their parents:

• The teens and their parents were asked to answer which of seven barriers to treatment were most important.
• Parents tended to answer that none of them were important, but the teens listed "not wanting family members to know about their depression" as significant.
• Other barriers such as cost, time constraints, problems finding a doctor, or just not wanting treatment were less important to teens.

Meredith pointed out that parents often have to become involved in treatment by providing transportation and paying for it, so it is important for "doctors to get a sense of not just what the teen thinks or the parent thinks, but what both think."

Teens with untreated depression are more likely to abuse drugs and alcohol, become parents at an early age, to have low grades and social problems, and commit suicide.

Labels: depression, teens, treatment_programs

Posted By: Aspen/CRC