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Depression
Stacey Mack
Doctoral Social Work, Walden University
SOCW 6456 Social Work Practice with Couples and Family Systems
Dr. Brittany Peters
Week 1 Assignment
African American Depression
This paper will focus on the various perspectives of Depression within the African American family in identifying issues, community resources, services, and areas where there may be gaps.
Let’s explore what depression is, a common and serious medical illness that negatively affects how you feel, think, and act. Fortunately, it is also treatable. Depression causes feelings of sadness and/or a loss of interest in activities you once enjoyed. It can lead to various emotional and physical problems and decrease your ability to function at school, work, home, and social interaction. (American Psychiatric Ass.). 10 % of children and adolescents have emotional disorders, including depression and anxiety, that impair their personal, school, and family lives (Knopf et al., 2008; U.S. Department of Health and Human Services [USDHHS] 1999).
Examples of the various symptoms of depression are feeling sad, loss of interest, changes in appetite, trouble sleeping, sleeping too much, fatigue, feeling worthless, guilty, difficulty thinking, concentrating, and thoughts of death and/or suicide are a few. Symptoms must last at least two weeks and must represent a change in your previous level of functioning for a diagnosis of depression. (American Psychiatric Ass.)
Depression and anxiety have co-occurred (Costello et al., 2005; Hjemdal et al., 2007), which compounds the effect of both in the lives of youth. In racial and ethnic subgroups of youth, early symptoms of both disorders correlate with later adolescent depression (Canals et al. 2002), adult mental disorders (e.g., Copeland et al. 2009)
In the African American family and communities, these symptoms care a negative cometary and stigma. Which causes one to oppress, deny, and/or self-medicate to maintain one’s social status, not feel different, and/or isolated by others. African American populations examined in studies have linked depression to aggressive behavior, attention problems, and lower academic functioning (Steele et al., 2000).
Additionally, professionals can be challenged with ignoring the symptoms due to their personal bias and/or stereotypes associated with African Americans, which causes missed and/or no diagnoses. Research on differences in patterns of depression and anxiety among racial or ethnic groups of adolescents is discrepant (Austin and Chorpita 2004). For example, some studies have reported more significant depressive symptoms among non-White adolescents (e.g., Rushton et al. 2002). Kessler et al. (2012) and others are somewhat similar rates of lifetime depression among non-Hispanic Black and White youth, respectively, and slightly higher rates of 12-month depression among non-Hispanic Black youth.
African American youth are disproportionately exposed to risk factors (e.g., poverty, adverse life events, community violence, and discrimination) that may increase the risk of developing depression and anxiety (APA 2008; Lewis et al. 2012; McCabe et al. 1999). Further, research has documented the adverse impact of racial discrimination on depression and anxiety among African American youth (e.g., Gaylord-Harden and Cunningham 2009; Neblett et al. 2008). Thus, these risk factors can influence the development of increased depression and anxiety, increasing implications for the adverse associated with both disorders among African American youth.
In 2017 NASW reported that there was 871K social worker, and there is continued growth in mental health. There is a need for further dialogue regarding cultural sensitivity in several areas regarding the diagnostic process among the mental health professional when African Americans are not being treated and/or being overlooked or not adequately diagnosed for depression.
References
American Psychiatric Association.
https://www.psychiatry.org/patientsfamilies/depression/what-is-depression
Washington, T., Rose, T., Coard, S., Patton, D., Young, S., Giles, S., & Nolen, M. (2017). Family-Level Factors, Depression, and Anxiety Among African American Children: A Systematic Review. Child & Youth Care Forum, 46(1), 137–156. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10566-016-9372-z
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