New research paper examines the differences in adolescent depression

Researchers at the Wolfson Centre have undertaken work to understand the differences that exist in adolescent depression. Some young people who experience depression as teenagers recover and do well in adult life while for other young people, depression can continue and interfere with education, relationships, and work.

In a paper published in The Lancet Psychiatry, a team of researchers based at the Wolfson Centre for Young People’s Mental Health at Cardiff University analysed data on over 4000 young people to better understand why some adolescents with depression recover and others continue to show difficulties.

Researcher Bryony Weavers, the first author on the paper, said: “Depression is one of the leading causes of global disability worldwide, and often begins in adolescence. We looked at data from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children which assessed depression symptoms in young people from ages 10 to 25 years.”

The researchers used a technique called latent class growth analysis to identify groups of young people whose depressive symptoms showed different patterns over time. The study identified several distinctions between depression that persisted into early adulthood and depression that resolved by the early twenties.

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Bryony added: “We found that persistent depression was more likely to begin earlier in adolescence and was associated with experiencing difficult childhood experiences (such as poverty, abuse, parental conflict, and bullying) that continued into adult life, a greater genetic predisposition to depression and not doing as well academically during GCSEs and A-Levels, compared to depression that resolved.

“Persistent depression was also associated with poor outcomes in early adult life, such as unemployment, high rates of self-harm and general mental health difficulties. Depression that resolved was not associated with any of these negative adult outcomes, suggesting that those individuals functioned as well as those who had never experienced depression.”

Being able to identify young people who are at risk of developing severe, persistent depression can help clinicians provide the necessary early interventions to those who need it most, and therefore prevent adolescents showing difficulties that extend into their adult life.

Bryony concluded: “This research will help shape future policies and tailor services for young people experiencing depression and we look forward to continuing to work here at the Wolfson Centre to undertake research that will inform the field of youth mental health and improve the lives of youngsters living with depression.”

The paper “The antecedents and outcomes of persistent and remitting adolescent depressive symptom trajectories: a longitudinal, population-based English study” is published in The Lancet Psychiatry and available to view online.