Summary
Ideas to help protect adolescents against depression using principles of the hopelessness theory of depression and fostering hopefulness.
As parents, we have many hopes and aspirations for our children. We want to protect them from the dangers of the world, mitigate sadness and pain, and help them grow into healthy and happy individuals. The preteen and teen years can be particularly challenging, as adolescents experience rapid changes in their bodies, cognitive processes, and social structures (Arnett, 2017b). Adolescence is a vulnerable period for mental and emotional health, with an increased onset of depression, anxiety, and other mental health disorders during this developmental period (Solmi et al., 2022). The rates of adolescent depression nearly doubled from 2009 to 2019, indicating the importance of addressing and preventing mental health problems in preteens and teens, particularly as adolescent-onset depression is likely to recur and result in more negative outcomes that can persist into adulthood (Wilson & Dumornay, 2022). As parents, it can be heartbreaking to watch your child socially withdraw, become more irritable, have changes in sleep or appetite, and no longer enjoy activities they once loved. Experiencing several negative events within a period of time can increase susceptibility for developing a depressive episode, particularly if the person feels hopeless and powerless to change their situation.
According to the hopelessness theory of depression (HTD), the combination of a vulnerable individual plus negative environmental circumstances increases the likelihood of depression (Gruman et al., 2017, p.109). A vulnerable person is one who tends to have pessimistic explanations for negative events in their life, typically assuming that the adverse conditions are long-lasting or stable (rather than fleeting or unstable) and global rather than specific. For example, if a friend doesn’t come to an adolescent’s birthday party, a pessimistic explanation would be that the friend no longer likes them and won’t want to hang out with them anymore. A more realistic explanation would be that the friend had other plans or obligations, but would love to celebrate or hang out with them on a different day. Experiencing several such events and assigning pessimistic explanations, particularly when one interprets the root causes to be stable and global in nature, may result in the development of a depressive state. If the same adolescent missed out on having lunch with their friends and didn’t get to sit with their friends at a pep rally, they may begin to think that they are unlikable and will no longer have any friends. This negative, anticipatory cognition contributes to feelings of hopelessness and depression.
As parents, caregivers, and teachers, is there anything we can do to help protect our teens against depression? As Gruman et al. note, “It is not so much what happens to you that is important; rather it is how you perceive it” (2017, p. 107). One approach to protect adolescents against depression is to help them foster a healthier mindset. The HTD suggests that recovery from, and even prevention of, depression occurs through increasing hopefulness (Needles & Abramson, 1990). As parents, we can promote hopefulness by encouraging an enhancing attributional style from a young age. This attributional style is the opposite of a pessimistic style: it encourages explaining the positive events in our lives as due to global, stable circumstances (Gruman et al., 2017, p. 114). Subsequent work suggests that combining this approach for positive events, along with attributing negative events to unstable and specific root causes, may be even more effective in reducing the risk of depressive episodes (Voelz et al., 2003). We can model these types of attributional styles for our children from a young age so that this type of thinking is more likely to become second-nature for them. If a friend cannot attend a party, we can say “That’s too bad, I know we’ll miss seeing them there. But it will be great to see them next time!” When they get a good grade on an assignment, we can say “That’s fantastic, you worked so hard on that! I’m really proud of you.” Narrating similar explanations for our own wins and misfortunes are additional opportunities to show them how to interpret situations in healthy ways.
Another strategy for increasing hopefulness, according to the HTD, is through modifying the social environment and everyday experiences to increase the frequency of positive life events (Needles & Abramson, 1990). For a child, this may look like giving them age-appropriate chores and tasks to build confidence, playing games that they will have opportunities to win (and modeling graceful losses and wins for them), and even hiding small trinkets for them to “find.” For an adolescent, age-appropriate chores and tasks are still valuable and can foster a sense of responsibility and self-efficacy. In terms of school and sports, celebrating their accomplishments and commiserating with them on their setbacks, while helping them gain or maintain perspective in the grand scheme of things, can have a positive impact. We can also advise teens on setting reasonable, achievable goals to help them build confidence and work towards independence. Encouraging an environment of open communication and emotional support is also critical, perhaps even more so during adolescence (Arnett, 2017a).
While the HTD approach isn’t an absolute guarantee that an adolescent won’t become depressed, these are well-supported strategies for reducing the likelihood of depressive episodes and for improving recovery. An intervention developed by Gillham et al. (2007), the Penn Resiliency Program, successfully helped middle school students, considered at-risk for developing depression, have fewer depressive symptoms through cognitive restructuring (improved explanatory styles) and problem-solving skills (e.g., emotional regulation, time management, and assertiveness). Remarkably, these positive effects lasted for at least 3 years after the program ended, suggesting that the intervention had a significant impact on shaping the adolescents’ way of thinking about adversity and building important life management skills. Encouraging appropriate attributional styles in our children and adolescents, and providing them with opportunities to build self-confidence and a sense of agency, may promote better mental health and resilience, so that they develop positive self-esteem and grow to be healthy, more well-adjusted individuals.
References
Arnett, J. J. (2017a). Family Relationships. In: Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood (6th Ed.). Pearson.
Arnett, J. J. (2017b). Introduction. In: Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood (6th Ed.). Pearson.
Gillham, J. E., Reivich, K. J., Freres, D. R., Chaplin, T. M., Shatte, A. J., Samuels, B. . . . Seliman, M. E. (2007). School-based prevention of depressive symptoms: A randomized controlled study of the effectiveness and specificity of the Penn Resiliency Program. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 75: 9-19. doi: 10.1037/0022-006X.75.1.9
Gruman, J. A., Schneider, F. W., & Coutts, L. M. (2017). Applying social psychology to clinical and counseling psychology. In: Applied social psychology: Understanding and addressing social and practical problems (3rd Ed.). SAGE.
Needles, D. J. & Abramson, L. Y. (1990). Positive life events, attributional style, and hopefulness: Testing a model of recovery from depression. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 99: 156-165. https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1037/0021-843X.99.2.156
Solmi, M., Radua, J., Olivola, M., Croce, E., Soardo, L., de Pablo, G. S., Shin, J. I., Kirkbride, J. B., Jones, P., Kim, J. H., Kim, J. Y., Carvalho, A. F., Seeman, M. V., Correll, C. U., & Fusar-Poli, P. (2022). Age at onset of mental disorders worldwide: Large-scale meta-analysis of 192 epidemiological studies. Molecular Psychiatry, 27(1): 281-295. doi: 10.1038/s41380-021-01161-7
Voelz, Z. R., Haeffel, G. J., Joiner, T. E., & Wagner, K. D. (2003). Reducing hopelessness: The interaction of enhancing and depressogenic attributional styles for positive and negative life events among youth psychiatric inpatients. Behavior Research and Therapy, 41: 1183-1198. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0005-7967(03)00030-5
Wilson, S. & Dumornay, N. M. (2022). Rising rates of adolescent depression in the United States: Challenges and opportunities in the 2020s. Journal of Adolescent Health, 70(3): 354-355. doi: 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2021.12.003
Tags: adolescence, Applied social psychology, depression, health psychology, hopefulness, psych424
I found this post really helpful. It made me realize how important it is to be mindful of how we talk to our kids and how that can impact their mental health. I especially liked the idea of encouraging a positive attributional style. I’m going to try to be more conscious of how I explain things to my kids and focus on the positive aspects of situations.
I also think it’s important to create a supportive environment for our kids, where they feel loved and accepted. Sometimes, just knowing that someone is there for you can make a big difference. I recently read an article in Psychology Today that talked about the importance of “mindful parenting.” This involves being present and attentive to your child’s needs and emotions. By practicing mindful parenting, we can help our kids develop healthy coping mechanisms and resilience.
Reference
Shapiro, J. (2023). Mindful Parenting: A Guide to Raising a Happy, Healthy Child. Psychology Today. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/going-beyond-intelligence/202001/mindfulness-parenting