Depression And Anxiety
Shereeen Anis
250560471
March 24, 2012 Depressive and anxiety disorders are among the top ten leading causes of disabilities in
the world (Lopez & Murray, 1998; Murray & Lopez, 1997) Children who experience depression
or anxiety in their tender years of development will usually suffer from more serious symptoms
of depression and anxiety in adulthood, because they are twice as likely to develop depression
and anxiety (Bittner et al., 2007; Roza, Hof- stra, van der Ende, & Verhulst, 2003). These
individuals are also at risk of developing ritual substance abuse problems, anti-social
personalities, and are 10 times more likely to commit suicide (Achenbach, 1991; Briggs-Gowan,
Carter, Skuban, & Howitz, 2001). This paper will explore the different causes of depression and
anxiety as well as relation to other mental illnesses, as well as symptoms and treatment options
available to help cope with theses often debilitating illnesses. This paper will also be analyzing
two different articles- Depression and anxiety symptoms: onset, developmental course and risk
factors during early childhood, by Silvana M, and Depression and anxiety by the journal of public
mental health Richar Laynard- as sources of information.
Causes and symptoms vary from person to person, when it comes to diagnosing an
individual with depression or anxiety. High levels of stress are the most common trigger of
depression and anxiety but other factors such as diet and exercise may also be a reason for these
illnesses. Symptoms for depression include, but are not limited to, sever fatigue, excessive sleep,
lack of or gain of appetite, headaches, feelings of hopelessness, and in extreme cases suicidal
thoughts. Symptoms of anxiety include but are not limited to, constant feeling of impending
doom, constant state of worry, hot flashes, sweating, heart racing, fear of brain tumors’, heart
attacks and possibly anti-social behavior.
After analyzing the 2 articles, there were two methods used, one from each. The method
that Sylvana M. used consisted of samples that were drawn from a total of 2120 infants
representative of children born in the province of Quebec (Canada) in 1997–1998 and followed
yearly from 5 to 60 months of age (Sylvana 2009). On every occasion there was parental consent
required, and permission forms were filled out, and annual interviews at home were made. All analyses used weighted scores to ensure that the analysis sample was representative of the target
population. The following measures were used: child characteristics, maternal and family
characteristics and family processes at five months after birth. The result of this experiment was
as expected, more risk factors discriminated the High-Rising group from the Low group: child
difficult temperament; maternal depression; family dysfunction; and parental self-efficacy. None
of the interactions between temperament and family characteristics or processes were significant
(Sylvana M. 2009). Conclusively, this experiment proved that there was indeed a correlation
between childhood depression and anxiety and adult depression and anxiety. Children w
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