Depression in Young Adults
Depression in young adults is a common health problem and a growing public concern. In 2006, 1 in 20 U.S. adults had experienced a major depressive episode with severe impairment. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that among ages 18–24, 2.8% met the criteria for major depression, 8.1% met the criteria for other depression (DSM-IV category Depressive Disorder, Not Otherwise Specified – minor or subthreshold depression, or Dysthymia) and 10.9% met the criteria for current depression. Forty-four percent of American college students report feeling symptoms of depression. This data suggests that traditional college aged students may be at high risk for depression or depressed mood.
Each year 44 colleges and universities use random sampling to administer the American College Health Association's (ACHA) National College Health Assessment (NCHA) survey to 28,000 students. This assessment surveys students' health status and behavior, including depression and depressive symptoms, for their previous academic year. Based on the findings, the rates of students reporting having been diagnosed with depression have increased from 10% in 2000 to 21% in 2011. In 2011, female students reported depressive symptoms, including 22% feeling that things were hopeless, 23% feeling lonely and 26% feeling very sad within the preceding two weeks to 21% in 2011. Women are at higher risk than men to experience depression.
Read more about this topic: Depression (mood)
Famous quotes containing the words depression, young and/or adults:
“I realized how for all of us who came of age in the late sixties and early seventies the war was a defining experience. You went or you didn’t, but the fact of it and the decisions it forced us to make marked us for the rest of our lives, just as the depression and World War II had marked my parents.”
—Linda Grant (b. 1949)
“Being young you have not known
The fool’s triumph, nor yet
Love lost as soon as won,
Nor the best labourer dead
And all the sheaves to bind.”
—William Butler Yeats (1865–1939)
“Being offended is the natural consequence of leaving one’s home. I do not like after- shave lotion, adults who roller-skate, children who speak French, or anyone who is unduly tan. I do not, however, go around enacting legislation and putting up signs.”
—Fran Lebowitz (b. 1950)