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ERIC Number: EJ697284
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2005-May
Pages: 9
Abstractor: Author
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0022-4391
EISSN: N/A
A Qualitative Study of Mexican American Adolescents and Depression
Fornos, Laura B.; Mika, Virginia Seguin; Bayles, Bryan; Serrano, Alberto C.; Jimenez, Roberto L.; Villarreal, Roberto
Journal of School Health, v75 n5 p162 May 2005
Depressive disorders are present in a high percentage of Mexican American adolescents. Among the US Mexican American population, suicide is the fourth leading cause of death among 10- to 19-year-olds. Little research, however, has focused on Mexican American adolescents' knowledge and views about depression and seeking help for depression. Results from a qualitative study on Mexican American adolescents' attitudes about depression are investigated in this paper: Sixty-five high school and middle school students in a largely Mexican American, urban school district in San Antonio, Tex, participated in 9 semistructured, focus group interviews where participants were asked questions to elicit their understanding of depression, treatment for depression, and words used to describe it. Coding of salient words and themes from transcribed interviews were entered into Atlas.ti far qualitative analysis. Three themes emerged: (1) adolescents' definitions of depression, (2) beliefs about adolescent depression, and (3) treatment for adolescent depression. While depressive symptoms among Mexican American adolescents are common and recognized, resource and treatment knowledge is scarce. An understanding of the beliefs', attitudes, and knowledge of these adolescents can provide crucial information about the content and structure of a universal, school-based, peer-facilitated depression awareness program.
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: High Schools
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A