Abstract

ARGIMON, Irani Iracema de Lima; TERROSO, Lauren Bulcão; BARBOSA, Arianne de Sá  and  LOPES, Regina Maria Fernandes. Intensity of depressive symptoms in adolescents through the Beck depression scale (BDI-II). Bol. - Acad. Paul. Psicol. [online]. 2013, vol.33, n.85, pp. 354-372. ISSN 1415-711X.

Depression in adolescents has a significant impact on school performance besides damaging self-esteem. Depressive disorder in this age group causes symptoms of emotional instability and irritability; tantrums, explosions and risk of suicide can also occur. The objectives of this study is to evaluate the symptoms of depression in school adolescents. The sample is comprised of 88 students aged between 12 and 17 years who attended the sixth and seventh grade of elementary school. The instrument used was the Beck Depression Scale (BDI-II), specifically designed to measure depression. The present study is a quantitative and descriptive research with a cross sectional design. The results show that the intensity of depression observed in this sample is higher than that of the general population in other stages of life excepting only the elderly (65 years or more).This finding is worrisome because, as it is a crucial stage of human development, permeated through many changes in a short period of time, the development of mental disorders can lead to several psychosocial damages to the teenager. The problem even transcends the individual level: the increase of depression among adolescents may be harmful to society as a whole, which will have many problematic youngsters at the beginning of their entry into the labor market, increased costs with their health and with the security system of the country.

Keywords : Beck Depression Inventory; BDI; adolescents; depression.

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