The theme of disconnection in adolescent girlsʹ understanding of depression

Fourteen adolescent girls aged between 14 and 17 were interviewed concerning their understanding of depression. Individual interviews were semi-structured and included discussion about descriptions of, causes of, and coping with, depression. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and were analysed thematically. The dominant theme arising from the girlsʹ interviews was that of disconnection from relationships. Possible reasons why disconnection seems to play such a large part in girlsʹ understanding of depression are discussed. Copyright 2002 The Association for Professionals in Services for Adolescents Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.