Adolescent depression: the role of discontinuities in life course and social support

Objective: To study sociodemographic determinants of depression among 14–16 years old girls and boys, and the role of perceived social support in mediating the effects of the background variables. Method: 16464 adolescents aged 14–16 participated the School Health Promotion Study, a survey about health, health behaviour and school behaviour. Depression was measured by the Finnish modification of the 13-item Beck Depression Inventory. Moderate to severe symptoms in this scale were recorded as depression. Results: Depression was associated with family structure in both sexes. Among girls, having moved recently and low parental education increased the risk for depression, among boys, unemployment in the family. Accumulating number of discontinuities in life course increased the proportion of the depressed among both girls and boys. Perceived lack of social support had the same effect. Lack of support did not explain the effect on depression of the discontinuities in life course. Conclusion: To detect risk groups for adolescent depressive disorders, health services should pay attention to adolescents who have experienced life changes. Perceived social support should be enquired.