Depression can be a common problem for teens and teenagers, and while there are many treatments, they may not always work for everyone. A new study found that feeling more informed about their health could help teens take better care of themselves, leading to less depressive symptoms.
The researchers also found that trust was a factor in whether accessing health information improved depression. The more teenagers trusted their parents or teacher as a reliable source of health information, the more likely they were to experience less depression.
Furthermore, even though teenagers said they trusted traditional media – such as TV, radio and newspapers – more than online content, only content from social media or websites caused real changes in behavior.
Bu Zhong, a communications professor at Penn State, said the findings – which were published in the journal recently Child: Care, Health and Development – suggests that while teens seem to be taught to be skeptical about online content, websites and social media have the potential to have a powerful impact on adolescents ’health.
“The children did not deliberately make a mistake when they said they did not trust online information, even though that information was ultimately linked to lower depression,” said Zhang. “They may have been told by their parents and teachers to keep track of information found online or on social media. But our research found that strong online content is strongly influencing their health behaviors and depression mitigation strategies, which are not available in traditional media content. “
According to the researchers, depression is one of the most common mental health problems among teenagers in China. In the United States, the National Institutes of Mental Health reported that 13.3% of the U.S. population between 12 and 17 had at least one episode of depression in 2017.
In addition, previous work has shown that depression increases adolescents’ risk of worse school performance and social exclusion, along with an increased risk of self-harm and suicide. .
This study was inspired by my students, after several of whom came to me under great pressure. I know exactly how widespread depression can be among students, so I was interested in the kind of health information that people shared with the youngsters and whether it can help them with dealing with depression. “
Bu Zhong, Associate Professor of Communication, Penn State
The researchers recruited 310 teenagers from primary, middle and secondary schools in northern China for the study. Participants responded to information about health information – such as seminars, classes, leaflets and other media – that they had recently eaten, including its quality and whether the source and information were credible.
They also answered questions about their health, including their depressive symptoms and whether the consumption of health information caused changes in their behavior, such as whether they felt it helped them to prevent it. disease and whether he was more likely to discuss and share health information with friends.
The researchers found that the older the participants, the more likely they were to be depressed. In addition, participants with higher GPAs were more likely to be depressed. Zhang said this could be because the longer the students were in school, and the better their grades, the more likely they were to feel more pressured for success.
However, the more often the participants used social media, the more likely they were to change their health behaviors, which led to less depression.
Finally, teenagers felt lower when their mothers had a higher level of education, but lower when their fathers had a higher level of education. Zhong described this discovery as “the influence of tiger mom.”
“These decisions do not mean that mama’s education causes their children depression, but one explanation might be that it may not be a good idea for moms to take control of life. their children’s school and pushing them too hard, ”Zhong said. “Children may be doing much better in school and more importantly they are less likely to gain weight or other depressive symptoms. Parents can learn from each other in educating their teenager.”
Overall, the researchers said the results show that health information has the potential to be used strategically to help reduce depression in teens and adolescents.
“Our research is interested in delivering long-term health outcomes, not just temporary relief,” Zhong said. “So we’re looking for anything more than drugs, more than treatment, which may help people with depression, and this offers another opportunity. It may not be possible to remove all of the stresses that cause teenage depression, but it is possible that teenagers with better health information gathering skills could help battle depression. “
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Magazine Reference:
Zhong, B & Chen, J. (2020) Health information helps reduce adolescent depression: A multivariate analysis of the links between health information use and depression management. Child: Care, Health and Wellbeing. doi.org/10.1111/cch.12831.