European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - July 10, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                To your health Are prone to v v Mic Lek Al Brttha by Daniel Goleman a new York times girls As Young As 12 Are More prone to depression than boys arid a prime Factor a is their preoccupation with their appearance. The higher rate of depression persists through adolescence and into adulthood at which Point women Are twice As Likely As men to be diagnosed As depressed new studies show. Worry about their bodies is one reason adolescence is More emotionally stressful for Girts than for boys says a study of 802 High school students by Betty Merten and Peter Lewinsohn psychologists at the Oregon research Institute in Portland. A report on that study appears in the current journal of abnormal psychology. Quot if adolescent girls Felt As physically attractive and generally Good about themselves As boys their age do they would not experience so much depression Quot Lewinsohn said. Although depression rates before puberty Are the same in boys and girls Quot at around age 12 girls Start to have higher rates Quot said or. Myrna Weissman a psychiatric epidemiologist at Columbia University. A study of 1,700 High school students by Lewinsohn found that from age 14. The rate for depression in girls was twice that of boys. He found that 1.7 percent of the boys and 3.9 percent of the girls were currently depressed. A study of psychiatric disorders among 5,596 High school students published in the current archives of general psychiatry found that 9 percent suffered from mild or severe depression either currently or in the past. It was the most prevalent emotional disturbance of All. Quot girls have higher rates of both mild and major depression than do boys Quot said or. Agnes Whitaker a psychiatrist at Columbia University who did the study. Studies of All youths not just those still in school have found even higher Overall rates of depression. The new findings Are part of a concentrated scientific Effort to understand the roots of depression in Early life. Researchers Hope the studies will Lead to new ways to head off depression or treat it More effectively in children and adolescents. Innovative methods of treating depressed children being evaluated now Are already showing Promise Quot i think that adolescent girls preoccupation with How they look accounts for much of the jump in depression for girls at puberty Quot said Merten Quot body image is a huge part of How girls think of themselves and of their self Worth Quot the study by Merten and Lewinsohn is the first to offer direct evidence that girls feelings about their appearance predisposes them to getting depressed. Those who reported Low self esteem because of worries about appearance were More Likely to report depression a month later. Apart from this added pressure for girls there were no major differences in the causes of depression for boys and girls. Quot adolescence is a rough transition for girls much rougher than for boys Quot Merten said. Quot boys have different pressures whatever problems they May create they Don t cause such a jump in  researchers Are finding that concern about attractiveness begins in girls even before adolescence. Quot thinking about their appearance is at the top of girls minds by age 10j said Jeannette Haviland a psychologist at Rutgers who has studied emotions in teen agers Quot it May be there even earlier but we Haven t looked for it  in Giris who become depressed the Normal concern with looking Good becomes distorted into devastating self criticism. Quot they Are convinced that they re too Short or too tall their hair is too curly or too straight they feel too fat or Are convinced they have a terrible complexion a despite the fact that nothing is really wrong with their appearance Quot said a Haviland. For boys depression is exacerbated by social isolation rather than by doubts about appearance. Quot depressed boys done to spend times with their friends though they have them Quot said Reed a Larson a psychologist at the University of Illinois Quot they spend a great Deal of time alone in their bedroom Quot in Larson s study 483 boys and girls from fifth through 11th Grade in Chicago carried beepers with them and were beeped at random times through the common signs of depression in children and adolescents while either boys or girls May show these symptoms they tend to be More common in one sex than the Olfier More common in girls body Imago distortion. Feeling Quot ugly or otherwise unattractive when objectively that is not the Case. Loss of appetite end weight losing interest in eating or eating erratically. Lack of satisfaction. Being upset about herself about life at school and at Home and about social life. More common in boys Quot irritability. Being easily angered and hostile snapping at family friends and teachers. Social withdrawal. Ceasing to spend time with friends spending most of the time alone. Drop in school performance. Loss of interest in and enthusiasm about school As Well As other activities source it dial Rutler m.0. For addition information free pamphlets on recognizing and treating depression Are available from the depression awareness recognition and treatment Campaign of the National Institute of mental health. For two brochures and an order form Lor others including information on teen agers write to depression Rockville my. £0857 a Quot. A i Quot Day. Each time they filled out a report of what they were doing and How they Felt. The girls who were depressed did not report spending As much time alone As did the depressed boys Larson found Quot i suspect that with g Iris if you re depressed you can talk about that with your friends and be accepted Quot he said. Quot but that s not True for boys. When boys talk about their feelings with each other it makes them  the impression is shared by therapists who treat depressed teen agers Quot boys just Don t have the same kind of social network As Girts Quot Sard or. Donna Moreau clinical director of the children s anxiety and depression clinic at Columbia presbyterian Hospital in new York City. Quot if they feel depressed they can to talk about it. They end up  the reluctance of boys to admit or discuss depression May be beneficial in some cases said or. David Shaffer a child psychiatrist at Columbia University. Quot it May not always be such a bad thing that boys Don t own up to depression Quot he added. Quot ruminating can Worsen depression for instance if a girl gets a soda slight she might take it As being proof that she is Quot awful Quot and talk about it with her friends which h amp Ifie sits s in wifi Ca Nee u until it becomes a maj or blow t o h or s Elf i  Lewinsohn has designed a new program especially for depressed teen agers. It is modelled on a Small seminar the teen agers meet in Small groups twice a week for two months and Quot learn skills to overcome their depression Quot said Lewinsohn. One of the main skills is Quot constructive thinking Quot a method for countering the self defeating thoughts that obsess depressed people. He explained Quot if one of these teens got a bad Grade he might think Quot in a stupid i la always be a failure i la flunk out instead we show them a More positive Way to think about the experience he did t prepare As much As i could have i la prepare More next time and besides in a not stupid in a doing Fine in other  they also learn Quot Friendly skills Quot methods to get along better with friends teachers and parents. This includes getting More Confidence in meeting new people listening and expressing themselves clearly and negotiation skills. Quot we show them How to defuse a potential argument with their parents Quot said Lewinsohn. They learn How to Compromise when negotiating using the car keeping their room clean or being Home at a certain  other Quot skills Quot that fight depression he said include a relaxation technique that can be used in the midst of a tense situation and making time in ones weekly schedule for activities like roller skating that Are purely enjoyable. Quot we be treated Over a Hundred depressed kids from 14 to 18,&Quot he said. Quot after two years three quarters Haven t been depressed since. That s better than you see in therapy with depressed adults Page 16 the stars and stripes tuesday july 10, 1990