NRS 434VN Week 3 Assignment: Adolescence Contemporary Issues and Resources

NRS 434VN Week 3 Assignment: Adolescence Contemporary Issues and Resources

NRS 434VN Week 3 Assignment: Adolescence Contemporary Issues and Resources

Research the range of contemporary issues teenagers face today. In a 500-750-word paper, choose one issue (besides teen pregnancy) and discuss its effect on adolescent behavior and overall well-being. Include the following in your submission:

Describe the contemporary issue and explain what external stressors are associated with this issue.

Outline assessment strategies to screen for this issue and external stressors during an assessment for an adolescent patient.

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Describe what additional assessment questions you would need to ask and define the ethical parameters regarding what you can and cannot share with the parent or guardian.

Discuss support options for adolescents encountering external stressors. Include specific support options for the contemporary issue you presented.

You are required to cite a minimum of three peer-reviewed sources to complete this assignment.

Sources must be published within the last 5 years, appropriate for the assignment criteria, and relevant to nursing practice. Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center.

An abstract is not required. This assignment uses a rubric. Please review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion.

You are required to submit this assignment to LopesWrite. A link to the LopesWrite technical support articles is located in Class Resources if you need assistance.

A Sample Of This Assignment Written By One Of Our Top-rated Writers

Contemporary Issues Teenagers Face Today: Depression

            Teenagers in the United States and around the world are faced by a myriad of challenges in the contemporary world that they have to contend with. This situation has been worsened by the giant strides made in technology and especially mobile telecommunications, the Internet, social media, and many other smartphone applications. The effect of these technological developments means that information is passed around the world very quickly within minutes. This increases the impact of peer pressure that teenagers are so vulnerable to. Among the contemporary issues teenagers are faced with is the issue of depression. According to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH, 2022), the prevalence of teenage major depression in the US among adolescents aged 1-17 years is 17%. According to its statistics, close to 4.1 million teenagers in that age bracket in the US suffered at least one major depressive episode in the year 2020. Among teenagers, the data also shows that females and those that are mixed race report higher rates of major depression. The purpose of this paper is to look at depression as a contemporary issue affecting teenagers in its various aspects.   

External Stressors Linked to Adolescent Depression

            Three clear external stressors come to mind when it comes to adolescent depression. These are pressure from peers to conform to the latest trends and fads, hormonal changes that start occurring at puberty, and the pressure to do well at school academically (Mayo Clinic, 2018). Because of the identity crisis that accompanies puberty, adolescents are very easily influenced by their peers to do things that a reasonable person may not do. This is peer pressure and may lead to drug and substance abuse or underage sex. The hormonal changes in the bodies of teenagers also push them to rebel and to act irresponsibly because they are craving to be independent. This situation is only worsened by the pressure put on teenagers by parents, guardians, and the society to perform well academically so that they may have a bright future. All these external factors conspire to form a recipe for major depression. This occurs for instance when the teenager cannot afford the latest fashion, has fallen victim to teenage pregnancy, or has become addicted to a substance that they can now not afford to have consistently.

            Depression therefore affects teenage behavior and their wellbeing in that they become irritable and sad almost all the time every day, isolate themselves, start lacking sleep (insomnia), become restless and agitated, show hopelessness and exaggerated self-criticism, and stop enjoying the pleasurable activities that they hitherto enjoyed. There will also be malaise and anger as well as a feeling of low self-esteem. The teenager will most significantly start having ideas about wanting to end their life (suicidal ideation) and this is very dangerous requiring involuntary commitment (Mayo Clinic, 2018; NIMH, 2022). These are the diagnostic symptoms of major depression as presented in the DSM-5.

The Available Strategies for Assessing and Screening for Adolescent Depression, Ethics of Disclosure, and Support Options

            Clinical guidelines recommend that teenagers be screened routinely for major depression and there are various tools available to do this. An example is the Reynold’s Adolescent Depression Scale or RADS (Willacy, 2019). However, the best tool for adolescent major depression screening is the Patient Health Questionnaire – Modified for Adolescents or PHQ-A (López-Torres et al., 2019; Watson et al., 2020). Some of the additional questions the adolescent may be asked include whether they were abused as children (childhood trauma) and whether they were brought up by loving parents or guardians.

            The teenager is guaranteed protection by the laws of the US on confidentiality (Brooks, n.d.). Disclosure of the mental health diagnosis of the teenager to their parents or guardians must therefore not only follow the laws of the state, but also the bioethical principle of autonomy (informed consent) and nonmaleficence (not doing the teenager harm by disclosing without their permission) (Haswell, 2019). These are the factors surrounding the ethics of disclosure in this case. The available support options for teenagers with depression include psychotherapy (Radovic& Moreno, 2019), social support system from immediate and extended family, 911 call center, and organizations such as the Anxiety and Depression Association of America amongst others.

Conclusion

            Depression is one of the contemporary issues that affect teenagers and has far-reaching consequences. Teenagers are vulnerable to peer pressure and also poor behavioral choices due to developmental changes in their bodies. Depression in teenagers can however be effectively screened using the PHQ-A and preventive measures instituted. 

References

Brooks, M.K. (n.d.). Treatment of adolescents with substance use disorders: Legal and ethical issues. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK64357/ 

López-Torres, S., Pérez-Pedrogo, C., Sánchez-Cardona, I., & Sánchez-Cesáreo, M. (2019). Psychometric properties of the PHQ-A among a sample of children and adolescents in Puerto Rico. Current Psychology, 41, 90-98. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-019-00468-7

Mayo Clinic (June 5, 2021). Teen depression. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/teen-depression/symptoms-causes/syc-20350985

National Institute of Mental Health [NIMH] (2022). Major depression: Prevalence of major depressive episode among adolescents. https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/major-depression#:~:text=An%20estimated%204.1%20million%20adolescents,compared%20to%20males%20(9.2%25)

Radovic, A. & Moreno, M.A. (2019). Treatment options for adolescent depression. JAMA Pediatrics, 173(3), 300. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapediatrics.2018.5017    

Watson, S.E., Spurling, S.E., Fieldhouse, A.M., Montgomery, V.L., & Wintergerst, K.A. (2020). Depression and anxiety screening in adolescents with diabetes. Clinical Pediatrics, 59(4-5), 445-449. https://doi.org/10.1177/0009922820905861 

Willacy, H. (November 13, 2019). Screening for depression in primary care. https://patient.info/doctor/screening-for-depression-in-primary-care