Depression in Young Women

 

 

This pathfinder is designed to help you learn more about depression, particularly in young women.  With numerous resources available on this topic, from books and periodicals to the Internet, we have chosen to focus this guide on those resources providing general information available at most public and academic libraries.

 

Depression is a very serious health issue.  Often depression first appears in women between the ages of 25 and 44.  These young women are afflicted with such symptoms as (National Mental Health Association) chronic sad or anxious moods, trouble sleeping, changes in appetite, restlessness, irritability and loss of interest in activities once enjoyed, and many more.  One in three women will become clinically depressed during their lifetime, at twice the rate of men.  This condition is not one that women must learn to live with; today there are many treatment and support options available.

 

 

Key Search Terms, Subject Headings and Classifications

 

 

Key Search Terms

 

Depression

Mental Health

Women and Depression

Women’s Health

Depression in premenopausal women

Dysthymia

Clinical Depression

Psychology

Anxiety

Stress

Medical Care

 

Library of Congress Subject Headings

 

Depression

Depression in Women

Depression – Diagnosis

Depression – Treatment

Depression, Mental

Depression, Mental in Women

Depression, Mental – Social Aspects

Women - Mental Health

Women -Mental Health--Sociological aspects

Women – Health and Hygiene

Women – US – Medical Care

Emotions

Emotional Health

Mental Health

Psychoanalysis

Medical Care

 

Library of Congress Classifications

 

RC 321-571 Neurology and Psychiatry

(RC 537 Depression)

RZ 400-408 Mental Healing

 

 

Best Overview Sources

 

 

Books

 

Carlson, Karen J., Stephanie Eisenstat, & Terra Ziporyn. (1996). "Depression." The Harvard Guide to Women’s Health (pp. 196-199). Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press.

 

Rosenthal, M. Sara.(2000). Women & Depression : A Sane Approach to Mood Disorders. Los Angeles : Lowell House.

 

Periodicals

 

(1998, October). Depression Danger Zones for Women. USA Today Magazine, v127, 12-13.

 

Internet

 

Clinical Depression in Women

National Mental Health Association

http://www.nmha.org/ccd/support/women.cfm

 

Women’s Health: What is Depression?

InteliHealth

http://www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/9103/8814/278375.html?d=dmtContent

 

 

Key Works

 

 

Books

 

(1982). In Deborah Belle (Eds.), Lives in Stress: Women and Depression. Beverly Hills: Sage Publications.

 

(1987). In Ruth Formanek, Anita Gurian (Eds). Women and Depression: A Lifespan Perspective. New York: Springer.

 

Carter, Rosalyn. (1998) Helping Someone With Mental Illness: A Compassionate Guide for Family, Friends and Caregivers. New York: Times Books.

 

De Rosis, Helen & Victoria Pellegrino. (1976). The Book of Hope: How Women Can Overcome Depression. New York: Macmillan.

 

Jack, Dana Crowley.(1991). Silencing the Self : Women and Depression. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press.

 

Periodicals

 

Rao, UMA, Shannon Daley, Constance Hammen. (July 1999). Continuity of Depression During the Transition to Adulthood: a 5-Year Longitudinal Study of Young Women. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, v38, 908(8).

 

Colino, Stacey. (1999, December). The Serious Illness Women--and Their Doctors--Ignore. (Depression). Redbook, v194, 32.

 

Internet

 

Depression, What Every Woman Should Know

National Institute of Mental Health

http://www.nimh.nih.gov/publicat/depwomenknows.cfm

 

Depression

MayoClinic.com: Diseases and Conditions A-Z

http://www.mayohealth.org/home?id=DS00175

 

 

Related Works

 

 

Postpartum Depression

 

Print

 

Dalton, Katharina. (1989). Depression After Childbirth: How to Recognize and Treat Postnatal Illness. New York: Oxford University Press.

 

Jones, Carl. (1986). After the Baby is Born. New York: Dodd, Mead.

 

Web

 

Postpartum Coping – The Blues and Depression

MayoClinic.com: Labor and Delivery

http://www.mayohealth.org/home?id=HQ01243

 

Eating Disorders

 

Print

 

Silverstein, Brett. (1995). The Cost of Competence: Why Inequality Causes Depression, Eating Disorders, and Illness in Women. New York: Oxford University Press.

 

(1994). In Patricia Fallon, Melanie A. Katzman, & Susan C. Wooley (Eds.), Feminist Perspectives on Eating Disorders. New York: Guilford Press.

 

Web

 

Eating Disorders

National Institute of Mental Health

http://www.nimh.nih.gov/publicat/eatingdisorder.cfm

 

 

Professional Associations

 

 

Depressives Anonymous: Recovery from Depression (DARFD)

4625 Douglas Ave.

New York, NY  10471

(212) 689-2600

 

Depression and Related Affective Disorders Association (DRADA)

Johns Hopkins Hospital Meyer 3-181

600 N. Wolfe St.

Baltimore, MD 21287-7381

http://www.med.jhu.edu/drada/

 

National Alliance for the Mentally Ill

2107 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 300

Arlington, VA 22201-3042

(703) 524-7600; 800-950-NAMI

http://www.nami.org

 

National Depressive and Maniac Depressive Association (NDMDA)

730 N. Franklin Ste. 501

Chicago, IL 60610-3526

(312) 642-0049

http://www.ndmda.org

 

National Foundation for Depressive Illness (NAFDI)

PO Box 2257

New York, NY 10116

(212) 268-4260

http://www.depression.org

 

National Institute of Mental Health

NIMH Public Inquiries

6001 Executive Boulevard, Rm. 8184, MSC 9663

Bethesda, MD 20892-9663

(301) 443-4513

http://www.nimh.nih.gov

 

National Mental Health Association

1021 Prince Street

Alexandria, VA 22314-2971

(703) 684-7722; 800-969-6642

http://www.nmha.org

 

 

Periodicals

 

 

Depression and Anxiety.

Publication: New York, NY: Wiley-Liss,

Frequency: Eight no. a year

ISSN: 1091-4269; LC: RC531; Dewey: 616.85/223/005

 

Depression and Stress.

Publication: Madison, CT : International Universities

Frequency: Semiannual

ISSN: 1091-6326; Dewey: 616

 

Depression.

Publication: New York, NY : Wiley-Liss,

Frequency: Bimonthly

ISSN: 1062-6417; Dewey: 362

 

Women & Therapy.

Publication: New York, NY : The Haworth Press,

Frequency: Quarterly

ISSN: 0270-3149; LC: RC451.4.W6; Dewey: 616.89/088042;

 

Psychology of Women Quarterly.

Publication: Cambridge, England

Frequency: Quarterly

ISSN: 0361-6843; LC: HQ1206; Dewey: 155.6/33/05;

 

Psychology Today

Publication: England: Sussex Publishers Inc.

Frequency: Bimonthly

ISSN: 0033-3107; LC: BF1; Dewey: 150

 

 

Indexes and Abstracts

(Note: descriptions of indexes quoted directly from index sites.)

 

 

Medline plus

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/

MEDLINEplus is for anyone with a medical question. Both health professionals and consumers can depend on it for accurate, current, medical information. This service provides access to extensive information about specific diseases and conditions and also has links to consumer health information from the National Institutes of Health, dictionaries, lists of hospitals and physicians, health information in Spanish and other languages, and clinical trials. There is no advertising on this site, nor does MEDLINEplus endorse any company or product.

 

Depression

(March 28 2001). Depression. Medlineplus [Online], Available: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/depression.html

Abstract with links from latest news and research to diagnosis and coping, with a special section for women.

 

 

Medline: PubMed

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/PubMed/

PubMed, a service of the National Library of Medicine, provides access to over 11 million citations from MEDLINE and additional life science journals. PubMed includes links to many sites providing full text articles and other related resources.

 

Dimeo F, Bauer M, Varahram I, Proest G, Halter U. (April 2001). Benefits from aerobic exercise in patients with major depression: a pilot study. BRJ Sports Med [Online serial], 114-117. Available: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov:80/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=11273973&dopt=Abstract

BACKGROUND: Several reports indicate that physical activity can reduce the severity of symptoms in depressed patients. Some data suggest that even a single exercise bout may result in a substantial mood improvement. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the short-term effects of a training program on patients with moderate to severe major depression. METHODS: Twelve patients (mean (SD) age 49 (10) years; five men, seven women) with major depressive episode according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of the American Society of Psychiatry (DSM IV) criteria participated. The mean (SD) duration of the depressive episode was 35 (21) weeks (range 12-96). Training consisted of walking on a treadmill following an interval-training pattern and was carried out for 30 minutes a day for 10 days. RESULTS:  At the end of the training program, there was a clinically relevant and statistically significant reduction in depression scores. CONCLUSIONS: Aerobic exercise can produce substantial improvement in mood in patients with major depressive disorders in a short time.

 

 

Hammen C, Henry R, Daley SE. (Oct. 2000). Depression and sensitization to stressors among young women as a function of childhood adversity. J Consult Clin Psychol [On-line serial], 782-787. Available: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov:80/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=11068964&dopt=Abstract

The authors tested a stress-sensitization version of a diathesis-stress approach to depression. In a 2-year longitudinal follow-up design, exposure to stressful life events was examined in young women in the transition to adulthood. The authors hypothesized that those who had experienced one or more significant childhood adversities would have a lower threshold for developing a depressive reaction to stressors. Results indicated that women with exposure to one or more childhood adversities--such as family violence, parent psychopathology or alcoholism, and others--were more likely to become depressed following less total stress than women without such adversity. The results could not be accounted for by chronic stress or prior depression. Both biological and psychological sensitization mechanisms may be speculated to play a role, but the actual mechanisms of stress sensitization remain to be explored.

 

 

PsycINFO

http://fc1n05e.fcla.edu/cgi-bin/cgiwrap/fclwlv3/wlv3/CM02/DGref/DBPY/P1basic/DI564466659

PsycINFO covers international literature in psychology and related disciplines, including the allied health fields, business, education, law, and medicine.

 

Mackinger, Herbert F., Martin Pachinger, Reinhold Fartacek. (May 2000). Autobiographical memories in women remitted from major depression. Journal of Abnormal Psychology [Online serial], 331-334. Available: http://fc1n05e.fcla.edu/cgi-bin/cgiwrap/fclwlv3/wlv3/DBPY/DI651193805/DGref/SSKIPk%3ddepression+AND+young+women/RO1/RP33/CM34/P112

Several studies show that depressed people tend to over generalize when  asked to recall autobiographical memories (AM); in particular, they respond with categorical descriptions. The authors sought to find out whether this tendency also occurs after remission from depression. Two groups of women who were not depressed at the time of the study were compared; only 1 group had a history of major depression. With an AM test, women in remission from major depression retrieved significantly more categorical descriptions when responding to negative cue words than women without a major depression in their biography. These findings support the assumption that AM is a correlate and a consequence of depression. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2000 APA, all rights reserved)

 

 

Haemmerle, Christina Lynn. (May 2000). Depression in women: A test of the self-in-relation and attachment vulnerability models. Dissertation Abstracts International: Section B: The Sciences & Engineering Univ [Online serial], 5225. Available: http://fc1n05e.fcla.edu/cgi-bin/cgiwrap/fclwlv3/wlv3/DBPY/DI651458155/DGref/SSKIPk%3dyoung+women+depression/RO26/RP33/CM34/P134

Women are twice as likely to experience unipolar depression as compared to men (Chino & Funabiki, 1984; O'Neil et al., 1985; Weissman & Klerman, 1977). This study investigated two models that might explain the development of depressive symptoms in women. The Self-in-Relation model (SIR; Kaplan, 1986, 1991) stresses the importance of relationships to women's psychological health, whereas the Attachment-Vulnerability model (AV; Blatt, 1974; Blatt & Zuroff, 1992) focuses on the impact attachment relationships have on personality organization vulnerability. It was hypothesized that an integration of these two models would provide a more complete explanation for the presence of depressive symptoms in women, than would either of the two individual models… Results showed direct, significant negative associations for: (a) mother-child/father-child relationships and personality vulnerability; (b) personality vulnerability and self-in-relation; and (c) self-in-relation and vulnerability to depression. Findings suggest that women who endorse a personality organization vulnerability are likely to view themselves as failing short of their ideal self (Blatt et al., 1976) and have difficulties in maintaining and building mutually empathic relationships (Kaplan, 1986; Surrey, 1991).

 

 

OCLC FirstSearch: Social Science Abstracts

http://newfirstsearch.altip.oclc.org/WebZ/FSHome?next=html/home.html:bad=html/home.html:sessionid=sp03sw03-43376-ckzz59am-z2beso:entitypagenum=2:0

Abstracts of articles on the social sciences, provides records for English-language periodicals published in the United States and elsewhere. Contains a bibliographic citation for each record, includes articles, interviews, obituaries, biographies, and book reviews

 

Rao, Uma, Hammen, Constance Daley, Shannon E. (July 1999). Continuity of depression during the transition to adulthood: a 5-year longitudinal study of young women. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry [Online serial], 908-15. Available: http://firstsearch.altip.oclc.org/WebZ/FSFETCH?fetchtype=fullrecord:sessionid=sp03sw03-43376-ckyjfl0v-hta2ck:entitypagenum=3:0:recno=7:resultset=1:format=FI:next=html/record.html:bad=error/badfetch.html::entitytoprecno=7:entitycurrecno=7:numrecs=1

A study was conducted to characterize the clinical course and psychosocial correlates of unipolar depression in late adolescent women and to explore the continuity in affective disturbance from adolescence to early adulthood during the post-high school transition. The 155 women aged 17 or 18 years taking part in the study were drawn from three local public high schools and were followed at yearly intervals for five years for clinical and psychosocial outcomes. The findings imply that there was a substantial continuity in affective disturbances from adolescence to adulthood. Furthermore, it was found that the risk for both new onset of depression and recurrence was remarkably high during late adolescence and that the risk continues throughout early adult years, accompanied by notable interpersonal dysfunction.

 

 

Daley, Shannon E.  Constance Hammen, Uma Rao. (Aug 2000). Predictors of first onset and recurrence of major depression in young women during the 5 years following high school graduation. Journal of Abnormal Psychology [Online serial], 525-33. Available: http://firstsearch.altip.oclc.org/WebZ/FSFETCH?fetchtype=fullrecord:sessionid=sp03sw03-43376-ckyjfl0v-hta2ck:entitypagenum=6:0:recno=20:resultset=1:format=FI:next=html/record.html:bad=error/badfetch.html::entitytoprecno=20:entitycurrecno=20:numrecs=1

Although most depressive episodes in adulthood are recurrences of the disorder, lifetime history of major depression (MD) is often neglected in predictive models. On the basis of research and theory suggesting differential prediction of MD across the courses of the disorder, the authors explored whether factors that predict a first MD onset would not predict MD recurrence. Predictors of MD were examined longitudinally in a sample of 128 young women followed for 5 years. Controlling for lifetime MD history, 5-year MD was predicted by the presence before study entry of 3 variables: having witnessed family violence before age 16, having a parent with a psychiatric disorder, and having a non-mood Axis I disorder During the follow-up period, chronic and episodic stress predicted MD. Prior lifetime MD interacted with both chronic stress and parental psychopathology to predict MD, such that first onsets, but not recurrences, were predicted by these risk variables. Reprinted by permission of the publisher.

 

 

 

 

This pathfinder was created by

Amanda Hood-Bailey

[email protected]