Question: do you think depression is more frequent in teenagers or adults?

Emily Mattacola answered on 19 Nov 2019:

Depression tends to be more commonly reported in adults, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that it actually is more frequent in this group! Unfortunately, depression often goes undetected in teenagers. Parents, teachers, and even the young person themselves sometimes don’t recognise the symptoms because depression in teenagers can look quite different to depression in adults. While depressed adults often talk about emotional pain, depressed teens tend to report physical aches and pains. They may report headaches, stomach problems or just say they just don’t feel well. This is called a somatic symptom, where we experience psychological problems as a physical issue. As well as teenagers, we see this a lot in other cultures.
Teenagers are also more likely to seem irritable and sensitive to criticism, which adults may dismiss as just “being a teenager” rather than recognising it as a warning sign.