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Depression rates among Arab adolescents are expected to rapidly increase necessitating research-based data to aid in planning effective strategies to implement primary prevention and treatment interventions. The current study aimed to capture Jordanian adolescents' experience of depression, identify perceived contributing factors, and assess their attitudes toward depression interventions. An exploratory, qualitative design was used to collect data from 92 participants (age range = 14 to 17) through 12 focus groups. Two main analytical themes and related subthemes were identified. The first theme focused on participants' perceived mental health status, Being a Depressed Adolescent, with two related subthemes: Symptom Profiles and Feelings of Uncertainty and Perceived Roots of Depression. The second theme focused on the experience of Living With Depression and encapsulated two subthemes: Seeking Supportive Resources and Escaping From Labeling. The study revealed gender differences in the recognition of depression symptoms, willingness to seek care, the ability to communicate symptoms, expectations of care, and views on the best sources of help. For girls and boys, the fear of being labeled as mentally ill contributes to poor engagement in, adherence to, and use of mental health services. A comprehensive approach that considers Arab adolescents' beliefs, attitudes, and experiences in conjunction with the family and social context is needed to address the burden of adolescent depression in Arab nations. [Journal of Psychosocial Nursing and Mental Health Services, 57(10), 34-43.]., (Copyright 2019, SLACK Incorporated.)

Background and Purpose: Few instruments have been established as valid and reliable to screen for depression among Arab adolescents. The purpose of this study was to examine and compare the performance of two of the most widely used depression screening instruments, the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression scale (CES-D), with Arab adolescents., Methods: A nationwide school survey was conducted in Jordan. A total of 3,292 adolescents (1,766 females; 54%) aged 13-17 years completed and returned the survey that included the BDI-II, CES-D, sociodemographics, and health information. Comparisons were made between the BDI-II and CES-D on internal consistency and the reported prevalence of depression in the whole population and subgroups. Multivariate ordinary least squares and logistic regressions were used to assess factors associated with adolescent depression. Agreement regarding recommended cutoffs was also examined using Cohen's k., Results: Depression prevalence was significantly higher with the CES-D compared to the BDI-II among the same set of sample subgroups. Depression scores from both instruments showed different statistical associations with established risk factors for adolescent depression. The two instruments showed a moderate agreement (kappa = 0.55), indicating that the instruments do not completely identify the same cases. Different cutoff scores of the CES-D seemed to perform better for different age groups., Conclusions: Our results varied systematically as a function of the measure used to identify depression prevalence. Caution in the interpretation of associations of depression scores with risk factors is required, as associations may be measurement artifacts. However, given the limited availability of mental health care resources in Arab countries, screening instruments like the BDI-II and CES-D may be a critical first step in preliminarily identifying cases, albeit neither can replace the clinical interview. We cautiously recommend using the CES-D with the risk of over diagnosing, but with the benefit of finding issues which are not typically addressed when there is a lack of mental health services. With the growing social and political unrest in Arab countries, increasing depression rates over time is expected to be a major public health issue. Methodical consideration for how to invest in community-based screening is warranted., (© 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

This study examined whether family environment and coping strategies mediate the relationship between adolescents' bullying involvement (being a bully or victim) and severity of depression. The study utilized a nationally representative school survey and gathered data from 1083 school adolescents (mean age 15.0 ± 1.4 years; 66% females; 46% from the central urban region; 71% had very good to excellent school GPA). The relationship between bullying involvement and depression was partially mediated by family environment and emotion-focused coping. No mediating effect was revealed for problem-focused coping in this relationship. Findings from this study might help understand how the effect of bullying transmits on adolescents' psychological health, allowing us to supply more in-depth information about the bullying phenomenon than what can be explained by direct effects alone. Family environment and coping strategies used by adolescents seemed to play a critical role in shaping their bullying experience and thus, incorporating these factors into available effective anti-bullying programs can be promising. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]