Author’s Name
Course Name
Institutional Affiliation
Date
Anxiety and Depression in Children: From a Cultural Perspective
Children seem to be the happiest beings in the world. All parents can substantiate this fact as they are the primary supporters of their children. As well, parents give their children time to enjoy life. They give them children kits and toys to play with and let them go with other kids to ensure their children’s best childhood experiences. Aside from that, they only want to guarantee exultant and meaningful childish immersions to see real-life circumstances. As children do not have obligations to fulfill in life, they are free to spend their lives in the most unforgettable experiences to be. In this case, it is quite difficult for some people to believe that children can be depressed. There may be cultural explanations for how children attempt to respond to their social environments regarding anxiety and depression. To understand how and why children experience anxiety and depression, various experts in their fields of discipline can give clarifications and details to compare and contrast my cultural beliefs about depression and anxiety and those of another culture.
Anxiety and depression are the key causes of disability and illnesses on a global scale. A few research studies can confirm this prevalence as it targets many adolescents and children. The research study by Bernaras, Jaureguizar, and Garaigordobil (2019) reveals that adolescents and children with depressive symptoms exhibit high percentages of anxiety and depression (p. 543). This result suggests that children can experience anxiety and depression at a young age. Based on the available data and research, the youngest age that someone can get depression is age three. It seems to be the earliest age at which those symptoms of early-onset childhood anxiety and depression appear. The question now concentrates on what causes and triggers these symptoms to appear and develop. An observed phenomenon reveals that adolescents and children who come from chaotic and traumatic social environments can experience anxiety and depression (Kar, 2019, p. 1). In other words, a shambolic social environment can affect social relationships. Children who are exposed to living in a depressing and poor environment can experience anxiety and depression. Good and Kleinman (2019) note that some cultures do not consider anxiety and depression a problem and that those cultures hold a different term “neurasthenia” (p. 297). Also, other cultures do not mention anxiety and depression as problems because those mental issues are not on the list of diseases yet. Children in developing countries, somehow, are seen battling their lives against economic despair and misery. Aside from these, there may be other reasons for children to suffer depression. According to Nilamadhab Kar (2019), anxiety and depression in adolescents and children can be due to some predicting factors, such as “individual constructs, personality factors, social support, and exposure to other traumatic events” (p. 1). With this information, governments and parents need to work together to resolve anxiety and depression in children as the following conditions can even lead to further incapacity on a global scale.
As well, not all children experience their best childhood years. There are those children who are unfortunate enough to find food to survive. Instead of celebrating and enjoying their childhood days and years, some children have to rummage for food and beg for alms to survive. These children learn to smoke cigarettes and smell solvents to delay hunger. A few of these adolescents and children in one culture tend to develop some suicidal thoughts (Soleimani, Sharif, Bahrami, Yaghoobzadeh, Allen, & Mohammadi, 2019, p. 2). These risky behaviors in children in some cultures become signs that parents need to do something to help their children get better. As children spend their time on their physiological needs, they tend to ignore their developmental period while ignoring those high-risk behaviors. According to a research study, anxiety and depression in adolescents and children with high-risk behaviors can appear because of some cultural and political factors (Soleimani, Sharif, Bahrami, Yaghoobzadeh, Allen, & Mohammadi, 2019, p. 2). In developing nations where children have to go through hardship in life, parents can notice how youngsters suffer depression and anxiety. However, these situations can never happen if children have happy childhood experiences and if children live in productive and stress-free environments. A few experts and some parents know that children can develop and grow their risky behaviors if the social environments are disagreeable. In this case, experts and parents have to provide the best response to this situation by ensuring “the effectiveness and the relevance of screening, prevention, and treatment interventions to focus on children in mental health” (Soleimani, Sharif, Bahrami, Yaghoobzadeh, Allen, & Mohammadi, 2019, p. 2). In the end, this issue can never happen if parents regardless of their cultural beliefs and values can provide their children with the best childhood experiences.
Indeed, experts and parents have to work together to include anxiety and depression in children as important mental conditions because of some factors. As well, it is common for these children and teenagers to feel down and unhappy and act irritably at times. It is normal for them to develop and depict those emotions. However, when those adverse emotions and feelings last longer, parents need to look for therapists who can help their children who suffer despondency. Of course, my culture does not show depression in children and teenagers. There may be some reports, but those reports do not weigh much to explore the subject matter. However, other cultures show how children in depressing conditions suffer much pain. A culture, which includes kids under poor conditions, can exhibit depression. A serious assessment of the diagnostic practice of Western and non-diagnostic criteria tends to disclose the differences in cultural beliefs regarding anxiety and depression. For some cultures, anxiety and depression are absent. They do not recognize them as part of the category of diseases. In other words, some people in other cultures consider “anxiety” and “depression” culturally inappropriate.
References
Bernaras, E., Jaureguizar, J., & Garaigordobil, M. (2019). Child and adolescent depression: A review of theories, evaluation instruments, prevention programs, and treatments. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, 543.
Good, B. J., & Kleinman, A. M. (2019). Culture and anxiety: Cross-cultural evidence for the patterning of anxiety disorders. In Anxiety and the Anxiety Disorders (pp. 297-324). London, UK: Routledge.
Kar, N. (2019). Depression in youth exposed to disasters, terrorism, and political violence. Current Psychiatry Reports, 21(8), 1-11.
Soleimani, M. A., Sharif, S. P., Bahrami, N., Yaghoobzadeh, A., Allen, K. A., & Mohammadi, S. (2019). The relationship between anxiety, depression, and risk behaviors in adolescents. International Journal of Adolescent Medicine and Health, 31(2).
2016/5017
