Student Depression: A Silent Crisis in Our Schools and Communities (Book Review)

Student Depression

Marcel Lebrun's book, Student Depression: A Silent Crisis in Our Schools and Communities, is an informative guide to assist educators in becoming more aware of childhood and adolescent depression, and help them employ strategies for dealing with it. The author recognizes that depression is a serious problem in young people today-one which may often go unnoticed and untreated. He brings his decades of teaching experience and observations about how to help students who suffer from depression together in a concise volume of pertinent information on this critical topic.

The book is divided into twenty chapters which explore the problem of student depression in language that is easy to understand and accessible to educators who may not have an intensive background in the subject area. While it contains important statistics on the subject matter, it does not overwhelm the reader with numbers. Rather, the book provides an overview of the various sub-topics contained in each chapter, explains how they impact student depression, and gives practical suggestions for dealing with this problem in the classroom and at home.

Chapter One defines depression and makes the important distinction between psychological depression and clinical depression. The author points out that depression is "widely misunderstood" (Lebrun, 2007, p. 1). It can manifest differently than typically expected in children, making it difficult to recognize. Specific examples are given which will aid educators in spotting students who are depressed: irritability and aggression, physical symptoms such as headaches and gastrointestinal pain, mysterious injuries, lack of motivation, behavior changes. These detailed descriptions will be immensely useful to educators who may make the common mistake of believing that depression only manifests as sadness. The point the author stresses here and throughout the book is that children and adolescents do not necessarily express the same symptoms of depression as adults, which can lead to misdiagnosis or missed diagnosis.

In the following chapter, the author goes into more specific detail about the criteria for recognizing a depressive state in a child. Not only are the behaviors described, but the thinking that may lie behind them is also presented. This will aid educators in not only recognizing depression, but being more sensitive to what the student is going through. For example, a child who manifests his depression through withdrawal may think that no one understands him, or that if he talks about his feelings "I will be in more trouble" (Lebrun, 2007, p. 5). A child who is obviously suffering but refuses to talk about it can be very frustrating to an adult who is trying to help. The author's advice that letting a child know "withdrawing from life is not an option" may be counterintuitive for some adults; they may encounter such resistance that it seems easier to say "it's just a phase" and let it go. In cases of serious depression, however, this could prove fatal. Giving parents and educators permission to press on helps them deal with the resistance they may encounter.

A useful addition to the text is the inclusion of checklists, such as those found in Chapter Four. The checklists for recognizing depression and bipolar disorder in children and adolescents were adapted from those developed by the National Institute of Mental Health. Because the symptoms of these disorders can vary a great deal, especially among young people, these checklists could prove invaluable to educators needing to confirm or rule out these conditions in the students they work with.

The statistics presented in Chapter Five help to pinpoint the extent of the difficulties encountered by those seeking to determine whether a student is depressed. As the author cautions, consistency is lacking in the findings reported through various surveys and studies. However, what can be gleaned is that "at any one time between 10 and 15 percent of the child and adolescent population" will experience the symptoms of depression. An interesting statistic that is included is the difference in depression rates between children in single-parent and two-parent households. While two-parent and father-only families come in at the same rate for children with emotional or behavioral difficulties (four percent), children from mother-only families experience a much higher rate of seven percent. In homes where children are with neither parent, this jumps up to nine percent of children with "definite or severe difficulties." This is potentially very useful information for educators to have, as it lets them know to be particularly on the lookout for problems with children from these types of family situations. On the other hand, the description in Chapter Six of the different ways depression can be measured and reported points out the harm that can come from rushing a diagnosis. While it may seem like common sense to point out that harm can result from a misdiagnosis that puts a child on the wrong medication, many educators are perhaps not aware that so many different kinds of testing are available. This information is an important inclusion in the book.

Chapter Seven's discussion of the various factors that may influence the youth of today which can lead to problems with depression is a good example of the thoroughness with which the author treats the subject. He discusses the four key factors that play a role in children's lives: biology, psychology, society, and family, going in-depth into each for better understanding. The biological link of genetic factors is one that has made the news in the last few years, but many people may not realize, as the author points out, that the applicability of some of the research to all students is somewhat questionable because it has mostly been done on mental-health clinic patients and those with more severe depression. In addition, the author notes that it is not clear from the evidence whether the relationship between parent and childhood depression is genetic or derives from an environment of depression created by the parents. While this may not be directly relevant to the issue of educators recognizing depression in their students, it is nonetheless good information to have. A better understanding of the general topic of depression will lead to more easily coping with it when it appears in a young person under one's care.

The discussion of cognitive factors which may contribute to depression in children provides very interesting food for thought. A negative mind-set resulting from pessimistic attribution bias can lead to poor self-esteem and other problems which increase the likelihood of a child attempting suicide. Knowing this can help an adult be vigilant about a student's chances of becoming dangerously depressed, as a student's tendency for self-blame and negativity will probably be apparent in his or her social interactions at school.

The chapter on sexual orientation and depression brings up a critically important topic. Gay, lesbian, transgendered and bisexual students must deal with the judgment of their peers and the world at large, facing a hostile environment on a daily basis. This takes a great toll. As the author points out, many times, school faculty and administration are ill-equipped to deal with the concerns of these students. The consequences can be very grave indeed. Not only depression, but drug and alcohol abuse, running away and the resulting homelessness, self-destructive behavior and suicide are all found to a larger degree in young people who struggle with their sexual identity. To compound the problem, this all occurs in an information void where much more comprehensive research needs to be done. The author correctly points out the need for such research, but does not suggest specific avenues for how to obtain it.

One beneficial aspect to the text that will be especially appreciated by those who use it is the specific suggestions it makes to both teachers and parents. While both sets of adults deal with youth on a daily basis, their specific needs are not identical. Teachers, for example, face the additional possibility of bullying in the classroom (and other areas in and around school). They must walk the fine line between requiring that assignments be done properly and on time, and understanding how overwhelming school work may be to a depressed student. Parents, who have their own sets of problems to deal with, must strive to maintain a positive attitude and avoid self-defeating punitive measures, no matter how difficult their child is. An important point brought up by the author is the need for adequate sleep. Depression often brings sleep disorders, and it is important for parents to be aware and take steps to ensure that their child does not have to function in a constant state of sleep-deprivation, or waste his life sleeping it way, due to depression. This often-overlooked issue is one which perhaps merited a more in-depth examination in the text.

Chapter Fifteen's listing and explanations of medications and therapies will prove immeasurably valuable to adults for whom the huge array of available medications may prove daunting. Chapter Seventeen's guidelines for dealing with suicidal youth are very useful and could even save lives, if followed. It is important for adults to know that bringing up the topic of suicide with an adolescent who shows warnings signs will not drive him or her to attempt it. Open communication can be the beginning of helping young people overcome their suicidal tendencies.

The thirteen guidelines to success presented by the author in Chapter Eighteen provide a wealth of constructive strategies. They demonstrate the most positive attribute of Student Depression: the practical applications included along with the informative content. It is not enough to simply explain what depression is and how to identify it, if no strategies are presented for coping. Here, there are specific suggestions, from "emphasizing the connection among events, thought and feelings" (Lebrun, 2007, p. 131) to increasing a child's level of physical activity (p. 134). Content like this elevates Student Depression from an informative text to an indispensable guide.

Case studies presented at the end lend a personal aspect to the book. Almost fifty pages of state mental-health resources are a welcome addition. It might have been helpful if the resources, cited at the end, had also been cited in-text or in footnotes for reference purposes, but this is, after all, a guide for educators, rather than an academic exercise. Overall, Marcel Lebrun's Student Depression: A Silent Crisis in Our Schools and Communities, is an invaluable tool for anyone needing help with the emotional problems of children and adolescents.

References

Lebrun, M. Student depression: A silent crisis in our schools and communities. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield Education.