Role of Environmental and Biological Factors in Adolescent Depression (Coursework Sample)

Role of Environmental and Biological Factors in Adolescent Depression
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Role of Environmental and Biological Factors in Adolescent Depression
Depression has been ranked as the principal contributor to disability globally. This trend is anticipated to be the most significant worldwide burden by 2030. While there have been efforts to better existing interventions, depression is still rising, particularly among adolescents. Evidence suggests that multiple factors could be associated with depression during adolescence. A vastly complex etiology comprising of genetic and environmental effects are linked to trajectories of depression symptoms.
The link between risk factors of environmental stress and biological risk factors of psychiatric disorders has surfaced in recent years. Depression is a behavioral phenotype that is more not likely to have entirely purely biological or environmental pathways. The biological and environmental factors' interplay results in this complex trait. Evidence shows that polygenic risk for depressions symptoms has been linked to unrelenting childhood and early adult-onset trajectories, supporting the concept that genetic problems dramatically contribute to the onset of depression during adolescence (Kwong, Lopez-Lopez, & Hammerton, 2019). Genetic symptoms of depression are more dominant during childhood and adolescence.
Childhood experience of traumatic events has been significantly associated with depression. It causes a rise in inflammatory markers levels like C-reactive protein (CRP). The interaction between environmental stress risk factors and biological pathways modifications is vital in understanding why some people are more predisposed to depression than others. Thus, various possible pathways through which environmental and biological risk factors cooperate to raise the threat of depression. One of those pathways is when stressful contexts alter and work together with biological structures to promote the progression of depression (Baumeister et al., 2016). Miller and Cole (2012) established that higher inflammatory markers were only linked to adolescent depression with prior exposure to childhood misfortunes. Within stressful environmental contexts, biological vulnerabilities such as increased inflammation have been linked to the development of depression (Zajkowska et al., 2021). Stressful environmental contexts include adverse childhood encounters/child mistreatment, family violence and conflicts, psychological stress, socioeconomic difficulties, and life change events, among others. Blunted neural response to reward moderate or mediate the links between stressful events in early life and development of depression during adolescence. Hence, environmental stressors, threats, and biological threats contribute to the increased risk of depression during adolescence.
The meditational pathway has also been linked to the development of depression during adolescence. Here, an individual's predisposition to a stressful event results in moderated advancement of biological processes that raise the risk of depression. For instance, decreased insular surface area mediates the link between childhood mistreatment and depression deterioration in adolescence (Zajkowska et al., 2021). Besides, affective symptoms in adolescents have been attached to lifetime trauma connected to the ventral anterior cingulate cortex.
In conclusion, traumatic environmental elements such as early and lifetime adversity