Causes of Depression (Essay Sample)

Causes of Depression
Student's Name
Institutional Affiliation
Course
Professor's Name
Date
Causes of Depression
Introduction
Depression is one of the most complex diseases. Currently, no one has known its exact cause since it may result from a variety of reasons. For instance, some people may develop depression due to a severe medical illness, while others may have it because of life challenges such as the departure or death of a loved one (Whittle et al., 2011). Similarly, studies have shown that depression may result due to a family history of depression. Occasionally, the gene causing depression may be carried to the next generation, leading to genes in the subsequent people in the family history. Often, individuals who possess depression develop loneliness and sadness for unknown reasons. Consequently, depression may result from various long-term and combination of recent events and other personal factors. Studies have shown that depression cannot arise due to an immediate event or issue. Depression often involves chemicals, and that is why its causes are quite complex to identify. Often, it is not be concluded that the process involves the lowering and raising the chemical levels, but rather it is the chemicals that work inside and outside nerve cells (Mash & Wolfe, 2019). For instance, with the complexity associated with depression, two people may develop depression, but the treatment will be different since the problem is from the inside. Some of the fundamental causes of depression among adolescents discussed in this essay entail genetic vulnerability, medical problems, medications and stressful life events.
Depression may arise due to genetic family risks. Genetic and twin studies have shown a moderate impact of genes on children and adolescents, with heritability that ranges between 31% and 46% across all genders (Mash & Wolfe, 2019). Similarly, previous evidence has also indicated that MDD among the young population often runs across the family genetic history. For instance, a child with parents who once suffered from depression is more likely to develop the disease at a younger age than 13 years. Similarly, studies done by Weismann in 2012 indicated that children parented by depressed parents are three times more likely to develop the illness than those whose parents had no psychiatric disorders (Weismann & Tordjman, 2012). In addition, such children's risks of acquiring depression are much higher even with a small mood disorder challenge in their parents. Children with depressed parents may display a higher onset of depression thus are more likely to display the symptoms of depression as earlier as puberty (Mash & Wolfe, 2019). Recent studies on the onset of the possible genetic markers for depression have shown various implicated regions within the boy with several chromosomes. However, psychologists have proved that no certain region makers contribute to the risk of acquiring MDD since it entails multiple regions. Generally, twin and family studies have shown that the vulnerability to adverse impacts of depression may be inherited. Therefore various environmental stressors must be present for the vulnerabilities to develop into depression.
In addition, depression may result due to neurobiological influences. However, it is difficult to point to the brain that may cause adolescent to develop depression. Nevertheless, challenges in functionality and structure of the brain of various brain parts have been implicated (Mash & Wolfe, 2019). Recent studies on the causes of depression due to neurobiological impacts have centered on neural systems, which are tasked with regulating emotional functions such as reward sensitivity, autonomic activity, and neuroendocrine stress responses. However, studies have proved that the brain's functionality is less active as compared to the normal regions of the brain linked to sensory processes, and attention but more prevalent in parts tasked with recognition and regulations of emotions, memory arousal, learning, and mediation of stress responses. Whittle have indicated that hippocampus, a part linked to brain memory, causes depression (Whittle et al., 2011). Interestingly, the various regions of hippocampus are tasked with recognition environment scopes on sensitivity to stress and danger or reward (Mash & Wolfe, 2019). Similarly, brain scans have shown that family stress often interacts with individual variations in hippocampal volume to bring about depressive signs and further explain the reasons for variations in this symptom among adolescent girls above 2.5 years.
Similarly, family influences also play a vital role in causing, maintaining, and developing depression among the young population. Often, when a child is depressed, their family displays more punitive and comical behavior towards their depressed children. Research by Sheeber has shown that such families will display more overinvolvement, more flawed communication, greater use of control, conflict, anger, and less warmth and support to the youngsters without depression (Mash & Wolfe, 2019). Such young people will experience a lack of support, marital discord, disorganization, and high-stress levels. Occasionally, depressed young people describe their families as more disengaged and less cohesive than those without depression. Recent studies have shown that there exists a stronger linage between family dysfunction and childhood depression. With more conflict and less support, adolescents are more likely to develop depression both prospectively and concurrently over one year. On the other hand, when the parents are depressed, their ability to meet their children's emotional and basic physical needs interferes. Such needs entail safety practices, medical care, bedtime routines, and feeding (Mash & Wolfe, 2019). Mothers suffering from depression will often create a poor child-development environment associated with unpredictable affection displays, less emotional flexibility, helplessness, irritability, and negative moods. Studies have shown that a mother's depression just after pregnancy is the critica