Six female adolescents participated in open-ended interviews regarding their experiences of depression. The transcripts of their interviews were explored using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (Smith, 1991). The analysis revealed three inter-connected super-ordinate themes which were: communication, hurt self, and difference. These themes centred on communication processes in participants' families and with peers, issues relating to shifts in identity through adolescence, and feelings of being damaged, distressed, and hurt. Amongst a range of potentially relevant perspectives, an attachment theory (Bowlby, 1969) orientation was found to be particularly relevant and helpful in interpreting the themes that captured these young women's experiences. Some implications for clinical practice are discussed.
Allen, J.P., McElhaney, K.B., Land, D.J., Kuperminc, G.P., Moore, C.W., O' Beirne-Kelly, H., & Kilmer, S.L. (2003). A secure base in adolescence: Markers of attachment security in the mother-adolescent relationship. Child Development , 74, 292-307.
2.
Alsaker, F. (1996). The impact of puberty. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 37, 249-258.
3.
Bebbington, P.E., Murry, J.,Tennant, C., Stuart, E., & Wing, J.K. (1981). Epidemiology of mental disorders in Camberwell . Psychological Medicine, 11, 561-579.
4.
Beck, A.T. (1976). Cognitive therapy and emotional disorders. New York: International University Press.
5.
Beck, A.T., Steer, R.A., & Brown, G.K. (1996). BDI-II manual. San Antonio: TX: The Psychological Corporation, Harcourt Brace & Company, USA.
6.
Bifulco, A., Moran, P.M., Ball, C., & Lillie, A. (2002). Adult attachment style II: Its relationship to psychosocial depressive-vulnerability. Social Psychiatry Psychiatric Epidemiology, 37, 60-67.
7.
Blazer, D.G., Kessler, R.C., McGonagle, K.A., & Swartz, M.S. (1994). The prevalence and distribution of major depression in a national community sample: The national co-morbidity survey. American Journal of Psychiatry, 151, 979-986.
8.
Bowlby, J. (1969). Attachment and loss (Vol. 1.). New York: Basic Books.
9.
Bretherton, I. (1995). A communication perspective on attachment relationships and internal working models. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 60, 310-329.
10.
Brown, G.W., & Harris, T. (1978). Social origins of depression. London: Tavistock.
11.
Byng-Hall, J. (1995). Re-writing family scripts. London: Guilford Press.
12.
Crittenden, P. (1998). Truth, error, omission, distortion, and deception: The application of attachment theory to the assessment and treatment of psychological disorders. In S.M. Clancy Dollinger, & L.F. DiLalla (Eds.), Assessment and intervention issues across the life span (pp. 35-70). London : Lawrence Erlbaum.
13.
Dallos, R. (2005). Narratives in young offenders. In A. Vetere, & E. Dowling (Eds.), Narrative therapies with children and their families (pp. 219-239). London: Routledge.
14.
Erikson, E. (1950). Childhood and society. New York: Norton.
15.
Goodyer, I.M., Herbert, J., Tamplin, A., & Altham, P.M.E. (2000). Recent life events, cortisol, dihydroepisandrosterone and the onset of major depression in high-risk adolescents . British Journal of Psychiatry, 177, 499-504.
16.
Hwu, H.G.,Yeh, E.K., & Chang, L.Y. (1989). Prevalence of psychiatric disorders in Taiwan defined by the Chinese Diagnostic Interview Schedule. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavia, 79, 136-147.
17.
Kobak, R., & Cole, H. (1994). Attachment and meta-monitoring: Implications for adolescent autonomy and psychopathology. In D. Cichettit, & S.C. Toth (Eds.), Disorders and dysfunctions of the self. Based on Papers presented at the 5th Annual Rochester Symposium on Developmental Psychopathology, vol.5. Rochester, NY: University of Rochester Press.
18.
Martin, K. (1996). Puberty, sexuality, and the self. London: Routledge.
19.
Mikulincer, M., Shaver, P.R., & Pereg, D. (2003). Attachment theory and affect regulation: The dynamics, development, and cognitive consequences of attachment-related strategies. Motivation and Emotion, 27(2), 77-102.
20.
Parkes, C.M. (1972). Bereavement: Studies of grief in adult life. New York: International Universities Press.
21.
Sayers, J. (1998). Boy crazy. London: Routledge.
22.
Seligman, M. (1972). Biological boundaries of learning. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts.
23.
Smith, J.A. (1991). Conceiving selves: A case-study of changing identities during the transition to motherhood. Journal of Language and Social Psychology, 10, 225-243.
24.
Smith, J.A., Osborn, M., & Jarman, M. (1999). Doing interpretative phenomenological analysis . In M. Murray, & K. Chamberlain (Eds.), Qualitative health psychology: Theories and methods. London: SAGE.
25.
Willig, C. (2002). Introducing qualitative research in psychology: Adventures in theory and method. Buckingham: Open University Press.
