Abstract
The first part of this study investigates the prevalence and clinical manifestations of major depressive episodes in young people. The sample for this investigation consisted of 744 high school students (439 males and 305 females), aged 14 to 23 years, and attending 15 high schools in the North of France. Assessment of major depressive episodes according to DSM-III-R criteria was performed by medical doctors using a semi-structured interview and by means of the French version of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression Scale (CES-D). Thirty-two students (18 males and 14 females) were found to have a major depressive episode with a prevalence of 4.1% in males and 4.7% in females. However, the results also showed that the significant manifestations of major depression differed according to sex and suggested that manifestations of major depression in female young people might differ from those observed in adults more markedly than in males. This may explain that the diagnostic performance of the CES-D was found to be higher in males than in females and that the female prevalence of major depression was found to be lower than those usually obtained with adolescent-specific diagnostic criteria.
Résumé
La première partie de cette étude étudie la prévalence et les manifestations cliniques des dépressions majeures parmi des jeunes. L'échantillon pour cette investigation porte sur 744 étudiants (439 garçons et 305 filles) âgés de 14 à 23 ans scolarisés dans 15 écoles du Nord de la France. L'évaluation d'un épisode majeure selon les critères du DSM-III-R était effectuée par des médicins utilisant un entretien semi-structuré et la version française de l'Echelle de Dépression du Centra pour les Etudes Epidémiologiques (CES-D). 32 étudiants (18 garçons et 14 jeunes filles) ont présenté un épisode de dépression majeure avec une prévalence de 4,1% chez les garçons et 4,7% chez les jeunes filles. Cependant, les résultats montraient que les manifestations significatives de dépression majeure étaient différentes selon le sexe et suggéraient que ces manifestations chez les jeunes filles pourraient différer de celles observées chez adultes, de façon plus nette que chez les garçons. Ceci peut expliquer que les performances diagnostiques du CES-D étaient meilleures chez les garçons que chez les filles et que la prévalence de la dépression majeure chez les filles était plus basse que celle habituellement obteneue avec des critères diagnostiques spécifiques aux adolescents.
Zusammenfassung
Im ersten Teil der Studie werden die Prävalenz und die klinischen Erscheinungsformen schwerer depressiver Episoden bei Episoden bei jungen Menschen unterschut. Die Stichprobe umfaßte 744 Oberschüler (439 männlich, 305 weiblich) im Alter von 14–23 jahren, die 15 Oberschulen in Nordfrankreich besuchten. Die Diagnose einer schweren depressiven Episode wurden mittels der DSM-III-R-Kriterien von Ärzten unter Zuhilfenahme eines semistrukturierten Interviews und der französischen Version des “Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression Scale (CES-D)” gestellt. 32 Schüler (18 männlich, 14 weiblich) hatten eine schwere depressive Episode; die Prävalenzraten waren für Jungen 4,1% und für Mädchen 4,7%. Die Ergebnisse zeigten jedoch auch, daß sich die wesentlichen Manifestationsweisen der schweren Depression in Abhängigkeit vom Geschlecht unterscheiden. Die Ergebnisse deuten an, daß sich bei jüngeren Frauen die Manifestationsformen stärker von denen erwachsener Frauen unterscheiden, als dies bei Männern der Fall ist. Dies könnte erklären, warum die diagnostische Leistung des CES-D bei Männern höher eingestuft worden war als bei Frauen, außerdem, daß die Prävalenzrate einer schweren Depression beim weiblichen Geschlecht als niedriger ermittelt worden war als die Raten, die üblicherweise mit für das Adoleszentenalter typischen diagnostischen Kriterien erhoben werden.
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Bailly, D., Beuscart, R., Collinet, C. et al. Sex differences in the manifestations of depression in young people. A study of French high school students part I: Prevalence and clinical data. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry 1, 135–145 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02091899
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02091899