Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2019 Oct;29(12):1725-1738.
doi: 10.1177/1049732319831043. Epub 2019 Feb 27.

Getting a Grip on My Depression: How Latina Adolescents Experience, Self-Manage, and Seek Treatment for Depressive Symptoms

Allison McCord Stafford  1 , Matthew C Aalsma  2 , Silvia Bigatti  3 , Ukamaka Oruche  4 , Claire Burke Draucker  4
Affiliations

Getting a Grip on My Depression: How Latina Adolescents Experience, Self-Manage, and Seek Treatment for Depressive Symptoms

Allison McCord Stafford et al. Qual Health Res. 2019 Oct.

Abstract

Latina (female) adolescents are more likely to experience depressive symptoms and less likely to receive mental health services than their non-Latina White peers. We aimed to develop a framework that explains how Latina adolescents experience, self-manage, and seek treatment for depressive symptoms. Latina young women (n = 25, M age = 16.8 years) who experienced depressive symptoms during adolescence were recruited from clinical and community settings and interviewed about experiences with depressive symptoms. The framework was developed using constructivist grounded theory methods. Participants experienced a psychosocial problem that we labeled being overburdened and becoming depressed. They responded to this problem through a five-phase psychosocial process that we labeled Getting a Grip on My Depression. Family members, peer groups, and mainstream authorities were influential in how participants experienced these phases. Future research should further develop this framework in diverse samples of Latino/a youth. Clinicians can use this framework in discussions with Latina adolescents about depressive symptoms.

Keywords: Hispanic Americans; adolescent; depression; grounded theory; qualitative methods; self-management.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest statement: The Authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Getting a Grip on My Depression Framework
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Al-Khattab H. (2016). The process of disease management in African American adolescents with depression. (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from ProQuest Dissertations Publishing. (Accession No. 10159853)
    1. Al-Khattab H, Oruche U, Perkins D, & Draucker C. (2016). How African American adolescents manage depression: Being with others. Journal of the American Psychiatric Nurses Association, 22(5), 387–400. doi:10.1177/1078390316657391 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Cambridge Dictionary. (n.d.). Get a grip (on yourself). Retrieved April 10, 2018, from https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/learner-english/get-a-gri...
    1. Cano MA, Schwartz SJ, Castillo LG, Romero AJ, Huang S, Lorenzo-Blanco EI, … Szapocznik J. (2015). Depressive symptoms and externalizing behaviors among Hispanic immigrant adolescents: Examining longitudinal effects of cultural stress. Journal of Adolescence, 42, 31–39. doi:10.1016/j.adolescence.2015.03.017 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2018). Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance —United States, 2017. Retrieved from www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/data/yrbs/pdf/2017/ss6708.pdf

Publication types