[A psychosocial perspective of depressive symptoms in adolescence]

This study aimed at understanding the social representations (SR) of depression among adolescents on high school level. Two hundred and twenty-two (222) adolescents of both sexes (53% male and 47% female), aged between 14 and 19 years and attending the first, second and third grades of high school participated in the study. The instruments used were: the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) for selecting the sample, using 17 as a cut point. The adolescents who achieved this score were invited to participate in the second part of this study consisting of semi-structured interviews and application of Free Association Tests with the stimulus words: depression, depressed person and me. It was verified that the adolescents anchored their SR of depression as synonym for pain, grief, misfortune, hatred, death, discouragement, anxiety, solitude and tears. The SR elaborated by the social actors of this study revealed a similarity with the conception/description, as described in psychiatry. The purpose of this study besides helping to understand the suffering provoked by depressive symptoms is to contribute to a better quality of life of these adolescents.