Katherine Byrd

Oct. 25. 2017

Weddington

Eng 327W (11 am)

A Teachers Role

Behaviors associated with depression and anxiety are very prevalent in todays youth.

These behaviors can include suicide, self-harm, falling behind in school, isolation, self-sabotage

and major mental episodes. When students practice these behaviors its not only harmful to

themselves, but to those around them. The behaviors affect those that are close to them and

care about them by making them upset and devastated and it can influence others that are

feeling similarly to act the same way. Depression and anxiety do not discriminate by age, race,

gender, etc. Depression and Anxiety can affect anyone and everyone. However, some

ethnicities, ages, and genders experience it more often. Depression and anxiety can have many

causes, one potential cause of depression and/or anxiety, that can effect young people, is

society and pop culture. The World Health Organization reports that suicide rates have

increased 60% world wide in the last 45 years. This can be associated to the increase in

technology and internet. Pop culture is very influential on young people. It influences body

image, music, clothing, and now depression and self-harm. It can have a big influence in the

behaviors of students and how they react to their depression.

With the rising rates of depression, anxiety, suicide, and self-harm, it is very important

for teachers to keep an eye out for the signs and symptoms. Sometimes, it can be difficult to
detect when a student is feeling depressed or anxious but there are behaviors associated that

stand out that can hopefully help in the detection of these mental diseases. Once these

behaviors are detected, it can be difficult to decide how to approach the situation to hopefully

prevent any further damage that could be caused. Teachers have a very prominent role in

young peoples lives, they spend a considerable amount of time with students and have many

opportunities to detect behaviors that can end in harmful consequences. Teachers have the

potential to help detect and prevent behaviors associated with depression and anxiety.

Depression and Anxiety and the behaviors associated with both have been found in

every age, gender, race, etc. Anyone can be affected by these mental diseases, however, it is

more likely to be found in some people rather than others. According to Teen Statistics &

Facts (2016), 10 to 15 percent of teenagers have some symptoms of teen depression at any

one time. Moreover, per the 2014 statistics from the National Institute of Mental Health

(NIMH) , 17.3% of adolescents that had a major depressive episode in 2014 were female and

5.7% were male. The department of Health and Human Services states that rates of depression

among girls ages 12-17 in 2015 were more than double that of boys (Schrobsdorff, 2016). It is

more likely that young adult females will experience symptoms of depression and anxiety than

it is for young adult males to experience the same symptoms. Some attribute this to societies

unrealistic standards for women. Girls are also exposed to cyberbullying more often than boys.

Not only are these symptoms more prevalent in women, but it is also more prevalent in certain

ages. In 2014, starting at age 12, the percentages of adolescents having at least one major

episode starts at 5.7% and goes up 1 to 2 percent per year all the way to age 17 where it is at

15.1% (NIMH 2014). These mental diseases, unfortunately, start at a young age, and only seem
to become more and more common as these adolescents get older. This can be attributed to

stress, pressure, societys standards, and impending independence. It is obvious to most people

that society treats people differently based on some of their attributes. This can cause stress,

pressure, depression, anxiety in these people. Some of these attributes do include race. The

NIMH gives out the statement that in 2014, out of the teens that had at least one major

episode 11.5% were Hispanic, 12% were White, 9.1% were Black, 10.4% were Asian, 6.9% were

American Indian, and 12.5% were of two or more nationalities. When reading these statistics,

keep in mind that according to the 2016 US Census, only 13% of Americas population is African

American, 17% is Hispanic, 5% is Asian and only 1% is American Indian. This shows that race

can and has had an effect on depression and anxiety. There are cultural differences that can

influence these behaviors as well as societies influence. This knowledge can be used for

teachers to keep an eye on students that fit one or more of the criteria that are more likely to

experience symptoms. However, it is important to keep in mind that depression and anxiety

can affect anyone.

It has already been stated that society, pop culture, and the internet can have an effect

on young adults and may cause them to experience symptoms associated with depression and

anxiety. This can come from body image pressure, pressure to be successful, glorification of

suicide, and cyberbullying. Shah showed that the prevalence of Internet users was positively

correlated with general population suicide rates. Multiple regression analysis indicated that the

prevalence of Internet use was independently associated with general population suicide rates

in men (P=.001) and approached statistical significance for women (P=.074) (Luxton., June, &

Fairall, (2012) ) Society and pop culture pushes unrealistic ideals on the impressionable youth
such as body image, and their ideals of successfulness. This can create pressure on these youths

and can encourage anxiety to meet those goals and depression when they fail to meet the

impossible standards. Not only do they set impossible standards, but lately pop culture has

glorified behaviors like suicide and self-harm. A new popular series has come out called,

Thirteen Reasons Why. This series is about a girl who committed suicide and the way it affected

the people around her after she was gone. It can be interpreted in a bad way that when if

someone were to commit suicide that the people in their lives will become remorseful for the

way they treated them and will miss them and remember them in a pure way. This can be

dangerous to youths that are considering suicide because they think that if they commit suicide

the people who treated them badly will be remorseful and change their ways, and that they will

be able to escape their struggles. The JAMA Internal Medicine Journal states that after the

premiere of "13 Reasons Why," the search phrase "how to commit suicide" rose 26% above

what would normally have been expected for that time (Ayers, Althouse, Leas, Dredze, Allem

(2017) ).

The internet also creates a new place where people can bully and terrorize other

people. Cyberbullying is a way for people to anonymously bully others, they can access them

anytime, it is a public platform which means it is easy for the victim to be publically humiliated.

Not only does it open up a new path for bullying but there are also many pro-suicide websites

that can be detrimental when it comes to youth considering suicide.

Students spend around six hours with their teachers a day, five days out of a week.

Teachers are one of the main adults in these childrens lives. Therefore, they have opportunities

to see if these students are behaving differently than normal. The risk of suicide and how the
adolescent functions at home and school should be assessed. Possible warning signs include a

decline in academic achievement or engagement in leisure activities, changes in peer and family

relationships, and social withdrawal (Thapar, Collishaw, Pine, and Thapar (2012) ). Students

with depression will often fall behind in school, not interact or participate in social settings. This

is something a teacher can easily monitor. If a student has been showing a lack of motivation

for school and/or has been refusing to interact with their peers, a teacher should be concerned

and speak to a parent. Some other things that teachers can look out for is outbursts of anger

and frustration. If a student is acting out of character and presenting anger and frustration

constantly and over small things, they may have depression. Students with depression also

seem to lose all motivation for anything and everything. They will often just give up; this is

because they dont see the point in performing well. In extreme cases, speech and motor

activity can be affected. Depression is significantly correlated with poor academic grades, and

students with higher ratings of depression are less likely to graduate from high school

(Forehand, Brody, Long, & Fauber, 1988). Cognitive issues may include low tolerance for

frustration and negative patterns of thinking. Depressed students often give up more quickly on

tasks they perceive as daunting, refuse to attempt academic work they find too difficult, and

quickly doubt their ability to independently complete academic tasks or solve problems.

Memory, speech, physical and motor activity, and the ability to plan may also be affected.

Many depressed children and adolescents are lethargic, speak laboriously, and have difficulty

completely expressing thoughts and ideas (Crundwell & Killu (2010)). There will be times

where a student may just come to their teacher and tell them they have been feeling depressed
or sad. When a student comes to their teacher and reveals how theyre feeling it is important

that the teacher takes them seriously and treat the situation with much care.

After detecting the behaviors associated with depression and anxiety, it is important to

try to prevent actions that may harm a student. Teachers play an important role in students

lives, they can be role models and confidants. It is a very delicate situation when approaching

students with depression. It is important that a teacher will approach this situation with the

most care possible. Something to help prevent students from committing suicide is to spread

awareness. Schools can set up parent programs to make parents aware of the rising suicide

rates and some of the behaviors that they might see if their child is experiencing suicidal

thoughts. There can also be student programs that help their peers understand what their

friends might be suffering with and to give students options to speak to their counselors or a

trusted adult. Staff education and training can help teachers and staff better understand the

signs they are looking for and how to approach the situation if they believe a student may be

suffering from depression and/or anxiety. Schools should set up policies and procedures that

they would follow if they were to have a student that has depression and suicidal tendencies. It

can also be very helpful to seek professional help. Speaking to counselors that have experience

in these areas can drastically change the possibility of harmful actions. Depression screening

can also help to find these students suffering with these mental diseases. (Crundwell & Killu

(2010)).

Teachers can teach students certain skills that can help them work through their

depression. They can teach the students to set goals and to self-monitor, they can teach the,

problem solving skills, as well as time management and organization. It is important teachers
give frequent feedback on academic, social, ad behavioral performance because it can help the

student improve and feel better about themselves. It can be beneficial for teachers to

incorporate more social activities in their lessons to encourage students to spend time

together. It can be helpful to have ways to contact a students home to update their parents

with how they have been doing academically or socially (Crundwell & Killu (2010)). The most

important thing to remember is to not do nothing. Alert parents, other teachers,

administrators, professionals. A teacher can save a life if they report that their students are

having depressive/suicidal behaviors.

In conclusion, teachers spend enough time with their students that they detect when

they are acting differently. They can seek help for these students to help them improve their

mental health and prevent any harmful actions. Suicide rates are at an all time high and this

may be due to the rise in technology, more specifically internet. It is in everyones best interest

to detect and prevent these harmful behaviors and to try to lower the suicide rate. Teachers

spend a considerable amount of time with the youth and can have a big impact on suicide rates

is they detect and respond correctly.

 Works Cited

QuickFacts. (n.d.). Retrieved November 01, 2017, from

https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/US/PST045216

Mental health evidence and research (MER). (n.d.). Retrieved November 01, 2017, from

http://www.who.int/mental_health/evidence/en/

Ayers JW, Althouse BM, Leas EC, Dredze M, Allem J. Internet Searches for Suicide Following the
Release of 13 Reasons Why. JAMA Intern Med. 2017;177(10):15271529.
doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2017.3333

Marc, R., Crundwell, A., & Killu, K. (october 2010). Responding to a Students
Depression. Interventions That Work, 68(2), 46-51. Retrieved October 13, 2017.

Thapar, A., Collishaw, S., Pine, D. S., & Thapar, A. K. (2012). Depression in
adolescence. Lancet, 379(9820), 10561067. http://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(11)60871-4

Suicide Prevention Resource Center. (2012). The role of high school teachers in preventing
suicide (Education Development Center, Inc., Ed.).

Schrobsdorff, S. (2016, November 15). Teen Depression on the Rise Says New Pediatrics Study.
Retrieved October 13, 2017, from http://time.com/4572593/increase-depression-teens-
teenage-mental-health

Luxton DD, June JD, Fairall JM. Social Media and Suicide: A Public Health Perspective. American
Journal of Public Health. 2012;102(Suppl 2):S195-S200. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2011.300608.

Teen Depression Statistics & Facts. (2016, February 09). Retrieved October 13, 2017, from
https://www.teenhelp.com/teen-depression/teen-depression-statistics/
Gulley, L. D., Hankin, B. L., & Young, J. F. (2015). Risk for Depression and Anxiety in Youth: The
Interaction between Negative Affectivity, Effortful Control, and Stressors. Journal of Abnormal
Child Psychology, 44(2), 207-218. doi:10.1007/s10802-015-9997-7