Depression is a deteriorating and serious illness that involves the body, mood and thoughts. It changes the way a person eats and sleeps, the way one feels about oneself, and the way one thinks about things. It also is a disease that does not discriminate. Many adolescents suffer from depression and it's popular link teen suicide. Its no surprise that Latchkey children are quite often those later teens who suffer from adolescent depression. Numbers show that adolescent suicide is responsible for more death in youth's aged 15 to 19 than cardiovascular disease or cancer (Blackman, 1995). Despite this alarming increased suicide rate, depression in this age group is greatly under diagnosed and can lead to serious difficulties in school, work, and personal adjustment, which may continue into adulthood. .
For many teens, symptoms of depression are directly related to low self-esteem stemming from increased emphasis on peer popularity. For other teens, depression arises from poor family relations, which could include decreased family support and perceived rejection by parents. This is often the case with latchkey children because they are left at home alone to tend for themselves. Oster and Montgomery stated that "when parents are struggling over marital or career problems, or are ill themselves, teens may feel the tension and try to distract their parents." This distraction could include increased disruptive behavior, self-inflicted isolation and even verbal threats of suicide. Many times parents are so wrapped up with their own conflicts and busy lives that they fail to see the changes in their children, or they simply refuse to admit their child has a problem. In today's society the family unit can be quite different from the stereotypical one of the 1950's, where the father went to work and the mom was the homemaker. .
Sadly, depression is often overlooked in adolescents is because it is a time of emotional turmoil, mood swings, gloomy thoughts, and heightened sensitivity (Brown 1996).
