Psychopathological manifestations and features of the course of depressive disorders in adolescents: transcultural clinical observations

Introduction. The relevance of the problem of depressive disorders manifesting in adolescents is determined by their high prevalence, difficulty to recognize this pathology at the early stages of the disease, and high suicidal risk. Objective of the study: to identify and systematize within the framework of the multifactor concept the clinical, social and personal psychological triggers that contribute to formation of depressive disorders in adolescents. Methods:clinical-psychopathological, clinical-psychological (using an interview questionnaire, including anamnesis data), clinical-dynamic, experimental-psychological, sociopsychological, observation method, method of back translation. The methodological approach was based on the principle of ethno-social-cultural determinism of the emergence and clinical course of depressive disorders, taking into account their characteristics in various national cultures. Results. Clinical variants of depressive syndrome were identified using the example of two clinical observations (an 18-year-old girl and a 19-year-old boy, mean age 18.5±0.5 years). It was found that the formation of depressive symptoms of pathoplastic and pathogenetic influence was exerted by two main factors - an unfavorable psychological microclimate in the family and a destructive type of upbringing. The patients were diagnosed with adjustment disorder, mixed anxiety and depressive reactions. Conclusion. Two clinical observations of adolescent depressive disorders, carried out in Russia (Khabarovsk) and China (Harbin), showed that in the anamnesis of the examined adolescents, there was a family history of mental disorders in close relatives. A significant role in the formation of depressive states belonged to negative factors experienced by adolescents - long-term psychological discomfort and dissatisfaction in connection with the unfavorable atmosphere in the family, as well as the ethnic type of upbringing.