Are Depression Screenings for Teens Helpful or Harmful?
Some schools use depression screenings to identify teens with problems.
June 9, 2009 — -- Wracked with inexplicable feelings she was too young to know weren't normal, a then 14-year-old Courtney Jones struggled to understand what was happening to her as an eighth-grader four years ago.
"I consciously knew that I was unhappy, but I didn't think that it was depression. I clearly wasn't happy like I used to be, I wasn't going out with my friends as often. I wasn't doing things that used to be fun for me," Jones, now 18, said. "[I] would just sit in my room and not do anything."
So when her school offered a free mental health screening, Courtney's parents told her to fill out the questionnaire. The result: Her answers raised serious red flags and a therapist later diagnosed the girl with depression.
The recent high school graduate, who said she had attempted suicide several times, credits the screening for saving her.
"[I] feel that TeenScreen saved my life," said Courtney, who resides in Portland, Ore. "I had to fully feel all of the emotions that were within me, hit rock bottom and then climb back up. I had a great support system that TeenScreen helped to build."
TeenScreen is the program Courtney credits with bringing her depression to light.
It is a national program active in 500 communities and its goal is to spot mental health problems early by offering questionnaires to all teens with their parents' consent during the students' annual physical or in school.
The National Center for Mental Health Checkups at Columbia University conducts TeenScreen.
"The sooner we find youngsters who may have early signs of depression, the sooner and the better we can get them the help they need," said TeenScreen national executive director Laurie Flynn.
Depression is a problem facing lots of families with an estimated 2 million teens in the United States suffering from depression, but less than half receive treatment, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
For that reason, some believe programs like TeenScreen could be helpful.
"I think it's a first step. It can increase awareness for the pediatrician or the school. It can make the parent aware. It can make the child aware and start to dialogue," said Moira Rynn, of the New York State Psychiatric Institute. "And then there needs to be a more detailed evaluation."
The federal group, which makes public health recommendations, concluded that the current evidence is insufficient to assess the balance of benefits and harms of screening of children between ages 7 and 11.
"GMA" medical editor Dr. Marie Savard said the screenings are for kids who may not be showing symptoms.
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