A grant that totals over three and a half million dollars has been given to a team at the University of Rochester by the National Institute of Mental Health that will be applied toward a study that will investigate the best methods for preventing depression in teenage girls who belong to families that have low income levels. The team at the university began their research as soon as they were told of the grant. A representative who is tapped with leading the team during its research has said that boys are only half as likely to become depressed as young girls and that when a girl comes from a low-income family the chance of developing depression is significantly higher.
Teens who investigate visiting a Douglaston NY therapist many find that their racial background, level of poverty and any history of abuse might greatly impact the level of their depression and the amount of therapy needed to combat such difficult circumstances.
The study will be designed to follow three hundred and fifty girls all of a young teen age and around thirteen to fifteen years old because those formative years are considered to be a breeding ground for long-term depression difficulties in older decades. The study will involve a treatment program that lasts a few months and although the girls will be of varying ethnic backgrounds they will all be from low income families. After the time spent in therapy there will be follow-ups with the girls for a period of at least eighteen months during which time things like the impact of genetics and hormones will be investigated.