Female Depression among Group Home Residents Essay -- Social Psycholog

A greater insight into female depression could lead to improvements in group home settings. Specifically with a focus on youth (ages 12-17), the relationship between experience in the justice system will be gathered and interpreted with emotions and symptoms of depression. Critically exploration of the relationship between females who experience symptoms of depression and the justice system using respondents who reside in group homes will lead to a greater understanding of the causes and services that could be made available. Defining Concepts For the purposes of this study depression is â€Å"based on a predicted probability of a person experiencing a major depressive episode (Mitura & Bollman, 2004).†Questions which address â€Å"feelings of sadness, depression, losing interest in most things, feeling tired/low energy, trouble concentrating and trouble falling asleep over the previous 12 months† would be effective for gathering data specific to this study (Mitura & Bollman, 2004). Youth will be defined as participants between the ages of 12 and 17. Experience in the justice system is expanded to include personal encounters in both the capacity of a victim and offender. Group homes are â€Å"community - based homes for young people who are in need of group care (McMann Youth, Family and Community Services Association, 2009)†. Group homes in this study are characterized by the structured, planned and supervised nature of the programs within the home and based upon the assessed needs of the individual ( Ibid) Disciplines The disciplines related to the research being conducted include the fields of psychology and medicine. Psychology covers the aspects of the mind and behaviour of those suffering from depression. The medical field in also di... ...f replicated, similar results would surface (Berg, 2009). This research project will uncover opinions and experiences through interviews and potentially focus groups. Conclusion Females living in a group home setting lack research into depression related to the criminal justice system. Although the subject matter may evoke a great deal of personal hardships, the results would lead to a better understanding of the negative effects of our justice system on girls that do not have continuous parental support. The group home setting provides challenges with obtaining subjects, although with access to this vulnerable population, depression rates could be decreased. The experiences and emotions that come out of this study will provide a glimpse into to complex life of depressed Calgary girls living in group care and hopefully bring positive change to their lives.