Abstract

MORLA BOLONA, Ricardo; SAAD DE JANON, Emma  and  SAAD, Julia. Depression in Adolescents and Family Disintegration in the City of Guayaquil, Ecuador. rev.colomb.psiquiatr. [online]. 2006, vol.35, n.2, pp.149-165. ISSN 0034-7450.

Introduction: Family is the fundamental unit of society, and if destroyed, we run the risk of seeing a country also destroyed as well as a very dear cultural and social legacy. Objectives and Methods: 1045 clinical histories of adolescents seen at the Lorenzo Ponce Psychiatric Hospital of the city of Guayaquil were reviewed for this study. Results: The most frequent pathologies were found in adolescents from unstructured families and corresponded to different depressive disorders (22.9%). The relation of these disorders according to gender was 3:1 for adolescent females; in addition, variables such as sex and schooling were statistically significant. Conclusions: As mental health workers of Ecuador, we must face the problems that arise specially in children and youngsters, from family disintegration which is becoming more and more frequent in our country. That challenge must be addressed here and now.

Keywords : Depression; adolescence; family.

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