Week 4: Researching the Causes
March 23, 2024
Hey, everyone! Welcome back to my Senior Project blog!
Since my project is focused on determining whether people use tobacco products to deal with mental health problems, I think it’s important to recognize what can actually cause these difficulties in the first place. That’s why this week I focused on identifying factors of stress, depression, and anxiety in each of the following age groups: 12-18, 19-24, 25-39, 40-60, and 60+. However, I also faced some challenges regarding my in-person survey.
Factors of stress, depression, and anxiety:
Knowing the factors of stress, depression, and anxiety can help me in making my informational posters because it will allow me to determine how to best target each group. I can discourage tobacco product usage while providing information on other ways for people to decrease stress, depression, and anxiety.
Among people aged 12-18, factors of stress include problems at home, such as family fights and divorce, and school pressure, such as with grades or social interactions. The main causes of depression are “biological factors, temperament, cognitive vulnerability, family factors, sociodemographic factors, academic factors, changing social milieu, school factors, and peer group influence” (Malhotra and Sahoo). Additionally, some factors of anxiety among this age group are high expectations, fear of disapproval from their parents, and the fear of not being accepted by peers. This age group is considered to have one of the highest rates for mental health problems, and that rate only continues to increase.
Those aged 19-24 have reported that the increase in suicide rates, the increase in news about sexual harassment, changes in abortion laws, and the political future of the nation have caused them large amounts of stress. Additionally, some people in this age group are in school, meaning they also face stress from school, and many of them worry about their finances and finding a job and house. This age group is considered to experience the most stress. Additionally, they experience the most major depressive episodes. Some factors contributing to depression include an increase in stress, genetics, pregnancy, alcohol and drug use, and loneliness. This group also faces the most anxiety, with the most common causes being genetics and traumatic experiences.
People ages 25-39 experience less stress than those younger than them, but some factors of stress include taking on new roles as they move up in their career and start to establish families by getting married and having children. Causes of depression in this group are quite similar to those aged 19-24, such as pregnancy, alcohol and drug use, loneliness, and relationships. Additionally, some factors of anxiety include uncertainty about the future, such as a fear that they will not have enough money to make payments such as rent.
Those who are 40-60 years old begin to learn how to manage the different roles in their lives, such as work and family, but fear of the development of health problems can cause stress among this age group. One large factor in depression among this age group can be a mid-life crisis. Around this age, many people experience a transition in their values and priorities. For example, some people may wish to go back to school after having children. Sometimes, this transition can lead to a mid-life crisis, and people may experience changes in sleep habits and a loss of interest in hobbies, which can lead to depression. Factors of anxiety also include the mid-life crisis, as well as the death of a parent, children leaving the home, and health scares.
In younger people, mental health is rapidly declining, and there are many factors that these people cannot control, which cause stress, depression, and anxiety. As people age, they start to learn how to handle their environmental factors, manage their relationships and work, and do better in the workplace, which can decrease stress, depression, and anxiety.
In-Person Survey Challenges:
My in-person survey requires that I go to public areas and administer my survey. However, in order to do this, I need permission from those whose property I am using. Over the past few weeks, I have been contacting organizations to ask them if I can use their property; however, a lot of the stores have asked me to reach out to their corporate offices, and the community centers have asked me to get approval through the city. I will attempt to go through these processes, and hopefully I will be allowed to do my in-person survey. If not, I am hopeful that my online survey has enough respondents.
By the end of this week, I will have completed my research on factors of stress, anxiety, and depression in those aged 60+. I’ll be sure to report my findings in my next blog post, so stay tuned to read that! Additionally, next week I will research the mental health impacts of tobacco product usage. I’m excited to see what I learn and how I can use it in my informational campaigns. Thanks for reading!
Sources:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6198600/
https://www.apa.org/topics/children/stress
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3018839/
https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/stress/2020/report-october
https://www.cardiacscreen.co.uk/blog/why-do-young-adults-get-more-stressed/
https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/conditions/depression-in-adults/causes/
https://www.newportinstitute.com/programs/anxiety/
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/01650254221150887?icid=int.sj-full-text.similar-articles.5
https://www.webmd.com/depression/features/midlife-crisis-opportunity
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