Depresyonla Başetme Becerisini Geliştirme Programının Son Çocukluk Dönemi Depresyonuyla Başetmeye Etkisi

Abstract

This study has two purposes. First, it aims to find out the general depression levels of the children who are in their late childhood (7-11) stage. In connection with this purpose, it also aims to understand if the symptoms of depression vary depending on the gender, locality, living together with the family, the number of siblings, perceived economical status, and class level. The second aim of this study is to examine the impact of the program for enhancing the ability to cope with depression, which has been developed based on cognitive behavioral therapies, on managing late childhood (7-11) depression. In the study, in which two methods were utilized, firstly the survey method was used. For this purpose, Beck Depression Scale (C.D.S.) was applied on 1318 students from 5th , 6th, and 7th grades. After examining the results it was discovered that 4.6 % of the individuals in their late childhood were depressed seriously. While those living in the rural areas, those having lower economic status, those in the upper grades, and girls have been found exhibiting more depressive symptoms, no variance has been found in terms of the number of sibling factor, and in terms of living together with or separate from the family. Secondly, the experimental method was put into use. At this step, 24 students, twelve of which are for experiment and twelve of which are for control group, were selected from the students who received the highest scores from depression scale. Beck's Childhood Depression Scale was applied Beck's Childhood Depression Scale (C.D.S.) at the beginning of the therapy. The experiment group was exposed to a therapy of sessions, each of which took about 1.5 hours. At the end of the sessions, the depression scale was applied again and while t-test was employed to figure out if there is a difference between the first test and the last test, an F-test was employed to compare the groups. As a result of the statistical analysis, it was detected that the depression level of the students in the experiment group decreased significantly.A follow-up test was applied to the participants two months after the therapy in order to determine the permanence of the therapy. As a result of the t-test, it was ascertained that no difference existed between the scores of the last test and the scores of the permanence test, and that the depression level of the participants remained low. In this respect, it exhibited that the therapy has lasting effects. Key Words: Childhood Depression, Treatment Depression of Childhood.