1. Ross, Catherine E. “Neighborhood disadvantage and adult depression.”Journal of health and social behavior (2000): 177-187.

Ross uses multilevel data to explain how poor neighbourhoods, especially with single-mothers, have more cases of depression than more disadvantaged neighbourhoods. She tells that this is further triggered by social disorder in those localities. Illinois is used as the study area.Two thousand four hundred eighty-two adults cope with daily stress that is usually caused by issues like unemployment, racism, ethnicity, sex, age and low income. The authors also mention that crime is a common characteristic of such areas. They also studied a sample of African American men and women and found symptoms of depression in a considerable percentage of them. These depression symptoms were brought about by drug abuse, alcoholism, unemployment, deaths of relatives and even racism. This helped to establish a very close relationship between the environment one lives in and the depression found in many adults.

2. McLeod, Jane D. “Childhood parental loss and adult depression.”Journal of Health and Social behavior (2000):

McLeod and Jane use past research to establish the connection between childhood maternal deaths and divorces and the depression symptoms that are found in adult ages, especially to married adults. A sample of 1755 married women and men is used to establish this connection. They first paid very keen attention to establishing which and how many of the test subjects had a history of parent loss and divorces. The percentage found to have lost parents through death or divorce were also found to either be having very unhealthy relationships in their marriages, or even some had divorced. Those who had lost parents through divorce were more affected by these symptoms of depression. In most of the studied cases, parental loss eventually led to divorces and social-economic problems. It also influenced the marital quality of married people. They also found out that these associations were fund to be stronger in women than they were in men.

3. Brown, Jocelyn, et al. “Childhood abuse and neglect: specificity of effects on adolescent and young adult depression and suicidality.” Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry 12

The authors explain how child neglect, physical abuse and sexual abuse influence and cause adult depression and suicidal behavior. They critically examine the magnitude and extent to which the above issues cause adult depression. They studied 776 randomly selected children in four years (1975, 1983, 1986 and 1992), for a 17-year period, and determined existence of abuse. They established that children and young adults with abuse history were more likely to get depression in later ages than those without any such histories. Those who have experienced sexual abuse are the most vulnerable and especially at adolescence.

4. (Bradley, Rebekah G., et al. “Influence of child abuse on adult depression: moderation by the corticotrophin-releasing hormone receptor gene.” Archives of general psychiatry 2 (2008): 190-2.

The authors of these book take a more scientific approach to the topic of adult depression. They try to establish genetics and developments in life, such as child abuse and parental loss, both lead to depression in adult ages. They establish that adult depression symptoms are triggered by accassions in early life like child abuse, and are moderated by genetic polymorphisms within the corticotrophin releasing hormone receptor gene.

5. Pine, Daniel S., et al. “Adolescent depressive symptoms as predictors of adult depression: moodiness or mood disorder?.”American Journal of Psychiatry 1 (1999): 133-135.00.1999): 1490-1496.Behavior (1991): 205-220.

The authors examined the association between subclinical symptoms of depression at adolescence and the depressive symptoms found in adults. They carried out their study on 776 young people at adolescence up to their adult ages, in the years 1975, 1983, 1986 and 1992. A large percentage of these had occurrences of childhood and adolescence mistreatment while the other few had not. A large percentage of those with a history of abuse were found to be having depression symptoms such as, overdrinking, drug abuse, and in some cases, often suicidal behavior. The ones with no history of abuse were found to be living a normal adult life. Following the results of their study, they established a very close relationship between depression in adolescents, caused by issues like sex, peer influence, drugs etc., and the depression episodes that are experienced at adult ages.