Gabrielle Hesse Source 3

What are the biggest factors in determining who develops depression and who does not?

Assareh, Amelia A., Christopher F. Sharpley, James R. Mcfarlane, and Perminder S. Sachdev. "Biological Determinants of Depression following Bereavement." Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews 49 (2015): 171-81. Web. 3 Mar. 2016.

The purpose of this paper was to examine depression from a biological standpoint, a feat that the 

authors argued is often overlooked in favor of a psychological perspective, and what exactly

happens in the brain to cause some to develop depression while others do not. The paper focused

on the relationship of genetics and heredity, neurotransmitters, and even animal studies involving 

plasma levels in response to peer loss. Since many of these factors shared a direct relationship 

with reports of depression and psychological distress, the authors argue that both biological and

psychological analyses are critical in determining if one truly does suffer from depression.

I particularly enjoyed this source uniquely above my others because examining the biological 

aspect of depression reaffirms that it, and other mental illnesses, are never a choice. This spurs

further exploration that can be made in regards to, and hopefully the alleviation of, the stigma 

behind mental illness, and I felt that this source did an excellent job in answering my question

of why some develop depression under circumstances that when shared, others do not - it is a 

combination of genetics, predisposition, and a stressful environment, and being able to recognize

that it is not circumstances alone shifts my thinking into the kinds of testing that can be done to 

determine who should and should not be encouraged to use antidepressants on college campuses. 

This also spurs my thinking back to depression when viewed uniquely on college campuses - I 

want to continue to explore what could potentially make depression in higher education so 

different from depression elsewhere in that it would account for the dramatic increase in depressed

students. Exploring depression as a comparative study in this sense will help me gain a better 

understanding of depression as a higher education issue.

This source could easily be put into smooth conversation with my second source because both can

attest to the fact that depression is not solely "a choice one makes" and that not everybody can 

justify for using antidepressants. In the second source, when healthy students and families want to

use antidepressants as a so-called "brain steroid," evidence from source 3 can argue that not every 

student is predisposed to need them, and therefore, should not use them. In regards to source 1, 

source 3 also raises interesting questions about the insurmountably stressful environment that 

college students are forced into, financially, academically, and emotionally. In conjunction, source 

1 and 3 could account for the idea that because of the inherently stressful environment on a college

campus, students who are predisposed to depression may develop symptoms that perhaps 

otherwise would not have, had they been involved in a different, less stressful environment.

At this point in my research, I feel I need to continue asking questions that correspond to the

relationship between higher education and depression as a whole, such as what it is about the 

environment that so seemingly enables depression. I also want to explore specific kinds of 

antidepressants - why some may be more helpful than others, different purposes they serve 

under different circumstances, etc. I feel these questions will help me gain a better understanding 

of not only depression's continued role in higher education but also the motives behind why

some depressed individuals choose to abstain from medication while others depend on it.