Teen depression: scientists have found when it's easiest to treat

This is the conclusion reached by scientists from the University of Edinburgh: according to their data, depression in adolescence is easier to treat than in adults. This is because the symptoms in adolescents are still "mobile" and not yet fixed in the psyche.

Read more: Poppy Z. Grimes et al, Network temperature as a metric of stability in depression symptoms across adolescence, Nature Mental Health (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s44220-025-00415-5

The study is published in Nature Mental Health. Researchers analysed data from more than 35,000 adolescents and found that in young people, symptoms of depression (e.g. fatigue, apathy, sadness) are unstable - and that's a good thing. Unlike adults, in whom such conditions are often fixed and develop into a chronic form, in teenagers they are still changing.

What explains this?

Researchers have compared the psyche of teenagers to molecules of matter: the higher the "temperature", the more active the movement of the particles. Similarly, the symptoms in teenagers: they are "mobile", change, and therefore - easier to treat.

With age, experts say, this "temperature" effect decreases - the symptoms are consolidated, and depression becomes more stable.

Why is the teenage period so important?

• Firstly, there is a hormonal restructuring.

• Secondly, the brain is still developing.

• Thirdly, teenagers react acutely to the social environment: school, family, friends, outside pressures.

Surprisingly, boys stabilise their symptoms more quickly than girls. In girls, on the other hand, emotions and conditions "jump" longer - giving a little more time for support and correction.

The conclusion is simple: early intervention and a personalised approach to adolescent mental health may play a key role in preventing depression from spilling over into adulthood.

The study may also explain why some adults' depression appears resistant to treatment - their symptoms have become "hard-wired" and almost impossible to change.

The authors emphasise: more research is needed, but it is already clear - adolescence is a window of opportunity for accurate and timely help.

Study author Poppy Grimes, a PhD student at the University of Edinburgh, said:

"This is the first time we have used such a model of analysis to look at how symptoms interact and develop over time. This is a new way of looking at the adolescent psyche and potentially at anxiety, PTSD and other conditions."