It is estimated that by the age of 18, approximately 14% of adolescents in the US will have experienced a major depressive disorder. An additional 11% will have suffered from minor depression. Adolescent depression is a serious disorder, often negatively impacting academic performance, social development, and overall health. Depression in adolescents has also been linked to an increased risk of adult depression, substance abuse, early parenthood, and suicide. If the disorder is not resolved in its early stages, it can worsen as an adolescent continues to grow and develop.
Depression has been an increasingly common problem for college students, with over 60% of students feeling lonely, 87% feeling overwhelmed and 33% feeling so depressed they find it difficult to function. One of the primary causes of depression in college students has been attributed to stress, caused in part by lack of social involvement.
Team Smile hopes to address depression in college students by targeting stress directly. Doing so requires a multifaceted approach that targets multiple causes of stress simultaneously. They plan to create a solution along the lines of an application that can help students become more socially connected to the college community, through organizations, events, and other student programming. They hope to make it easier for students to make the transition to college and thereby eliminate the stress that often accompanies it.
