Home> Archive> 2014> Volume 4 Number 3 (May 2014)
IJSSH 2014 Vol.4(3): 225-228 ISSN: 2010-3646
DOI: 10.7763/IJSSH.2014.V4.351

The Will to Die and the Will to Live: An Ontological Quest for Teenagers Who Suffer from Depression, a Study from Malaysia

Jin Kuan Kok

Abstract—The prevalence of youth depression in Malaysia has increased over the years. This study aims to investigate the experience of teenage depression. In-depth interviews were conducted with university students who were diagnosed with depression in their teens but were in a recovery stage. An in-depth thematic approach was used for data analysis. The paper presents two case studies and reveals some depression narratives in which the participants asked ontological questions about the meaning of their existence. The themes that emerged from the teenagers’ depression narratives are in concordance with Martin Heidegger’s ontological perspective of “What it means to be in the world”. Findings reveal the themes of “Being thrown into the world”, “care” and temporality, thus provide insights for parents and educators to better understand the society and culture in which the teens are embedded.

Index Terms—Teenage depression, youth depression, meaning of life, ontological questions.

J. K. Kok was with the Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR), Jalan Universiti Bandar Barat, 31900 Kampar, Perak, Malaysia. She is now with the Department of Psychology and Counselling, Faculty of Arts and Social Science (e-mail: kokjk@utar. edu.my).

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Cite: Jin Kuan Kok, " The Will to Die and the Will to Live: An Ontological Quest for Teenagers Who Suffer from Depression, a Study from Malaysia," International Journal of Social Science and Humanity vol. 4, no. 3, pp. 225-228, 2014.

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