Rest assured that simply talking to or help a friend who suffers from depression would not affect your own mental health such as depression does not spread from friend to friend, new research suggests.
Although depression "spread", having enough friends with a healthy atmosphere can halve the likelihood of developing or double the likelihood of recovering from depression over a period of six to 12 months, the results showed.
"Our results suggest that the promotion of friendship between teenagers can reduce depression have been depressed friends does not put them in danger, but have friends in good health is both preventative and curative," said the author Edward Hill main study from the University of Warwick in England.
The findings are the result of a study of how more than 2,000 teens in a group of American high schools influenced the mood of each.
The researchers used a mathematical model to determine if depression spreads from friend to friend.
Teens who have five or more mentally healthy friends have half the likelihood of becoming depressed compared to healthy adolescents without friends, the researchers determined using their mathematical model.
And adolescents who have 10 healthy friends have twice the probability of recovery of depressive symptoms compared to teens with only three healthy friends.
"Depression is a major public health problem in the world. But the good news is that we found that a healthy mood with friends is associated with a significantly reduced risk of developing and increased chance of recovering from depression, "Frances Griffiths, professor at Warwick Medical School, University of Warwick in England, noted.
"Our results offer implications for improving mood among adolescents. In particular, they suggest the hypothesis that encouraging networks of friendship between teenagers could reduce the incidence and prevalence of depression in adolescents," said Griffiths.
The study was published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B.
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