Expert system for depression detection in teenagers

Abstract

Depression (major depressive disorder) is a common and serious medical illness that negatively affects how you feel, think, and act. Fortunately, it is treatable. Depression causes sadness and/or a loss of interest in activities once enjoyed. It can lead to various emotional and physical problems and decrease a person’s ability to function at work and home. Teenagers often experience this disorder because their emotions are still unstable. They also don’t have many chances to consult with a psychologist and doctor. Through this research, an expert system was created that implements knowledge from experts related to depression so that teenagers can do a self-test when needed. The expert system was developed using the Certainty Factor method for the knowledge inference engine. The system was tested iteratively and could achieve similar results with a domain expert. We hope that the system can detect early symptoms of depression among teenagers and minimize the negative impact it may cause.