Depression in Children

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=90 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000" background="127015b3.jpg"> <div> <B>Depression in Children</B><B>  |  </B><FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://help4self.net" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://help4self.net"><B>Home</B></A></FONT></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=130 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <A HREF="id39.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="ADHD Has Its Good Points">ADHD Has Its Good Points</A></div> <div> <A HREF="adderall_advisory_by_fda.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Adderall Advisory by FDA">Adderall Advisory by FDA</A></div> <div> <A HREF="id103.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Adolescent Depression FDA Warning">Adolescent Depression & FDA Warning</A></div> <div> <A HREF="id44.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Anxious Children">Anxious Children</A></div> <div> <B><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700c800000000.png" HEIGHT="13" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Depression in Children</B></div> <div> <A HREF="id46.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Fearful Child">Fearful Child</A></div> <div> <A HREF="id47.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Good Behavior is Catching">Good Behavior is Catching</A></div> <div> <A HREF="id48.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Learning from Mistakes">Learning from Mistakes</A></div> <div> <A HREF="id50.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Rewards Can Backfire">Rewards Can Backfire</A></div> <div> <A HREF="id51.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="SelfEsteem that Counts">Self-Esteem that Counts</A></div> <div> <A HREF="id52.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Children Need Sleep">Children Need Sleep</A></div> <div> <A HREF="id53.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Unpleasant Tasks">Unpleasant Tasks</A></div> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" height=390 width="100%" BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B>DEPRESSION IN CHILDREN</B></div> <div> by </div> <div> David C. Mathis, Ed.D.</div> <bR> <div> Clinical (major) depression has come to be recognized as a problem encountered by many people at some point in their lives.  Random surveys taken from community samples have found that at any given time from 5% to 9% of women and 2% to 3% of men will have the symptoms associated with clinical depression.  In a random sample of child populations from ages 7 through 12 years old it was found that 2% of the children had the symptoms of clinical depression.  In samples taken from children who were receiving some type of treatment or counseling, the typical estimates fall between 10% to 20% of the children will have symptoms of depression.  There is, therefore, evidence that children can suffer from depression just as adults can.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Symptoms of Depression</B></div> <bR> <div> The symptoms of depression in children may differ from that of adults.  In contrast to adult depression, children may be less likely to show the "obvious" signs of a severely depressed mood or energy depletion.  They do not have the verbal abilities of an adult and thus may not express the feelings of discouragement or depression that adults will.  Thus, children may sometimes act-out their depression through disruptive behaviors rather than express it.   This can make a diagnosis of depression in children especially difficult because all children act-out at times.  What is different in cases of developing depression is the frequency and severity of the acting-out and whether it is a dramatic and persistent change from previous behavior. </div> <bR> <div> In considering whether a child may be suffering from depression there are four major areas of complaints to examine:</div> <bR> <div> 1.  <I>Affective</I>:  Do they seem to cry easily or in excess?  Do they talk of feeling lonely?  Has their mood change so that they frequently appear sad? </div> <div> 2.  <I>Cognitive</I>:  Are they often making derogatory comments about themselves or their performance?  Do they often express feelings of guilt?  Are simple decisions becoming difficult?  Are they afraid to make mistakes?  Do they make statements reflecting a low self- esteem (self-esteem is usually unduly low during depression)?</div> <div> 3.  <I>Motivational</I>:  Do they appear apathetic about events that they use to be interested in?  Have they lost interest in activities or friends?</div> <div> 4. <I>Behavioral</I>:  Do they appear or complain of feeling tired often or tiring easily?  Are there changes in their pattern of sleep such as needing more sleep than normal or are they having restless sleep?  Has there been changes in appetite?</div> <bR> <div> The presence of these type of complaints or behaviors would suggest that professional help is needed to access the nature of the complaints and whether the child had developed clinical depression.  A diagnosis is made through administration of self-report inventories and behavioral rating scales that can be scored according to age-appropriate norms and through interviews with the parents and child.  An important characteristic is a change in a child's previous level of functioning that has persisted at least two weeks. </div> </td> </tr></table></body>