CHILDHOOD AND ADOLESCENT DEPRERISM
The DSM-IV-TR diagnoses mood disorders in children using criteria for adults,
listing age-specific traits such as irritability and aggressive behavior instead of
depressive mood. Symptoms and Prevalence of Childhood and Adolescent Depression
1. Symptoms and Prevalence of Childhood and Adolescent Depression
There are differences and similarities in the symptomatology of children
and adults suffering from major depression. Children and adolescents aged 7 to
17 years have similarities with adults in depressive moods i.e. inability to feel
pleasure, factic, concentration problems and suicidal thoughts. The different
symptoms are higher rates of suicide attempts and guilt in children and
adolescents, while in adults it is more common to wake up early in the morning,
loss of appetite, weight loss, and early morning depression
Longitudinal studies show that children and adolescents with major
depression remain showing significant depressive symptoms when measured
four to eight years later. Depression is often called – covert depression – inferred
from behaviors such as aggressive actions or delinquency that adults would not
perceive as a mirror of the depression behind it. Depression occurs in less than 1
percent of preschool children and 2 to 3 percent of school-age children. In
adolescents, the incidence of depression is as high as in adults, 7 to 13 percent,
especially in adolescent girls. This gender difference does not appear before the
age of 12; At an early age, depression occurs more in men.
As many as 70 percent of children who suffer from depression also
experience significant anxiety symptoms. Depression is also common in children
who experience behavioral disorders and attention deficit disorders. Children
who suffer from depression as well as other disorders are known to experience
more severe depression and take longer to achieve recovery.
2. Etiology of Depression in Childhood and Adolescence
Evidence suggests that genetic factors play a role. It's just that the genetic
influence is not immediately apparent. Studies on depression in children have
also focused on family and other kinship relationships as sources of stress that
can interact with a biological diathesis. For example, a child who has a depressed
mother will increase the likelihood that the child will experience depression
during childhood or after adolescence. An inharmonious marital relationship also
has a negative effect on the children in the household.
Children who were depressed and their parents interacted negatively with
each other, showing a lack of warmth and more hostility to each other than
children who were not depressed and their parents. Children and adolescents
with major depression also have low social skills and poor relationships with
their siblings and friends. Having less and less satisfying contact with peers who
often reject them because they are unpleasant to be with. This is the cause as well
as the consequence of depression. Finally, it worsens the self-image and negative
sense of meaning that has existed in these children and adolescents. The criticism
that is often conveyed by their parents can greatly damage the child's sense of
competence and self-meaning.
Beck's theory (1967) and the theory of helplessness, various cognitive
distortions and negative attribution styles are associated with depression in
children and adolescents in the same way as in adults. The perspective of
depressed children is more negative than that of non-depressed children and is
similar to the perspective of depressed adults. Research evidence indicates that
experiences in the home environment, especially parents dealing with their
children, cause cognition and thinking that can trigger depression.
3. Childhood and Adolescent Depression Management
For example, interpersonal therapy has been modified for use in
adolescents with depression, focusing on issues that are important to adolescents,
such as peer pressure, stress transitioning from childhood to adolescence,
dependency conflicts with parents/teachers and the desire to be independent.
Family or supportive therapy is associated with a faster reduction in
symptoms, such as social skills training, problem-solving and cognitive
techniques. Social skills training is expected to help children and adolescents
who are depressed by teaching them to engage in a fun and strengthening
environment, such as making friends and hanging out with peers.
Therapy should also focus on parents who are depressed other than the
child because the child is influenced by the parent's thoughts. It is also important
to teach children and adolescents various ways to deal with interpersonal stress
with more effective open behavior.
