Depressed Children May Have Feelings of Adults

Depressed children and adolescents frequently display the same symptoms as adults such as feelings of hopelessness, for example, and thoughts of or attempts at suicide.

The difference, especially with very young children, is they may not be able to articulate their problem as well as adults.

A study of 95 depressed children and 92 depressed adolescents, conducted by the New York State Psychiatric Institute, found the following as the most commonly exhibited symptoms of depression (from 51% to 97% of the subjects displayed these qualities):

--Depressive mood.

--Inability to feel pleasure and lack of interest.

--Decreased concentration.

--Irritability and anger.

--Fatigue.

--Negative self-esteem.

--Insomnia.

--Social withdrawal.

--Suicidal ideas.

--Excessive and inappropriate guilt.

--Anorexia.

The research, published in the Archives of General Psychiatry in October, 1987, also found some differences in symptoms depending on age group.

The children in the study, whose average age was 10, were more likely to exhibit these symptoms:

--Depressed appearance.

--Complaints about sleeping.

--Agitation.

--Separation anxiety.

--Phobias.

--Hallucinations.

The adolescents in the study, with an average age of 15, were more likely to exhibit these symptoms:

--Inability to feel pleasure.

--Feeling of hopelessness.

--Sleeping too much.

--Weight change.

--Use of alcohol and illegal drugs.