Child depression

Child depression is a mental illness in which a child feels worthless and is generally sad for a long time each day.

About five percent of children and adolescents suffer from depression at any given time.^[1] Child depression can occur in both young children and teens. The signs are generally the same as adult depression. If a child has feelings of worthlessness, guilt, gets sick without reason, thinks of death, or becomes distant, he or she might be depressed. It can be caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain, disturbing environmental changes, sustained high levels of anxiety, unresolved emotional trauma, and more.^[2] Children under stress, who experience loss, or who have attentional, learning, conduct or anxiety disorders are at a higher risk for depression. Depression also tends to run in families.^[3]

Episodes of child depression can last from six to nine months on average, but in some children, the episodes can last for years.^[4] Childhood depression often goes unnoticed until symptoms are severe.^[5]

Causes and symptoms

Child depression can be caused by many things, and the symptoms are sometimes hard to recognize. The symptoms and signs of child depression can include becoming uninterested about a topic the child used to enjoy, school grades dropping, bad sleep or sleeping for too long, getting bullied at school, loneliness or social isolation, frequent complaints of maladies such as headaches or stomachaches, and difficulty with relationships.

Treatment

Children who have been diagnosed with depression can be treated similarly to adults. However, the family plays a greater role in the child's treatment than it would in an adult's. Psychotherapy and medication are two commonly used treatment options. The use of antidepressant medication in children is often seen as a last resort; however studies have shown that a combination of psychotherapy and medication is the most effective treatment.^[6] Pediatric massage therapy may have an immediate impact on a child's emotional state at the time of the massage, but sustained effects on depression have not been identified.^[7]

References

1. ^ http://aacap.org/page.ww?name=The+Depressed+Child&section=Facts+for+Families
2. ^ http://www.webmd.com/depression/tc/depression-in-childhood-and-adolescence-topic-overview
3. ^ American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. The Depressed Child, “Facts for Families,” No. 4 (5/08)
4. ^ http://www.nami.org/Template.cfm?Section=by_illness&template=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=17623
5. ^ http://www.webmd.com/depression/tc/depression-in-childhood-and-adolescence-topic-overview
6. ^ Chakraburtty, Amal. "Depression in Children". WebMD. WebMD, LLC.. http://www.webmd.com/depression/guide/depression-children. Retrieved 15 September 2011. 
7. ^ Jorm AF, Allen NB, O'Donnell CP, Parslow RA, Purcell R, Morgan AJ (October 2006). "Effectiveness of complementary and self-help treatments for depression in children and adolescents". Med. J. Aust. 185 (7): 368–72. PMID 17014404. 

Psychiatry portal

This developmental psychology-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.v · abnormal psychology-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.v · Categories: Mental health Pediatrics Child and adolescent psychiatry Mood disorders Stub-Class psychiatry articles Developmental psychology stubs Abnormal psychology stubs Wikimedia Foundation. 2010. Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую Child contact centre Child destruction Look at other dictionaries: Child sexuality — is the sexual feelings, behaviors, and development of children. Contents 1 Freud 2 Child sexualization 3 Research 3.1 Early research …   Wikipedia Child care in the United Kingdom — is supported by a combination of rights at work, public sector provision and private companies. Child care is usually undertaken by the parents, and more often the mother who takes leave from employment. Early childhood education in a creche or… …   Wikipedia Child-on-child sexual abuse — refers to a form of child sexual abuse in which a prepubescent child is sexually abused by one or more other children or adolescent youths, and in which no adult is directly involved. The term describes sexual activity between children that… …   Wikipedia Child labor laws in the United States — include numerous statutes and rules regulating the employment of minors. According to the United States Department of Labor, child labor laws affect those under the age of 18 in a variety of occupations.[1][further explanation needed] Contents …   Wikipedia Child abuse — Family law Entering into marriag …   Wikipedia Child sexual abuse — is a form of child abuse in which an adult or older adolescent uses a child for sexual stimulation.[1][2] Forms of child sexual abuse include asking or pressuring a child to engage in sexual activities (regardless of the outcome), indecent… …   Wikipedia Child and adolescent psychiatry — The branch of psychiatry that specializes in the study, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of psychopathological disorders of children, adolescents, and their families, child and adolescent psychiatry encompasses the clinical investigation of… …   Wikipedia Child of Our Time — Not to be confused with A Child of Our Time. Child of Our Time Format Documentary Created by Tessa Livingstone Starring Professor Robert Winston, The children and their parents …   Wikipedia Depression — Depressiv (lateinisch deprimere ‚niederdrücken‘) bezeichnet umgangssprachlich einen Zustand psychischer Niedergeschlagenheit. In der Psychiatrie wird die Depression den affektiven Störungen zugeordnet. Im gegenwärtig verwendeten… …   Deutsch Wikipedia Depression (economics) — The stock market crash of 1929 marked the start of the greatest depression in modern history with some effects felt through 1945. In economics, a depression is a sustained, long term downturn in economic activity in one or more economies. It is a …   Wikipedia 18+ © Academic, 2000-2024 Contact us: Technical Support, Advertising Dictionaries export, created on PHP, Joomla, Drupal, WordPress, MODx. Mark and share Search through all dictionaries Translate… Search Internet Share the article and excerpts Direct link … Do a right-click on the link above and select “Copy Link”