 |
 |
January
2005
Preschoolers Can be Diagnosed with
Depression
|
 |
|
bookstore
New diagnostic tools now allow researchers to identify clinical
depression in children as young as three years of age. Child
mental health care professionals previously believed that young
children were too developmentally immature to experience many of
the core emotions of depression, such as guilt and shame,
without having experienced severe trauma or neglect. However,
new empirical data demonstrate children’s capacities for these
emotional states. New diagnostic techniques have revealed that
young children are, in fact, subject to major depressive
disorder (MDD).
One clear, highly specific symptom of depression among young
children is the inability to enjoy activities and play, or
anhedonia. Anhedonia was found in almost 60% of preschoolers
with depression. Young children with a depressive syndrome were
also sad or irritable, and more likely to exhibit changes in
sleep and activity levels.
An age-appropriate mental health evaluation is critical to the
detection of depression, or any psychiatric disorder, in this
very young age group. One essential element of an appropriate
evaluation is the use of play as the medium of observation.
Researchers also stressed the importance of multiple diagnostic
visits, conducted within the family context. Children should be
observed with different caregivers whenever possible, as at that
young stage of life they are inextricably linked to the
care-giving system. Also, symptoms of depression may manifest in
some contexts and not others.
The observations of parents and caregivers are crucial to the
assessment of depression in preschoolers. Caregivers have the
opportunity to observe the child over time, potentially
detecting alterations in mood or play that may be missed during
a clinical assessment. The Preschool Feelings Checklist is a
brief report that can be used as a screening measure in
community or family settings as well as clinical ones. Although
further study in this area is still required, clinicians and
parents should be cognizant of the possibility of depressive
syndrome in children as young as three years old.
This article is a summary of an article that appeared in the
Psychiatric Times; 12/1/2004
Visit our bookshop for tools that to help the children you work
with.
|
|
|
|