Childhood Depression

Depression is defined as a mental illness in which a person is experiencing deep sadness and loneliness. It is known as one of the most common mental illnesses and it affects all kinds of people, regardless of sex, age and religion. Many people are not aware that depression is not only diagnosed in adults, but in children and adolescents as well. Therefore, there is a debate about whether children suffering from depression should be allowed to take antidepressants. Antidepressant drugs should be prescribed for children suffering from depression under the conditions of doctors limiting the medication, including therapy and having the parents informed/educated.

In an attempt to better understand depression in today’s youth, I have chosen to explore the depths of Major Depressive Disorder and how it affects the young people in our society. Depression amongst school age children and adolescents are the primary focus. The prevalence, adversities, and treatment of the depression are discussed as well. After exploring these few facets of the disorder, I will talk briefly about the Ecological Model developed by Urie Bronfenbrenner and Morris in 1998 that is used by counselors to help evaluate and assess the children who are referred by teachers or medical

One thing that can cause depression is a perfectionistic personality ("ReachOut.com."). With all the stress that comes along with trying to perfect every practice can possibly depress a child. Children are supposed to be having fun playing with friends on playdates and concentrating on school work not getting first place at a beauty pageant where they learn nothing beneficial to them.

According to the definition given by Butcher, Mineka, and Hooley, depression is the emotional state that is characterized by extraordinary sadness. Since 1967, Aaron Beck has provided us with a model of his theory on depression. Beck’s diathesis-stress theory suggests that depression leads back to a dysfunctional formation early on, which left the individual vulnerable to depression if encountered with stressors (Butcher, Mineka, Hooley, 2010). Butcher, Mineka, and Hooly (2010) discuss that according to Beck the parent or guardian are responsible for providing the child or adolescent’s schema. These may lie dormant until activated by a critical incident. It then triggers automatic negative thoughts that lead to depression. Reports of child abuse have suggested an increase in negative self-worth, negative self-attitudes, and negative self-associations. They tend to get caught up in a negative mood, which leads to depression (van Harmelen, deJong, Glashouwer, Spinhover, Penninx, and Elzing,

The most common mental health problem in the United States, depression is a mood disorder that causes a persistent feeling of sadness and loss of interest (Mayo Clinic, 2014). When present in young children and adolescents it is often referred to as Childhood or Pediatric Depression. While the causes of depression are still being researched there are signs and symptoms that parents and teachers can be watchful for, as well as factors that may put some children at a higher risk of developing the disorder. However, once a child is diagnosed there are different treatment plans that can help manage the symptoms of depression.

Depression is a disorder that can happen to anyone. It occurs more frequently with age and it is not seen in children as much as it is seen in teenagers and adults. When an individual is depressed, they experience sadness, hopelessness, low energy, lethargy, sleep changes, loss of interest, appetite changes, agitation, and many other symptoms. This can happen for many reasons, even by being around someone who suffers from depression. In the article Biased Processing of Emotional Information in Girls at Risk for Depression, by Jutta Joormann, Lisa Talbot, and Ian H. Gotlib, it is mentioned how daughters are at high risk of becoming depressed if their mothers are suffering from Major Depression Disorder (MDD). A study was done to see if the cognitive theory was true and there were many tests that were done in order to prove its validity.

Many people think that childhood depression may be as simple as a mood regulation disorder. Depression also involves modifications in the brain and affects the developmental assimilation processes. Modifications take place at the biological, psychological and social complexity levels

Childhood mental disorder means all mental disorders that can be diagnosed and begin in childhood. Symptoms of mental illness change as a child grows, and some of the most noticeable ones include difficulties with how a child speaks, learns, plays, and also how the child handles their emotions. Are we as a society doing everything we can to notice, acknowledge and be there for our children before it is too late to help them? Are we paying attention to the possible signs and symptoms of mental illness? Delaying appropriate mental health treatment during childhood leads to inability of developing appropriate emotional milestones as well as the ability to learn healthy social skills and how to cope with problems (CDC - Child Development, Children's Mental Health - NCBDDD,

Empirical evidence shows that that depression disorder in children is a common condition that affects emotional, physical, and social development. Risk factors include parental conflict, a family history of depression, poor peer relationship, negative thinking, and deficit in coping skills. Treatment criteria of children and adults are the same, with the exception that children may display irritability rather than depressed or sad mood, and loss of weight may be seen as a failure gain appropriate weight milestones. Diagnosis and treatment should take into account developmental stage, suicidality, severity of depression, and social and environmental factors. The recommended therapies for mild depression

Although empirical evidence has recently validated clinical depression in children as young as age 3, few data are available to guide treatment of early childhood depression (Am J. Psychiatry, 2009: 166, 974-979); also there is emerging evidence that depression is probably the most common psychiatric disorder that occurs in autistic children (Ghaziuddiel et al, 2002).

Sometimes people have troubles dealing with everyday life issues, Applied behavioral science uses Psychological knowledge to help people form coping skills to enhance and maintain quality of life. Behavioral science helps analyzes and investigate human behavior, why we think the way we do, do the things we do, say the things we say, and why we feel a certain way. The case study I chose is severe depression from the Clinical Psychology perspective and is about Joe, his family history and his circumstances. As a Psychologist you need to know how to define clinical depression, identify potential sources or causes of severe depression, know the symptoms, be familiar with Psychological theories, and know relevant trends, pros and cons of

Although many children suffer from the effects of childhood stress, just as many are able to seek help in many ways through social interaction and intrapersonal work through themselves. There are many organizations within the United States that is dedicated to offering support and other tools to help children relieve stress and to get out of the depression that it may cause. The “National Child Traumatic Stress

Long-term, severe maternal depression has been found to have especially adverse consequences for child development and behavior across many spectrums. Five year old children whose mothers experienced frequent and severe depression were more likely to have behavioral problems and lower language scores than those whose mothers had less chronic or impactful forms of depression. Among families receiving welfare or some form of governmental assistance, children of depressed mothers have lower average scores on math achievement tests than do other children.

Many parents spend many years trying to deny that their child has any problem and they try to find any cure possible, even if there isn’t one. This in itself is very hard on the child because they are treated like any anybody else when in fact they needed to be treated differently in order for them to continue to live their lives. Helplessness is another challenges that the parents have to face as well as the child because they know that their isn’t anything more that they can do. Not being able to do something to help your child is something very hard to accept and it leads to more depression being put into an already struggling environment.

Most people think that sadness and depression are terms refer to the same emotional disorder level. In fact, sadness is the behavior that occurs as a result of facing some difficulties in our daily life and it is usually continues for a couple of days. While depression is a serious mental illness that happen due to the continual feeling of sadness that persist for weeks, months and even years. Depression can affect people from all ages, in 1975, the National Institute of Mental Health announced that depression is no longer considered “an adult disease,” it can also affect people at young age. Depression among children is very common in the recent years , according to the National Comorbidity Survey examination in 2010, the depressive