Provided by David Satcher, M.D., Ph.D.
Surgeon General of the United States of America
Chapter 3: Children and Mental Health
Overview of Mental Disorders in Children
Depression and Suicide in Children and Adolescents
Causes
Consequences
Both major depressive disorder and dysthymic disorder are
inevitably associated with personal distress, and if they last a long time or
occur repeatedly, they can lead to a circumscribed life with fewer friends and
sources of support, more stress, and missed educational and job opportunities
(Klein et al., 1997). The psychological scars of depression include an enduring
pessimistic style of interpreting events, which may increase the risk of further
depressive episodes. Impairment is greater for those with dysthymic disorder
than for those with major depression (Klein et al., 1997a), presumably because
of the longer duration of depression in dysthymic disorder, which is also a
prime risk factor for suicide. In a 10- to 15-year followup study of 73
adolescents diagnosed with major depression, 7 percent of the adolescents had
committed suicide sometime later. The depressed adolescents were five times more
likely to have attempted suicide as well, compared with a control group of age
peers without depression (Weissman et al., 1999).
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