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
Prevalence
Major Depression
Population studies show that at any one time between 10 and 15 percent of the
child and adolescent population has some symptoms of depression (Smucker et al.,
1986). The prevalence of the full-fledged diagnosis of major depression among
all children ages 9 to 17 has been estimated at 5 percent (Shaffer et al.,
1996c). Estimates of 1-year prevalence in children range from 0.4 and 2.5
percent and in adolescents, considerably higher (in some studies, as high as 8.3
percent) (Anderson & McGee, 1994; Lewinsohn et al., 1994a; Garrison et al.,
1997; Kessler & Walters, 1998). For purposes of comparison, 1-year prevalence in
adults is about 5.3 percent (Murphy et al., 1988; Rorsman et al., 1990; Regier
et al., 1993).
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