Non-Specificity of Motor Hyperactivity as a Diagnostic Criterion

The relationship between motor hyperactivity and childhood depression was investigated in a group of 178 children referred for evaluation of school problems. 60% (n = 107) of the children fulfilled the modified Feighner criteria for primary childhood depression. 44% (n = 78) of the children had motor hyperactivity and 75% (n = 59) of these also showed depression. Terminal insomnia, somatic complaints, self-deprecation, episodic loss of interest in school and usual activities, social withdrawal, and preoccupation with death and dying were the symptoms which significantly differentiated depressed from non-depressed children.