Depression in Children and Adolescents: Identification, Assessment, and Treatment

Depression in children and adolescents is a mood (affective) disorder whose magnitude and clinical importance has only recently permeated the concern of educators.Once considered exclusively the domain of psychiatrists, depression can and should be considered by school personnel in identificatiol), assessment, and treatment (Reynolds, 1984).Unfortunately, professionals in special education have been slow to recognize that depression affects a wide range of school-related functioning (Maag & Rutherford, 1987, 1988).A survey by 47 nationally recognized experts in education of the behaviorally disordered, for instance, did not even mention depression as an important research issue in the field (Epstein & Cullinan, 1984).Youngsters with behavioral disorders are not the only handicapped group at risk for developing depression.Depression has been identified in children and adolescents with mild mental retardation, learning disabilities, and speech and language disorders (e.g., Cantwell & Baker, 1982; Reynolds & Miller, 1985; Stevenson & Romney, 1984).Depression may be overlooked as a potentially important area of concern in special education, in part, because of its colloquial presence and associated ambiguity (Kendall, Hollon, Beck, Hammen, & Ingram, 1987).At one end of the spectrum, depression is a commonly used term to denote "feeling a little bummed out."At the other end of the spectrum, depression refers to a clinical syndrome or disorder.Kazdin (1990) provides the following distinction:As a symptom, depression refers to sad affect and as such is a common experience of everyday life.As a syndrome or disorder, depression refers to a group of symptoms that go together.Sadness may be part of a larger set of problems that include the loss of interest in activities, feelings of worthlessness, sleep disturbances, changes in appetite and others.(p.