Depressive Disorders and Suicide in Children and Adolescents

Depressive disorders can occur in children of all ages. Depressive disorders in children and adolescents often indicating characteristic symptom irritable feelings, withdrawal from family and peers, and a decrease in academic achievement, these symptoms causing bad social isolation. Essence symptom of major depressive disorders has a striking similarity in children, adolescents, and adults, although there are several other clinical factors that differentiate.

Although suicidal thoughts and behaviors may occur in depressive disorders, mostly young men who never thought of, tried, or really commit suicide, not in a situation of major depression. Most children and adolescents with depressive disorders showed no suicidal behavior. Thus, it is not clear that the optimal treatment for depressive disorders reduce suicide risk among youth in general.

During the three decades, mood disorders among children and adolescents admitted showing an upward trend, become a threat and anxiety many parents. But the evidence suggests that combined modality medication, including medication and cognitive-behavioral therapy, have effective results. Two criteria for mood disorders in childhood and adolescence are the mood disorders, like depression or manic symptoms, and irritability.

Although the diagnostic criteria for mood disorders in the revised text of the 4th edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV-TR) are almost identical in all age groups, the expression of mood disorders in children varies according to their age. Depressed children often exhibit symptoms of depressive disorders are more likely to arise as they grow older, including auditory hallucinations, mood congruent, psychosomatic, withdrawn and sad appearance, and low self esteem. Symptoms are more common in adolescents with depressive disorders is anhedonia, psychomotor retardation, severe, and despair, delusion. Symptoms of depressive disorders may occur with the same frequency, regardless of age and developmental status, including suicidal ideation, depressed mood or irritability, insomnia, and diminished ability to concentrate.

However, the issue of children's development may influence the response of all symptoms. For example, children are happy who have recurrent thoughts of suicide are rarely able to realize the plan of the suicide. Mood of the children are very vulnerable to disruption due to the influence of severe social stressors, such as disputes in family, self-esteem that chronic abuse, abandonment, and academic failure. Most children with major depressive disorders have a history of abuse or neglect. Children with depressive disorders among poor environments may experience a remission phase of several or many symptoms of depressive disorders when the stress began to decrease, or when children are removed from the environment that trigger stress. Grief often becomes the focus of psychiatric care when the children have lost a loved one, even when depressive disorders is not present.

Depressive disorders are usually episodic, although onset may be dangerous and remain unidentified until the disruption in peer relationships, decreased academic performance, or withdrawal from sports activities. Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), oppositional defiant disorder and conduct disorder in children can trigger depressive disorders in later days. In some cases, conduct disorder or disturbance occurs within the context of a major depressive disorders episode and finish with a resolution of depressive disorders episodes. Doctors should explain the chronology of symptoms to determine whether a particular behavior (eg, poor concentration tantrums, defiance, or angry) was present before the episode of depression and not related to or whether this behavior occurs for the first time and are related to episodes of depressive disorders.