By the early 1970s, however, criteria for the recognition of depression in children and adolescents had been established. These criteria were based upon those used to diagnose depression and mania in adults as formulated in the Research Diagnostic Criteria (RDC) for adult psychiatric disorders by the Department of Psychiatry of the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri. The Weinberg Criteria for depression in children and adolescents was published in 1973.
Misconceptions about Children and Depression.
One of the most common responses to hearing that a child has depression is, "But what does he/she have to be depressed about?" This statement reveals two major misconceptions. One is the lack of understanding about clinical depression. It is not the same as the "blues" or "down" moods that everyone has from time to time, which may actually be caused by unhappiness with one's job, home life or other factors. Clinical depression may resemble these emotional dips, but it is much more pervasive, long-lasting, and life-threatening. It is not necessarily caused by an event or state of affairs in a child's life. The other misconception is that childhood is a carefree, trouble-free period in our lives. How many people can say that they didn't worry about peer acceptance, grades, or parental expectations? Adults often forget that children are powerless and have no control over their own lives. This can be a frightening and frustrating state of affairs to live through day after day. About .3% (3 out of 1000) preschoolers, 1-2% of elementary school age children, are affected by depression. (Watkins, Line 39).
Family History.
The pattern of affective illness in the young person predicts family history. If the pattern in the young person is discrete cycles of depression with or without a manic episode and with prolonged well states, the family history will only be positive for typical depression or classic manic-depressive disease.