What Defines Childhood Depression?
The term depression describes emotional distress across a broad continuum, from simple sadness to medical illness. Depression can be a symptom of an illness or a syndrome itself. The use of the term depression varies among professionals, depending on their training and professional orientation. In the context of prescribing medications for childhood depression, the term depression refers to mental illness. Mental illnesses are described as specific disorders in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (APA, 1994). They represent emotional and behavioral syndromes of sufficient severity that they are thought to be clearly abnormal. The identification and classification of a given mental disorder is the result of decades of literature review, statistical analysis, and ongoing research . The naming of a disorder facilitates consistent description and communication among mental health professionals, as well as the opportunity for the development of standards for treatment.
