19.3.2: Sadness and Depression
- Page ID
- 247167
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- Identify key signs and symptoms of depression in children.
Sadness is a normal part of emotional life in middle childhood. Children may experience sadness in response to disappointing or stressful events. For most children, sadness is a temporary emotion that resolves as they adapt to challenges and receive support from others.
For some children, however, sadness becomes more persistent and begins to interfere with daily life. When a low mood is long-lasting and disrupts functioning at home, at school, or with peers, it may indicate depression. Although depression is often associated with adolescence and adulthood, it can also emerge during middle childhood (American Psychiatric Association, 2013), impacting about 2% of children between the ages of 6 and 11, where boys are just as likely to suffer from depression as girls (Mullen, 2018).
In children, depression may present differently than in older individuals. Rather than expressing sadness openly, children may show irritability, withdrawal from activities, reduced energy, difficulty concentrating, or changes in sleep or appetite. Feelings of low self-worth or guilt may also be present, although children may not always express these emotions verbally.
Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\). A sad child looking through a fence. Image hosted by blackwhite is licensed CC0 1.0.
The causes of depression are complex and include biological, genetic, pyschosocial, and environmental influences. Brain imaging studies have found differences in regions such as the amygdala and hippocampus among children with depressive symptoms (Barch et al., 2012). Stressful life experiences and difficulties in emotional regulation also contribute to risk (Weissman et al., 1999).
Research indicates that depression beginning in childhood often persists into later developmental periods. Children who experience depression are at greater risk for recurrence in adolescence and adulthood (Kovacs et al., 2016). Early identification and support are important to promote better long-term outcomes.
References, Contributors and Attributions
American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.books.9780890425596
Barch, D. M., Pagliaccio, D., Belden, A., Harms, M. P., & Luby, J. L. (2012). Neural correlates of emotion processing in children and adolescents with depression. Biological Psychiatry, 72(3), 198–206. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2012.01.034
Kovacs, M., Obrosky, S., & Sherrill, J. (2016). Developmental changes in the phenomenology of depression in children and adolescents. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 45(10), 1327–1335. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.chi.0000237709.17376.66
Mullen, K. (2018). Depression in children. In R. A. Roper (Ed.), Child and adolescent mental health: A practical, all-in-one guide (pp. 89–96). Springer.
Weissman, M. M., Wolk, S., Goldstein, R. B., Moreau, D., Adams, P., Greenwald, S., Klier, C. M., Ryan, N. D., Dahl, R. E., & Wickramaratne, P. (1999). Depressed adolescents grown up. JAMA, 281(18), 1707–1713. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.281.18.1707