Nevertheless, early theories

of depression discounted the validity of the disorder in youth, suggesting that the necessary psychological mechanisms were not yet present for the experience of depression, or that depression was “masked” in the form of other disorders. In particular, it was considered that children did not have a well-developed superego. In 1975, the National Institute of Mental Health convened a meeting to discuss the incidence and diagnosis of depression in children. When the Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical existence of depression in children became acceptable and the basic diagnostic criteria were established,1 research on childhood depression burgeoned, resulting in the growth of theoretical models as well as empirical databases, and depression is no Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical longer considered “an adult disease.” Despite this burgeoning research, some obstacles remained with regard to the pursuit of knowledge on adolescent depression. The early “storm and stress” theories of development suggested that many of the problems associated with depression, such as sadness, irritable mood, self-doubt, and social withdrawal, were normative expressions of adolescent

angst.2 It is now established, however, that many youngsters do not go through such emotional distress, and that adolescent depression is a serious disorder, often heralding chronic or recurrent problems into adulthood. A developmental framework in understanding childhood and adolescent depression Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical In the past three decades, depression research in children and adolescents Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical has progressed from applying simple extensions of clinical descriptions and theories developed in adults to generating an increasingly sophisticated understanding

of these disorders informed by the emerging field of developmental psychopathology. Research adopting this framework has taken into account the normative developmental processes influencing differences in the etiology, phenomenology, correlates, and outcomes of depression Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical in children, adolescents, and adults.3-7 It is important to note, however, that this new field of research often does not differentiate among particular else stages of development through childhood and adolescence. Although some continuity is likely across childhood and adolescence in the experience and expression of depression, the underlying risk mechanisms and the consequences of depression, some differences are also plausible. When applying a developmental perspective to psychopathology, one important issue to consider is the conceptualization of different life stages. For example, the transition from childhood to adolescence involves changes in multiple domains, including physical, sexual, cognitive, and social development, with a considerable range of individual differences in the age at which each of these changes occur. At present, there is no consensus on the clear Selleck Fasudil boundaries in defining child and adolescent populations.