Study: Preschoolers Get Depressed, Too

(CBS/AP)  Depression in children as young as 3 is real and not just a passing grumpy mood, according to provocative new research.

The study is billed as the first to show major depression can be chronic even in very young children, contrary to the stereotype of the happy-go-lucky preschooler.

Until fairly recently, "people really haven't paid much attention to depressive disorders in children under the age of 6," said lead author Dr. Joan Luby, a psychiatrist at Washington University in St. Louis. "They didn't think it could happen ... because children under 6 were too emotionally immature to experience it."

Previous research suggested that depression affects about 2 percent of U.S. preschoolers, or roughly 160,000 youngsters, at one time or another. But it was unclear whether depression in preschoolers could be chronic, as it can be in older children and adults.

Luby's research team followed more than 200 preschoolers, ages 3 to 6, for up to two years, including 75 diagnosed with major depression. The children had up to four mental health exams during the study.

Among initially depressed children, 64 percent were still depressed or had a recurrent episode of depression six months later, and 40 percent still had problems after two years. Overall, nearly 20 percent had persistent or recurrent depression at all four exams.

Depression was most common in children whose mothers were also depressed or had other mood disorders, and among those who had experienced a traumatic event, such as the death of a parent or physical or sexual abuse.

The new study, funded by the National Institute of Mental Health and released Monday in the August issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, did not examine depression treatment, which is highly controversial among children so young. Some advocates say parents and doctors are too quick to give children powerful psychiatric drugs.

On "The Early Show" Wednesday, CBS News medical correspondent Dr. Jennifer Ashton said the study was clear that, while we might see signs of depression in toddlers, by no means do child psychiatrists support or advocate treating children that young with medication.

Ashton said, "This needs behavioral therapy involving the parent or caregiver."

Though sure to raise eyebrows among lay people, the notion that children so young can get depressed is increasingly accepted in psychiatry.

University of Chicago psychiatrist Dr. Sharon Hirsch said the public thinks of preschoolers as carefree. "They get to play. Why would they be depressed?" she said.

But depression involves chemical changes in the brain that can affect even youngsters with an otherwise happy life, said Hirsch, who was not involved in the study.

"When you have that problem, you just don't have that ability to feel good," she said.

And, in fact, Luby said she has separate, unpublished research showing that chemical changes seen in older children also occur in depressed preschoolers.

Dr. Helen Egger, a Duke University psychiatrist who also has studied childhood depression, said it is common among people in her field to first see depressed kids in their teens. Their parents will say symptoms began very early in childhood, but they were told, "Your child will grow out of them," Egger said.

Typical preschoolers can be moody or have temper tantrums, but they quickly bounce back and appear happy when playing or doing everyday activities. Depressed children appear sad even when playing, and their games may have themes of death or other somber topics. Persistent lack of appetite, sleep problems, and frequent temper tantrums that involve biting, kicking or hitting also are signs of possible depression, Egger said.

Luby said another sign is being preoccupied with guilt over common mishaps. For example, a depressed 3-year-old who accidentally breaks a glass might keep saying, "Mommy, I'm sorry I did that," and appear unable to shake off that sense of guilt for days, she said.

"Early Show" co-anchor Maggie Rodriguez remarked on the broadcast Wednesday that she wouldn't know if her preschooler were depressed because many of the symptoms happen on their own, and she wouldn't necessarily pay attention to it. Do all of the symptoms occur together or just one?

"It could be just one (symptom)," Ashton said. "Typically they occur in conjunction with the others and persist for various periods of time. If you see those things, you really want to check with the pediatrician."

University of Massachusetts psychologist Lisa Cosgrove said she is skeptical about the accuracy of labeling preschoolers as depressed, because diagnostic tools for evaluating mental health in children so young aren't as well tested as those used for adults.

And Cosgrove said that while early treatment is important for troubled children, "we just have to make sure that those interventions aren't compromised" by industry pressure to use drugs.

Previous research has suggested that rising numbers of preschoolers are taking psychiatric drugs, including Prozac, which is used to treat depression.

Egger said that there is little research on the effects of psychiatric medicine in very young children, and that psychotherapy should always be tried first.

Dr. David Fassler, a University of Vermont psychiatry professor, stressed that depression in very young children is still pretty rare. However, without treatment, "it can have a devastating and often lasting effect on a child's social and emotional development," he said.

"Hopefully, studies such as this will help parents, teachers, and pediatricians recognize the signs and symptoms of preschool depression so they make sure young children get the help they need and deserve," Fassler said.

[kenhamlett]

"Though sure to raise eyebrows among lay people, the notion that children so young can get depressed is increasingly accepted in psychiatry."

There is a good reason why it raises eyebrows. It is another way to entrap children and make a buck. Based on my observation of the various behavioral practitioners, it is quite certain that the sole purpose of the trade is victimization and exploitation, especially financially.
Let's look at what they really accomplish:
Turn people into drug addicts
Abuse both adults and children sexually (this includes the female con artists)
Entrap people who have no need or desire to be their victims
Induce current victims to betray friends and family
Separate victims from friends and family for total subjugation
Seek out assets, trusts, and other property so they can find ways to either con the person out of them or outright seize control using corrupt judges (of which there are many)
Find ways to bilk the government and insurance companies of all they can manage.

What do you get in return? Nothing! They have no cures to offer.

There you have it folks. This is the total nature of psychiatry. Do you have any doubt they would try to entrap people as young as possible so they have many more years to exploit them?

[kenhamlett]

Oh, I forgot to add that they recycle these stories which allows more people to be exposed to this clap trap and start worrying about their kids.
And the most important con is to convince their victim they have a problem. Of course the best way is to entrap an impressionable kid.

[kenhamlett]

"Could any one of these so called professionals relate the specific cause and cure for these conditions?"

This is the comment I wrote in my prior post. I waited for an answer and none were forthcoming. Thus we have another study to add to the growing number of excuses for why these people should be allowed to victimize children, along with the rest of the world.
Parents please be wary of the claims of any sort of shrink. The things they actually accomplish include siphoning cash from every source available, separating their victim from family and friends to aid full control of said victim, entrapment of victims at the request of others (as in hijacking inheritances, trusts, etc) and of course during all of this they consistently manage to avoid curing much of anything except those they talked into their condition of course.
If you love your children, find a better way to deal with their problems.

[debinok1]

What exactly do they expect, they shove kids into classrooms younger and younger, now we have 4 yr olds sitting in prek classrooms all day long with 2 or 3 10 minute reccesses throughout the day. These kids are expected to sit, listen, no talkin, no touching, for hours on end. Children this young do not have the emotional or social ability to do this. They are expecting them to learn more at a younger age, again children this young are not ready for that. Stop trying to force children to grow up faster than their little minds and bodies can handle. Let them play, let them explore, let them be kids.

[MEXpatriate]

Please, there is no such thing as "chronic depression" for a 3-6 year old.
Let kids be kids, they can also have a bad day, maybe didn't have a good night's sleep, maybe got bored with the same toys, maybe had enough parenting for the day, maybe the cereal got soggy too soon.
But don't go putting these stupid adult ideas into parent's minds just to make a buck, have an appointment made with a follow up and prescribe unnecessary medications. These kids are too young to be brought into adult world situations and medical conditions. If a parent is not able to cheer up a kid with inventive and creative ways, then its time to think of some or take a closer look at the environment where the kid is being raised.
Jeez, mom n dad...grab a toy, make a silly face, share a joke with them...but don't slip your kid some prozac just because some doc says so. Kids in poor areas of Africa and Haiti have plenty of reasons to be depressed. People in the U.S. that believe in these types of studies are the same ones that take their pets to psychics.

[tomanyt]

What could children under the age of 6 possibly be depressed about?

[gunownerdan]

THIS IS WONDERFUL NEWS!! Now instead of giving our toddlers M&M's and Skittles, we can give them Zoloft and Ritalin!
The earlier we can get them addicted to pills, the better for the drug companies!!!

[kenhamlett]

Here we go again. I think that all of the readers have noticed the trend to find excuses to victimize children. After all the kids are easy to manipulate when an uniformed and fearful parent places their kids on the alter of perpetual greed.
You might also know they talk about "treatment" but they have no cause or cure to offer, just a sales pitch.
However it has been a while since I publicly asked the following so I will ask again.

Could any one of these so called professionals relate the specific cause and cure for these conditions? While we are at it could you relate how one is to separate the con artists from the criminals in your ranks? There are only two choices here unless you can answer question one regarding every condition, syndrome, complex or other label you have invented and used as a sales pitch for your con games.

Feel free to answer if you have facts. I will check back in a couple of days to see if you have an answer for each claimed malady in your little collection of invented diagnostic labels.

[aChangeOfIdeas]

wow, I'm not a health professional but let's remember that a hundred years ago we didn't know the cause or cure for diabetes. That didn't make it a fake disease, it meant we couldn't do anything about it. We still don't fully understand the cause/cure for schizophrenia, autism, alzheimer's... so I guess those are just con games the medical profession is playing with us?