Research Topic · Peer-Reviewed

Depression in Children

Depression in children is a mood disorder of the pediatric period marked by persistent sadness, irritability, withdrawal, and diminished self-worth, often expressed differently than in adults and frequently accompanied by somatic complaints and behavioral change. It can interfere substantially with everyday function…

Curated from this journal's research 📚 8 peer-reviewed articles cited Cited 23× across the literature 🔖 ISSN 2476-1710 🗓 Reviewed July 2026

Overview

Depression in children is a mood disorder of the pediatric period marked by persistent sadness, irritability, withdrawal, and diminished self-worth, often expressed differently than in adults and frequently accompanied by somatic complaints and behavioral change. It can interfere substantially with everyday functioning, including academic performance, family relationships, and peer interaction, and its recognition is complicated by the developmental stage of the child and by overlap with physical symptoms. Research highlights the close relationship between childhood depression and emotional functioning, with somatic complaints linked to both the child's emotional regulation and parental factors, underscoring the role of the family environment. Depressive symptoms in children also co-occur with other difficulties, as dysfunctional attitudes longitudinally predict depressive, eating-disorder, and aggressive symptoms, and depression intersects with chronic physical illness, illustrated by its association with pain in children affected by sickle cell disease. Treatment outcomes are influenced by interpersonal processes such as caregiver-child co-rumination, studied within rumination-focused cognitive-behavioral therapy, while broader social support and socioeconomic and environmental conditions further shape risk and course. These findings frame childhood depression as a condition arising from interacting emotional, familial, physical, and social factors. Early identification and the application of appropriate psychological and family-based interventions are therefore central to supporting affected children and limiting long-term impact.

Research published in this journal

8 peer-reviewed articles, ranked by relevance. Each links to its DOI.

How this research is being cited

The 8 articles above have been cited 23 times in the scholarly literature. Citation data via OpenAlex and Crossref, updated Jun 2026.

A sample of recent works citing this journal's research on Depression in Children, linking to each citing work.

Editorial oversight

Curated from peer-reviewed research published in Depression And Therapy (ISSN 2476-1710).

Journal editorial board
Ladislav Volicer · United States Roberto Maniglio · Italy

This page summarises published research for orientation; it is not medical or professional advice.