Handbook of
Depression in
Children and
Adolescents
Edited by
John R. Z. Abela
Benjamin L. Hankin

Children and adolescents are currently experiencing depression at an
unprecedented rate. As prevalence rates of depression in Western cultures have soared to
epidemic proportions, the average age of onset has rapidly decreased (Reich et al., 1987).
Researchers have reported that by the age of 14, as many as 9% of youth have already
experienced at least one episode of severe depression (Lewinsohn, Hops, Roberts, Seeley,
& Andrews, 1993). Lifetime prevalence rates of major depressive disorder for adolescents
between the ages of 15 and 18 are estimated to be approximately 14%, with an additional
11% reporting minor depression (for review, see Hammen & Rudolph, 2004).
Even when diagnostic criteria are not met, subsyndromal depressive symptoms are indicative
of impaired functioning and may lead to the later development of diagnosable disorders
(Roberts, Lewinsohn, & Seeley, 1991). Early-onset depression is a chronic disorder
with as many as 84% of those depressed as youths experiencing depressive episodes in
adulthood (Harrington, Rutter, & Frombonne, 1996). Further, early-onset depression has
been shown to be associated with a wide range of psychiatric and physical health problems
in adulthood as well as impairment in multiple domains of functioning (e.g.,
Achenbach, Howell, McConaughy, & Stanger, 1995a, 1995b; Fleming, Boyle, & Offord,
1993; Kandel & Davies, 1986; Rao et al., 1995).