Citation

Harris FC, Ammerman RT. Educ. Treat. Child. 1986; 9(4): 334-343.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1986, West Virginia University Press)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Depression is a matter of major public health concern for children and adolescents. Depression in parents is often associated with academic, social, and mental health problems, including depression, in their offspring. Moreover, parental depression has been shown to be related to child abuse and neglect. Depression in children and adolescents also is related to various academic and social problems in addition to being a mental health concern of the most serious magnitude, sometimes resulting in suicide. In fact, suicide now ranks as the second most frequent cause of death in American adolescents. It is important to note that suicide also occurs in children with psychological problems other than depression. Behavioral approaches to ameliorating the effects of depression on children and adolescents have focused on developing individual and group behavioral programs and therapy procedures for parents and children who have demonstrated depressive, suicidal, or other maladaptive behaviors. The behavioral foundation of these programs and procedures has led to some emphasis on promoting the maintenance and generalization of treatment effects; however, there have been no significant attempts to establish primary or secondary prevention programs. Parent training and social skills training appear to be two promising behavioral approaches for use in suicide and depression prevention programs.

Language: en