Depression

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f broad categories, most of which apply not just to children but across the entire life span: anxiety disorders; attention-deficit and disruptive behavior disorders; autism and other pervasive developmental disorders; eating disorders (e.g., anorexia nervosa); elimination disorders

Table 3-2. Selected mental disorders of childhood and adolescence from the DSM-IV
Anxiety Disorders


Attention-Deficit and Disruptive Behavior Disorders


Autism and Other Pervasive Developmental Disorders


Eating Disorders


Elimination Disorders


Learning and Communication Disorders


Mood Disorders (e.g., Depressive Disorders)


Schizophrenia


Tic Disorders




(e.g., enuresis, encopresis); learning and communication disorders; mood disorders (e.g., major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder); schizophrenia; and tic disorders (Tourette’s disorder). Several of the more common childhood conditions are described below.

Disorders of anxiety and mood are characterized by the repeated experience of intense internal or emotional distress over a period of months or years. Feelings associated with these conditions may be those of unreasonable fear and anxiety, lasting depression, low self-esteem, or worthlessness. Syndromes of depression and anxiety very commonly co-occur in children. The disorders in this broad group include separation anxiety disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, major depressive disorder, dysthymia, and bipolar disorder (DSM-IV).

Children who suffer from attention-deficit disorder, disruptive disorder, and oppositional defiant disorder may be inattentive, hyperactive, aggressive, and/or defiant; they may repeatedly defy the societal rules of the child’s own cultural group or disrupt a well-ordered environment such as a school classroom.

Children with autism and other pervasive developmental disorders often suffer from disordered c...