RT Book, Section
A1 Prager, Laura
A1 Schlozman, Steven C.
A1 Jellinek, Michael
A2 Rudolph, Colin D.
A2 Rudolph, Abraham M.
A2 Lister, George E.
A2 First, Lewis R.
A2 Gershon, Anne A.
SR Print(0)
ID 6738989
T1 Chapter 93. Affective Disorders and Suicide
T2 Rudolph's Pediatrics, 22e
YR 2011
FD 2011
PB The McGraw-Hill Companies
PP New York, NY
SN 978-0-07-149723-7
LK accesspediatrics.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=6738989
RD 2023/04/01
AB Some  experiences  of  sadness,  grief,  or  depressed  mood  arise  during  the  course  of  most  children’s  lives.  Divorces,  the  death  of  a  grandparent,  the  departure  of  a  close  friend,  or  a  failed  hope—all  are  common  and  upsetting.  However,  there  has  been  increasing  recognition  that  some  children  and  adolescents  suffer  from  serious  and  pervasive  disorders  related  to  their  mood  and  that  these  disorders  are  associated  with  significant  morbidity  (ie,  impairment  in  psychosocial  function,  low  self-esteem)  and  mortality  (ie,  intended  suicide  or  “accidental”  death  secondary  to  an  impulsive  behavior  such  as  driving  while  intoxicated).  Consequently,  the  critical  clinical  task  is  to  differentiate  children  and  adolescents  with  serious  disorders  from  the  larger  group  of  children  and  adolescents  who  have  some  symptoms  of  sadness  or  grief  but  who  are  not  clinically  depressed.  Since  the  diagnosis  and  risk  assessment  depends  on  emotional  information  gleaned  from  an  interview,  it  can  be  extremely  difficult  for  a  clinician  to  differentiate  between  those  children  and  adolescents  with  serious  mood  disorder  and  those  who  are  profoundly  and  acutely  upset  in  response  to  a  combination  of  adverse  circumstances.