Prevalence and Risk Factors for Depression in Children: an Outpatient Pediatric Sample
UMAPORN TRANGKASOMBAT, M.D.*, DUSIT LIKANAPICHITKUL, M.D.**
Affiliation : * Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkom University, Bangkok 10330, * * Yuwaprasart Hospital, Department of Mental Health, Ministry of Public Health, Nonthaburi 11000, Thailand.
Abstract
The purpose of this research was to study the prevalence, type, and psychosocial stressors
associated with depression. The subjects were 81 children who came to the outpatient pediatric
clinic, Chulalongkorn Hospital. There were 39 boys and 42 girls with the age range of 9.3 - 15.3
years. The results of the study were as follows. The prevalence of depression was 34.6 per cent.
Types of depression were depressive symptoms only, 7.4 per cent; adjustment disorder with
depressed mood, 17.3 per cent; dysthymia, 6.2 per cent; and major depression, 3.7 per cent. Females
had more severe symptoms than males. Of the depressed group, 60.7 per cent had previous suicidal
behavior compared with 20.6 per cent in the non-depessed group (p Keywords :
