August 12th, 2011
The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry has found that 1 in 20 kids and teenagers is significantly depressed.
Almost 30% of 13 year olds show symptoms of depression.
15% of kids have had a major depression episode before they finish high school.
Because many depressive symptoms go unreported, experts predict that 1 in 4 kids will have a serious episode of depression before they finish high school.
Depression is not a normal phase, but it is a serious illness that can have severe consequences that sometimes result in death.
Kids with depression are more likely to develop drug or alcohol problems by their twenties.
Depression leads to suicide for 1 in 10 prepubescent kids.
In the past 30 years, suicide rates have tripled for kids and teens.
44 percent of kids who develop depression before they are 18 years old will go through another episode by the time they are 24 years old.
Almost all of kids with untreated depression will go through another episode in the next three years of their life.
When diagnosed and treated early, kids will usually be able to get out of depression.
