Wong S T
Ann Acad Med Singap. 1979 Jul;8(3):339-46.
Unlike adult depression, childhood depression is still a controversial concept in psychiatry. This paper explores and discusses the various issues involved in the controversy. Empirical evidence from epidemiological surveys and clinical studies is examined systematically. A brief survey of the literature over the last fifty years is given. The latest clinical study by Pearce (1974) is highlighted as it demonstrates how the condition can be systematically investigated. Despite conflicting findings, the available evidence, on balance, suggests that childhood depression does exist; it is rare in middle childhood, rarer still in the pre-school period of life but more common in adolescence. Although research findings have begun to give support to the diagnosis of childhood depression, its validity is far from being proven. Obviously, further research is needed.
与成人抑郁症不同，儿童抑郁症在精神病学领域仍是一个存在争议的概念。本文探讨并讨论了该争议中涉及的各种问题。系统审视了来自流行病学调查和临床研究的实证证据。对过去五十年来的文献进行了简要综述。皮尔斯（1974年）的最新临床研究受到关注，因为它展示了如何对该病症进行系统研究。尽管研究结果相互矛盾，但总体而言，现有证据表明儿童抑郁症确实存在；它在童年中期较为罕见，在学前阶段更为稀少，但在青少年时期更为常见。虽然研究结果已开始支持儿童抑郁症的诊断，但其有效性远未得到证实。显然，还需要进一步研究。
