UNLABELLED: Results of scarce epidemiological studies on depression in children are diverse and dependent of survey methodology as well as on the theoretical approach of the research. Those studies where the methods are comparable show that depression prevalence depends on the macrosocial situation and the adolescence stage. AIM: The study aimed to assess changes in depression prevalence in early-adolescents between 1984 and 2001. A presumption was made that the social situation in Poland had changed in the last 17 years. METHOD: In 2001 a representative sample of school attending 10 y.o. children was screened with KID AO "B I". The results were compared with those of a similar survey, using the same method, carried out in 1984. RESULTS: Point prevalence index in 2001 appeared to be lower than in the survey in 1984 (27.7% versus 38.2%). This resulted exclusively from a significant decrease in depression among boys (31.0% versus 46.6%) and girls (23.9% versus 30.0%). CONCLUSION: The obtained data allows for an interpretation of the findings as a result of macrosocial changes. Other hypotheses e.g. the influence of the adolescence timing and course require a longitudinal prospective study.
UNLABELLED: Results of scarce epidemiological studies on depression in children are diverse and dependent of survey methodology as well as on the theoretical approach of the research. Those studies where the methods are comparable show that depression prevalence depends on the macrosocial situation and the adolescence stage. AIM: The study aimed to assess changes in depression prevalence in early-adolescents between 1984 and 2001. A presumption was made that the social situation in Poland had changed in the last 17 years. METHOD: In 2001 a representative sample of school attending 10 y.o. children was screened with KID AO "B I". The results were compared with those of a similar survey, using the same method, carried out in 1984. RESULTS: Point prevalence index in 2001 appeared to be lower than in the survey in 1984 (27.7% versus 38.2%). This resulted exclusively from a significant decrease in depression among boys (31.0% versus 46.6%) and girls (23.9% versus 30.0%). CONCLUSION: The obtained data allows for an interpretation of the findings as a result of macrosocial changes. Other hypotheses e.g. the influence of the adolescence timing and course require a longitudinal prospective study.