The Emanuel Miller Memorial Lecture 1994. Depressive disorders in childhood: an impressionistic landscape.

To convey an impressionistic landscape of depressive disorders in childhood, studies of clinically referred and diagnosed patients as well as community samples, and data from experimental investigations are used to consider five questions: Are depressive syndromes morbid states in childhood? Should we be concerned about depression in childhood? How do very early-onset depressions arise? What happens to depressed children as they grow up? And how can we help youngsters who suffer from depression? The information is discussed with respect to its implications for the management of clinically depressed children, as well as the prevention of very early-onset depressive disorders.