Childhood depression Discussed by Maryland Child Psychologist David Berndt, Ph.D. Childhood Depression, a Developmental Discussion Depression in children rarely looks like it does in adults. Children of different ages have differnet symptoms, often reflecting their cognitive and developmental maturity. Children who are depressed, especially young ones, do not have the vocabulary of adults. Children who are picked on a lot are almost always depressed. They get the bully to act out their own disdain for themselves.
Some bullies are also depressed.
Children who fight a lot, run away from home, get involved in delinquent activities, break windows etc. should be evaluated for depression. When Dr. Charles Kaiser and I developed the children's version of the Multiscore Depression Inventory, we knew that we had to have it written in the children's own language. We got help. Twelve children, all in all, wrote nearly all the items. The subscales allow a clinician to assess not only depression but which aspects of depression are most pronounced.