Abstract
The prevalence of preschool major depressive disorder (MDD) was studied in the community. The whole population of children between 3 and 6 years attending preschool nurseries in three areas (one urban, one rural and one suburban) in Spain (n = 1,427) were contacted. Selection was by a two-stage procedure. At stage I, the ESDM 3-6, a screening measure for preschool depression, was used to identify a sample for more intensive interviewing. Sensitivity and specificity of the cut-off point of the ESDM 3–6 had been previously tested in a pilot study (n = 229). During the first stage, 222 preschool children (15.6%) were found to be probable depressives, because they scored 27 or more, the cut-off used. At stage II, the children were interviewed and diagnosed by the consensus of two clinicians, blind to the ESDM 3-6 results. DSM-IV diagnostic criteria were used to define caseness. A total of 16 children (1.12%) met the MDD criteria. The prevalence by areas was urban 0.87%, rural 0.88%, suburban 1.43%. Sex distribution prevalence was 1:1. This study is a contribution to the scarce epidemiology of preschool depression in the community.
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This research was supported by Fondos de Investigación Sanitari.
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Appendix: Scale of preschool depression for teachers (ESDM 3-6) (Domènech-Llaberia 1996)
Appendix: Scale of preschool depression for teachers (ESDM 3-6) (Domènech-Llaberia 1996)
No. | During recent weeks this child has | Almost always | Sometimes | Almost never |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Had a sad expression | |||
2 | Grumbled | |||
3 | Talked and been friendly with his/her school fellows | |||
4 | Done his/her school tasks well | |||
5 | Laughed or smiled | |||
6 | Seemed tired | |||
7 | Cried | |||
8 | Said that his/her legs, stomach and/or head ached | |||
9 | Been happy | |||
10 | Liked coming to school | |||
11 | Referred to death (verbally or in pictures) | |||
12 | Been bored | |||
13 | Liked active games and sport | |||
14 | Looked pale | |||
15 | Played with his/her school fellows | |||
16 | Been slow in whatever she/he did (routines and tasks) | |||
17 | Seemed in bad mood | |||
18 | Joined in class activities | |||
19 | Liked going outside to play |
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Domènech-Llaberia, E., Viñas, F., Pla, E. et al. Prevalence of major depression in preschool children. Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry 18, 597–604 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00787-009-0019-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00787-009-0019-6