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Encyclopedia of Child Behavior and Development pp 1518–1523Cite as

Unipolar Depression

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Synonyms

Major depression; Major depressive disorder or clinical depression

Definition

Unipolar depression consists of one or more episodes of moderate to severe depression with persistent depressed mood and other symptoms of depression including suicidal ideation, suicide attempts, inability to experience pleasure when doing normally pleasurable activities, impaired concentration, change in appetite, change in weight, difficulty sleeping, and/or increased sleep. These major depressive episodes cannot be due to a medical condition, medication, abused substance, or Psychosis. If Manic, Mixed, or Hypomanic Episodes develop, the diagnosis is changed to Bipolar Disorder [1].

Description

Epidemiology

Unipolar Depression (and related suicide attempts) is a major cause of death worldwide. Prevalence varies widely, from 3% in Japan, 11% in Britain to 17% in the US. In most countries the number of people who would suffer from unipolar depression during their lives falls within an 8–12% range [8...

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References

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Nicosia, 46 Makedonitissas Avenue, P.O. Box 24005, Nicosia, 1700, Cyprus

    Maria Stylianou & Xenia Anastassiou-Hadjicharalambous

Authors
  1. Maria Stylianou
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  2. Xenia Anastassiou-Hadjicharalambous
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Neurology, Learning and Behavior Center, 230 South 500 East, Suite 100, Salt Lake City, Utah, 84102, USA

    Sam Goldstein Ph.D.

  2. Department of Psychology MS 2C6, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA, 22030, USA

    Jack A. Naglieri Ph.D. (Professor of Psychology) (Professor of Psychology)

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Stylianou, M., Anastassiou-Hadjicharalambous, X. (2011). Unipolar Depression. In: Goldstein, S., Naglieri, J.A. (eds) Encyclopedia of Child Behavior and Development. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-79061-9_2990

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-79061-9_2990

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-0-387-77579-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-0-387-79061-9

  • eBook Packages: Behavioral Science

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