+
MOOD DISORDERS
Darcie Collins
Ashley Kasprzyk
Megan Leveranz
Stephie Solheid
+
What is a Mood Disorder?

Is a category of mental health problems

May also be called affective disorders

Mood disorders in children are recognized as one of the most
under diagnosed psychiatric illnesses

Clinically there are only five mood disorders

Depression

Dysthymia

Bipolar

Mood disorder due to a medical condition

Mood disorder due to substance abuse
Out of 100,000 adolescents, two to three thousand will have mood disorders out
of which 8-10 will commit suicide.
Major Depression
A two week period of a depressed or irritable mood or a
noticeable decrease interest or pleasure in usual activities along
with other signs of a mood disorder
+
As many as one in every 33
children and one in eight
adolescents may have
depression. (U.S. Center for
Mental Health Services
[CMHS], 1996).
Dysthymic Disorder
(Dysthymia)
A chronic, low-grade, depressed or irritable
+ mood for at least one year
Almost one-third
of six- to twelveyear-old
children
diagnosed with
major
depression will
develop bipolar
disorder within a
few years.
(AACAP, 1995)
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Bipolar disorder
At least one episode of a depressed or irritable mood and at least one
period of a manic (persistently elevated) mood.
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Mood Disorder due to Medical Condition
Many medical illnesses (including cancer, injuries, infections, and chronic medical
illnesses) can trigger symptoms of depression
+
Substance Induced Mood Disorder
Symptoms of depression that are due to the effects of
medication, drug abuse, exposure to toxins or other forms of
treatment
+
Scope of the problem
Main scope of focus is that children can
develop mood disorders from heredity and
environmental factors.
+
Heredity

Chemicals in the brain called neurotransmitters regulate the
brain chemicals that affect your mood

When these are altered or are in an imbalance they can
cause mood swings which can lead to mood disorders
+
Environmental

Any types of abuse, neglect, and/or maltreatment

Traumatic life changes

Death

Major illness
+
Population
likely to
be
effected
All population ages can be effected however we will be
focusing on children and adolescents
+
Course of the Disease

Course of the disease can be ongoing until proper
investigation or treatment is used
+
Presentation of
Topic

Signs of mood disorder
 Loss of interest in usual activities
 Sleep disturbances
 Changes in appetite or weight
 Decreased energy
 Feeling sad
 Feeling hopeless or helpless
 Having low self esteem
 Feeling inadequate or worthless
 Difficulty concentrating
 Decrease in ability to make decisions
 Feeling or wanting to die
 Difficulty achieving in school
 Constant anger
 Rebellious acts
 Trouble with family
 Difficulty with friends and peers
+ Treatment of Illness
Specific treatment should be determined by the child’s
physician or qualified mental health professional based on:

Your child/adolescents age, overall health, and medical history

The extent of your child/adolescent’s symptoms

Type of mood disorder

Child/adolescent’s tolerance of specific medications, procedures or therapies

Expectations for the course of the mood disorder

Your opinion of preference
Mood disorders can be effectively treated. Treatment should always be based on a
comprehensive evaluation of the adolescent and family. Treatment recommendations may
include individual therapy for the adolescent, family therapy, and sometimes consultation
with the adolescent’s school. Some adolescents may also benefit from treatment with an
antidepressant medication and/or mood stabilizers. Parents play a vital supportive role in
any treatment process.
+
Prevention of mood disorders

Preventive measures to reduce the incidence of mood
disorders in adolescents are not known at this time

Early detection and intervention can reduce the severity of
symptoms, enhance the child/adolescent's normal growth
and development and improve the quality of life
experienced by children/adolescents with mood disorders
+

Role of the professional
Recognition


Assessment


Typical areas of assessment include current symptoms and symptom
development, developmental history, family history of psychological previous
term disorders, next term and current and previous levels of psychosocial
functioning, as reported by the previous term child, next term parents, and other
caretaking adults (e.g., teachers). In general, there are two types of instruments
that can aid one in making a diagnosis: diagnostic interviews and self-report or
other-report scales. Diagnostic interviews can be divided into structured and
semi structured formats. Another commonly used diagnostic interview is the
semistructured Kiddie Schedule of affective disorders. Self-report and other
report scales can also be used as diagnostic interview tools.
Intervention


Recognizing the symptoms and being able to tell if the child is suffering from a
mood disorder(s), also routine screening for psychological disorders in youth by
nurses at both inpatient and outpatient settings would allow for more accurate
hypotheses about what is causing a child’s presenting problem.
Weekly checkups with a professional, possible medication, multidisciplinary
team with specialized knowledge and experience, traditional or non-traditional
medications
Referral

Counseling, support groups
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What would you do?

Education


Social Work


Assessment, intervention, possible treatment options, work with
the interdisciplinary team
Nursing


Contact a social worker
Assessment, referral to doctor, work with the interdisciplinary
team
Law Enforcement

Interview family to make sure there are no other problems
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Recent studies show that, at any
given time, as many as one in every
33 children may have clinical
depression. The rate of depression
among adolescents may be as high
as one in eight. (Department of
Health and Human Services)
Quick Facts
According to several studies, a
significant proportion of the
approximately 3.4 million children and
adolescents with depression in the
United States may actually be
experiencing the early onset of bipolar
disorder, but have not yet experienced
the manic phase of the illness.
7-14% of children
will experience
an episode of
major depression
before the age of
15
Recent studies
20-30% of adult
have shown that
bipolar patients
greater than 20%
report having
of adolescents in
their first episode the general
before the age of population have
20
emotional
problems and
one-third of
adolescents
attending
psychiatry clinics
suffer from
depression. (The
Canadian Journal
of CME)
+ Annotated Bibliography
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Cicchetti, D. (1998 ). The development of depression in children and adolescents. EBSCOhost , 221-241.
Family Resource Center, (2007, July). Mental Health Conditions and Diagnoses. Retrieved January 27, 2009,
from Cincinnati Children's Web site:
http://www.cincinnatichildrens.org/health/info/mental/diagnose/mood.html
Lack, Caleb W. PhD and Green, Amy L. BA. “Mood Disorders in Children and Adolescents.” Journal of
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January 2009.
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from the National Comorbidity survey. American Journal of Public Health, 91(5), 753-761.
Mulder, R., Beautrais, A., Joyce, P., Fergusson, D. (1998). Relationship between dissociation, childhood
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Journal of Psychiatry, 155(6), 806-812.
Tyrka, Audrey R., Wyche, Margaret C., Price, Lawrence H., Carpenter, Linda L. “Childhood maltreatment
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