Unmasking masked depression in children and adolescents.

The authors examined depressive symptoms and behavior disorders in 102 systematically interviewed children aged 7 to 17 years to elucidate the category of masked depression. They found that it was possible to diagnose these children using adult research criteria and that more children with depression were identified using a systematic interview than were identified using standard evaluation procedures. Although children with a depressive disorder may also exhibit behavior disorders that overshadow the depression, an alert clinician conducting a thorough interview should be able to identify the "masked" depression.