Elementary students with depression more at risk for skill deficits, new study reports

Researchers at the University of Missouri (MU) found evidence that children who show symptoms of depression in 2nd and 3rd grade are six times more likely to have social or academic skill deficits than those without, eSchool News reports.Though the Anxiety and Depression Association of America reports that as many as 3% of children ages 6-12 might have major depressive disorder and 30% of children in the study reported being mildly to severely depressed, parents and teachers often do not identify the symptoms, partly because they are seeing different aspects of the child’s behavior in their own environments.Keith Herman, a professor in the MU College of Education, suggests that mental health professionals should work with teachers and parents in the identification of symptoms of depression and that mental health screening should also include observation of social difficulties, inattention and skill deficits as possible symptoms of depression.