[Development of symptoms of depressive syndrome in childhood]

The author summarizes briefly views on the depressive syndrome in childhood during past decades as well as contemporary views. She mentions basic aetiopathogenetic factors participating in the development of depression during childhood. She explains why the clinical picture changes in relation to the age of the child patients. The author presents als the results of an investigated group of 120 depressive child patients and discusses different clinical symptoms, their frequency, interrelationship, age-related character. She uses the following categories: junior school child under 11 years, senior school child under 14 years, adolescent above 14 years. Based on an analysis of the results the author describes the changes and development of the clinical picture in depressive syndrome in children. Finally she emphasizes that it is useful to collaborate with paediatricians when treating children with depressive syndrome.