Phenomenology and subtypes of major depressive disorder in adolescence

The authors systematically evaluated the prevalence and reliabilities of a large set of depressive symptoms and subtypes of major depressive disorder in 40 hospitalized adolescents, aged 12-17. Results indicated that the phenomenology of depressive illness in this age group is distinguished by descriptive features akin to traditional clinical formulations. Psychotic, retarded and endogenous subtypes were documented, although they are less prevalent than in adult depressives. Overall, the reliabilities of symptom and subtype ratings were found to be very satisfactory. Results were discussed with respect to current theoretical conceptions of juvenile affective illness and directions for further research.