Depression and hopelessness in children with disruptive behaviour disorders

The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence of depression in a day treatment compared to a control population of children and to determine whether or not day treatment is effective in normalizing depression and hopelessness. Twenty-five control children, matched by age and sex, were compared on self-report measures of depression and hopelessness to 25 children admitted to day treatment. Pre-post treatment comparisons were also made for day treatment children. Day treatment children at admission scored significantly higher on both depression and hopelessness than control children. Only boys in day treatment improved significantly at the time of their discharge. Children with disruptive behaviour disorders also experienced significant feelings of depression and hopelessness. Day treatment was effective in reducing these feelings to "normal" levels in boys only; girls continued to experience severe negative life events beyond their control.