Mood Disorders

Overview of Mood Disorders

• Mood disorders involve deviations or atypicalities in mood.

• Characterized by extreme and persistent deviations in mood.

Classification of Mood Disorders in DSM

• Two chapters within the DSM encompass mood disorders:

  • Bipolar Disorders

  • Characterized by the existence of mania or hypomania.

  • Considered mood disorders even with minimal depressive symptoms.

  • Unipolar Disorders

  • Specifically refers to depressive disorders.

  • All disorders excluding bipolar fall under this category.

Importance of Negative Emotions

• Dealing with negative emotions is a common and important part of life.

• Adaptive Functions of Negative Emotions:

  • All emotions signal important aspects of our lives.

  • Negative emotions may help individuals, especially children and adolescents, develop coping strategies.

Coping Strategies for Negative Emotions

• Types of Strategies:

  • Active Problem Solving:

  • Confronting the problem directly to find a solution.

  • Example: Addressing conflicts openly (e.g., bullying).

  • Distraction/Avoidance:

  • Avoiding confrontation may be a healthier choice in some situations (e.g., keeping distance from a bully).

• Overwhelming emotions can impact self-esteem especially when setbacks occur, such as:

  • Academic struggles (e.g., failing a difficult class).

Cognitive Strategies to Improve Self-Esteem

• Self-compassion and self-empathy can help buffer the negative impacts of overwhelming emotions on self-esteem and efficacy.

Spectrum of Mood Disorders

• Mood disorders exist on a spectrum:

  • Healthy Functioning:

  • Typical mood symptoms with occasional feelings of sadness.

  • Severe Symptoms:

  • Significant dysfunction that meets diagnostic criteria.

  • Middle Ground:

  • Individuals who demonstrate some difficulty but do not meet the criteria for a disorder.

Emotional Development Across Childhood

• Changes in positive affect and negative affect as children develop from ages 9 to 17.

Trajectories of Affects (Ages 9-17)

• Graphs Displaying Developmental Trends:

  • Combined analysis of boys and girls shows:

  • Positive Affect:

    • Starts to decrease as age progresses, steepest decline in girls.

    • Boys follow an inverted U-shape trajectory with some positive affect at ages 12-13.

  • Negative Affect:

    • Peaks in early adolescence (around age 11) and gradually increases again towards age 17.

  • Better coping and self-regulatory strategies develop with age.

Prevalence of Depressive Disorders

• Children Under 12:

  • Similar prevalence in both genders.

• Teen Years:

  • Girls experience depressive disorders at a rate of two to one compared to boys.

  • Significant gap narrows by age 18.

Diagnosis Challenges of Depression (Ages 9-12)

• Symptoms of depression in young children (ages 9 to 12) can be complex:

  • Comorbidity with anxiety, irritability, and broader internalizing symptoms is common.

  • Cognitive symptoms (e.g., feelings of hopelessness) are often not verbalized effectively at this age.

Comorbidities Associated with Depression

• High incidence with:

  • Anxiety disorders.

  • Separation anxiety.

  • ADHD.

  • Substance use disorders.

  • Other disruptive disorders.

Mood Symptom Presentation in Children

• Children's depressive symptoms differ from adults:

  • Typical Adult Symptoms:

  • Sadness, apathy, hopelessness, low self-esteem, easily identifiable.

  • Children and Adolescents:

  • May experience irritability instead of classic depressive symptoms.

  • Over 80% report irritability as a major symptom.

Identifying Depression in Young Children

• Identification is challenging for children under 9 years old due to:

  • Variability in developmental norms.

• Symptoms of depression in infancy are rare, often occurring when:

  • Infants are separated from primary caregivers.

  • The mother experiences postpartum depression.

Symptoms of Depression in Infants

• Signs of potential depression include:

  • Reduced activity and withdrawal.

  • Sleep and feeding issues differing from developmental norms.

  • Lower positive affect than peers.

  • Increased irritability and less engagement in play activities.

Diagnostic Challenges in Infants

• Symptoms in infants can be hard to accurately identify due to:

  • Individual differences, routines, and temperaments in infants.