A recently released study conducted in Canada advises that up to 15% of preschoolers display signs of depression. Researchers from Canada, France, the U.S., and Briton took part in the five-year study that was funded by Quebec’s Ministry of Health. The mothers of 1,758 Quebec preschoolers were interviewed annually; 15% of the preschoolers studied were thought to be experiencing unusually high levels of depression and anxiety. The results were determined by the mother’s response to key questions about the emotional behavior of their child.
Depression and anxiety are normal elements in a child’s development, but when a child is overwhelmed and left without a cognitive model for coping with stress he or she may be set on a life-long path of depression. The evidence of this seems apparent with the Canadian study’s correlation of chronically depressed mothers with preschoolers who are already showing the early childhood signs of depression.
An additional red flag and the most important indicator of depression and anxiety found by the researchers is a bad temperament of the preschooler at five-months of age.
Another major concern according to the study is that depression and anxiety do not always manifest as aggressive behavior and often goes unnoticed in young children. Unlike overly active children, the depressed child may become withdrawn and “disappear” into the background of daily family activities, or they may take a back seat to more energetic children in the preschool setting; unrecognized signs of depression in these children can later appear in more profound symptoms, such as loss of appetite, insomnia, and losing interest in previously pleasurable activities.
The Quebec study further suggests that the parents of preschoolers with symptoms of depression should seek early intervention and counseling from health professionals for themselves and their child.