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Are increased weight and appetite useful indicators of depression in children and adolescents?

Publication ,  Journal Article
Cole, DA; Cho, S-J; Martin, NC; Youngstrom, EA; March, JS; Findling, RL; Compas, BE; Goodyer, IM; Rohde, P; Weissman, M; Essex, MJ; Hyde, JS ...
Published in: J Abnorm Psychol
November 2012

During childhood and adolescence, physiological, psychological, and behavioral processes strongly promote weight gain and increased appetite while also inhibiting weight loss and decreased appetite. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual-IV (DSM-IV) treats both weight-gain/increased-appetite and weight-loss/decreased-appetite as symptoms of major depression during these developmental periods, despite the fact that one complements typical development and the other opposes it. To disentangle the developmental versus pathological correlates of weight and appetite disturbance in younger age groups, the current study examined symptoms of depression in an aggregated sample of 2307 children and adolescents, 47.25% of whom met criteria for major depressive disorder. A multigroup, multidimensional item response theory model generated three key results. First, weight loss and decreased appetite loaded strongly onto a general depression dimension; in contrast, weight gain and increased appetite did not. Instead, weight gain and increased appetite loaded onto a separate dimension that did not correlate strongly with general depression. Second, inclusion or exclusion of weight gain and increased appetite affected neither the nature of the general depression dimension nor the fidelity of major depressive disorder diagnosis. Third, the general depression dimension and the weight-gain/increased-appetite dimension showed different patterns across age and gender. In child and adolescent populations, these results call into question the utility of weight gain and increased appetite as indicators of depression. This has serious implications for the diagnostic criteria of depression in children and adolescents. These findings inform a revision of the DSM, with implications for the diagnosis of depression in this age group and for research on depression.

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Published In

J Abnorm Psychol

DOI

EISSN

1939-1846

Publication Date

November 2012

Volume

121

Issue

4

Start / End Page

838 / 851

Location

United States

Related Subject Headings

  • Weight Gain
  • Surveys and Questionnaires
  • Male
  • Humans
  • Female
  • Depressive Disorder
  • Clinical Psychology
  • Child, Preschool
  • Child
  • Appetite
 

Citation

APA
Chicago
ICMJE
MLA
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Cole, D. A., Cho, S.-J., Martin, N. C., Youngstrom, E. A., March, J. S., Findling, R. L., … Maxwell, M. A. (2012). Are increased weight and appetite useful indicators of depression in children and adolescents? J Abnorm Psychol, 121(4), 838–851. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0028175
Cole, David A., Sun-Joo Cho, Nina C. Martin, Eric A. Youngstrom, John S. March, Robert L. Findling, Bruce E. Compas, et al. “Are increased weight and appetite useful indicators of depression in children and adolescents?J Abnorm Psychol 121, no. 4 (November 2012): 838–51. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0028175.
Cole DA, Cho S-J, Martin NC, Youngstrom EA, March JS, Findling RL, et al. Are increased weight and appetite useful indicators of depression in children and adolescents? J Abnorm Psychol. 2012 Nov;121(4):838–51.
Cole, David A., et al. “Are increased weight and appetite useful indicators of depression in children and adolescents?J Abnorm Psychol, vol. 121, no. 4, Nov. 2012, pp. 838–51. Pubmed, doi:10.1037/a0028175.
Cole DA, Cho S-J, Martin NC, Youngstrom EA, March JS, Findling RL, Compas BE, Goodyer IM, Rohde P, Weissman M, Essex MJ, Hyde JS, Curry JF, Forehand R, Slattery MJ, Felton JW, Maxwell MA. Are increased weight and appetite useful indicators of depression in children and adolescents? J Abnorm Psychol. 2012 Nov;121(4):838–851.

Published In

J Abnorm Psychol

DOI

EISSN

1939-1846

Publication Date

November 2012

Volume

121

Issue

4

Start / End Page

838 / 851

Location

United States

Related Subject Headings

  • Weight Gain
  • Surveys and Questionnaires
  • Male
  • Humans
  • Female
  • Depressive Disorder
  • Clinical Psychology
  • Child, Preschool
  • Child
  • Appetite