PSYCHOPATHOLOGY IN FAMILIES OF CHILDREN WITH MAJOR DEPRESSIVE-DISORDERS

Family psychiatric histories of 63 inpatient children with major depre ssive disorder (MDD) and 63 matched inpatient psychiatric controls wer e compared. MDD, anxiety disorders, somatization disorder and,antisoci al personality disorder (ASP) were significantly more common (P < 0.05 ) in the family histories of MDD probands. When family histories of de pressed/anxious (D/A) versus depressed/behavior disordered (D/B) child ren were compared, the D/B group had more alcohol abuse (P < 0.05) and antisocial personality disorder (P < 0.08) than the D/A group. This r eport supports findings from earlier studies and suggests mood and anx iety disorders are increased in families of children with MDD.