PREVALENCE AND CLINICAL MANIFESTATIONS OF DEPRESSIONS IN SCHOOL JUVENILE POPULATION

To reveal the symptoms of depressions in juvenile population the metho d of double questioning of both parents and juveniles was elaborated. By means of this method 524 adolescents, boys and girls aged 12-17 yea rs, the pupils of 7-11th classes of schools with different forms of ed ucation were examined. The study showed that this method permitted to reveal depressive states in adolescents with high degree of accuracy. The results of the questionaire which gave chance to suggest the prese nce of depressive disorders were confirmed in 73% of the cases by the results of the following clinical-psychopathologic examination. Preval ence of depressions in the investigated population was 19%. There was a tendency to an increase of the frequency of depressions in the age r ange from 12 to 16 years (from 10% to 31%) and a decrease in 17-year-o lds. The method of duble (parents-juveniles) questioning is simple and safe, and may be used both in reasearches and in practical school psy chiatry.