Parents miss teen danger

Nearly all American parents think they can spot depression in their teenagers, but a survey shows that in fact two-thirds of adolescents are never diagnosed and are therefore left at risk of suicide.

In the survey of 900 parents of children 18 or younger, 90 per cent were confident they could tell if their child was depressed or suicidal.

But a team at Columbia University in New York, which helped sponsor the survey, say statistics show only a third of depressed teenagers are ever diagnosed by a parent, doctor, teacher or other adult.

Child psychiatrist Dr David Shaffer said it was estimated that 4 per cent to 5 per cent of teenagers were depressed.

In the United States, that works out to 750,000 adolescents at any one time.

Dr Shaffer said 500,000 made a serious attempt at suicide requiring medical attention, and 1700 succeeded every year.

Suicide is the third-leading cause of death among US teenagers, after accidents and murders.

Dr Shaffer said symptoms were subtle and parents usually did not read them correctly.

People with depression got "snappy" and could seem annoyed by anything said to them.

"Parents tend to withdraw from them," he said. "Parents wonder why their youngster is so angry all the time. They can become hostile in return."

Teenagers go to great lengths to conceal their distress.

Dr Shaffer said they would hide in their rooms and tell parents they were fine.

Columbia released a screening test that it will make available free of charge to certain schools.

Dr Shaffer said the test, which starts out with a self-administered questionnaire, would take less than an hour to complete.

Backed by a group called Positive Action for Teen Health, Columbia said access to the test was being funded by private donors and not industry.

Researchers told a news conference that teenagers tended to disclose more in a written, confidential survey than in face-to-face interviews, and that using the results from the survey was more accurate than trying to guess whether a teenager was depressed.

Of 640 teenagers who took the test, 148 screened "positive" for depression.

Of those who were positive, 40 - or 27 per cent - were suicidal.

The test missed seven teenagers who later were found to be suicidal.

- REUTERS

Herald Feature: Health