Depressive disorder in children and adolescents: Dysthymic disorder and the use of self-rating scales in assessment

The authors describe a pilot study on depressed children and adolescents, where the DSM-III diagnosis on clinical interviews is compared to the results from two self-rating scales on 35 children and adolescents referred to the researchers. These 35 subjects were seen as depressed by their primary helpers. The value of the self-rating scales is mentioned and the usefulness of the category “dysthymic disorder” is commented upon.