Abstract
Interest in the coexistence of depressive disorders with other behavioral and emotional problems in childhood and adolescence is relatively recent (Caron & Rutter, 1991; Biederman, Newcorn, & Sprich, 1991). This interest has followed the recognition of depression in young people (Carlson & Cantwell, 1980a) as a symptom and as a disorder and the availability of standardized interview schedules for affective disorders in younger subjects, in both patient and nonpatient populations (for reviews, see Angold, 1988; A. J. Costello, 1986; E. J. Costello & Angold, 1988; Edelbrock & Costello, 1988; Strober & Werry, 1987). Historically, the question of whether a syndrome similar to the affective disorders in adults also exists for children has been the subject of considerable discussion in the psychiatric literature. The major focus of this discussion has been on depressive disorders, largely major depressive disorder (MDD), rather than on dysthymic disorder, adjustment disorders, with depressed mood, or mania. There has been some inclusion of the other depressive disorders in research by Kovacs and colleagues (Kovacs, Feinberg, Crouse-Novak, Paulauskas, & Finkelstein, 1984a; Kovacs et al., 1984b), but still relatively little interest in mania.