Phenomenology of anxiety and depressive disorders in children and adolescents

In recent years, clinicians and researchers have demonstrated renewed interest in the study of anxiety and depression in children and adolescents. There is difficulty in determining the constituents' characteristics of, and distinguishing between, anxiety and depression. Further understanding of the phenomenology of these disorders may result from observation, by attending to the subjective experiences of the child and adolescent, and by studying the biologic factors associated with anxiety and depressive disorders. Despite the fact that much remains unknown concerning the disorders of anxiety and depression in children and adolescents, considerable progress has been made toward a better understanding of the phenomenology of depressive disorders in children and adolescents.