Wk7 Childhood Disorder Research Paper (1).docx - Running...

Running head: Major-Depressive Disorder
Aaron Hunter
Major-Depressive Disorder
Southeastern University

Running head: Major-Depressive Disorder
Definition
The root of major-depressive disorder (MDD) is that it is a mood disorder. “The DSM-5
lists 2 general categories of mood disorders” with depression being a highlight. In common
terms, depression refers to a constant and extreme sadness (“Introduction to Psychology,” n.d.).
Other feelings or moods also include “guilt” and “worthlessness,” which reinforces the
“extreme sadness” previously mentioned (Reeves, Postolache, & Snitker, 2008).
Symptomology
There are numerous places in a depressed person’s life that can point to the disorder,
however in children many disguise it in other symptoms such as aggression, anxiety, and
enuresis (Love & Napolitano, 2010). Enuresis is involuntary urination, typically in children at
night. However, a depression in mood, anhedonia, fatigue, thoughts of death, also changes in
sleep, appetite, or psychomotor activity can occur in MDD. “Problems with sleep, appetite, or
psychomotor activity can occur… individuals may experience insomnia or hyperinsomnia;
anorexia or increased appetite; psychomotor retardation or agitation” (Reeves, Postolache, &
Snitker, 2008). Psychomotor retardation refers to the slowing-down of thought and a reduction
of physical movements in an individual.
Diagnosis
According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition,
also known as DSM-5, the symptoms of MDD may lead to a loss of interest and excitement in
everyday activities (APA, 2013). To diagnose children with such depressive episodes, to the
extreme of MDD, one of two symptoms must occur during a 2-week period:
depressed/irritable mood or “diminished interest or loss of pleasure in almost all activities”
(APA, 2013). There are no specific laboratory tests that identify depression, however other
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Running head: Major-Depressive Disorder
potential etiologies must be filtered out. Such laboratory work may include complete blood
count (CBC) with differential, serum electrolytes, blood urea nitrogen (BUN), creatinine
clearance and concentration, urine osmolality, and drug monitoring. Other technical and
evaluations are electroencephalography (EEG), electrocardiography (ECG), liver and thyroid
function tests, and children’s depression inventory (Glardino & Pataki, 2017). The DSM-5
lists many different “subtypes of depression” that allow for a proper diagnosis (“Introduction
to Psychology,” n.d.). The DSM-5 refers to them as specifiers that show unique patterns of
symptoms or specify distinct periods of time when the symptoms are present. One specifier is
seasonal pattern in which a person experiences symptoms of MDD during a particular time of
year like winter or spring. This explains the common term “winter blues”. One other subtype
of MDD is “persistent depressive disorder in which a person experiences depressed moods