Depression among abused children

A study was conducted on 200 children who were diagnosed and managed for the clinical problem of depression in a community mental health clinic of Karachi. A questionnaire supplemented by detailed mental state examination and personal in-depth interview inquiring specifically about the social circumstances of these children were used as tools. The results indicate that 65% of the children were the victim of torture in the form of either physical or sexual abuse, emotional deprivation, false implication in crimes and harassment by employers. Remaining 35% of children were the victims of social disadvantages, like poverty, lack of opportunity for education, poor residence, large family size or need for work. The different manifestations of depression were in the form of behavioural disorders, academic failure and conduct disorders. There is an urgent need to address this problem in order to prevent the mental health morbidity among the juvenile population at all levels.