Unipolar major depression is one of the most prevalent and serious of the mental health disorders. It can result in chronic mental and physical ill health, social difficulties and suicide. The disorder occurs across the lifespan; however, its characteristics and outcomes vary with the age of the sufferer. Children, adolescents, adults and the elderly may all present with a depressive illness but the characteristics, response to treatment and final outcome show considerable variations between age groups. The extent to which genetic and environmental factors and processes contribute to the onset may be influenced by the developmental components of human growth and ageing. Equally, the social context within which depressions occur are not the same at different points in life. There are also known to be differences in relative responses to psychological and pharmacological treatments across the lifespan. Unipolar Depression: A Lifespan Perspective examines these, and other, issues, focusing on the continuities and discontinuities that arise in the nature of the disorder and how genetic, hormonal, psychological and social processes operate differentially throughout life.
The chapters are written by major figures from the field of clinical research into depressive illness.
Indice testuale
1. Characteristics of unipolar depression; 2. Intergenerational transmission of affective and cognitive processes associated with depression: Infancy and the pre-school years; 3. Unipolar depression - a lifespan perspective: 'The School Age Child'; 4. Adolescence; 5. Early adult life; 6. Depression in midlife; 7. Later life; 8. Unipolar depression across the lifespan: Issues and prospects
