Emotional disorders in children and adolescents

There is a broad range of emotional disorders that affect children and adolescents. Five to ten per cent of children and young people are affected at any time. We consider three major emotional disorders: depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder and anxiety disorders. We describe the common clinical presentations and current recommended management, including some of the recent controversies in clinical care, particularly the revision of evidence and practice concerning the use of antidepressant medications in children and adolescents.