Children continue to suffer with major depressive disorder, even while revolutionary findings are eliminating the need for suffering among adults with major depressive disorder.

             The need for further research in the area of childhood depression is therefore blatantly obvious. The well-being of children relies on the dedication of adults to researching and developing solutions to problems. Major depressive disorder is indeed a childhood problem. The purpose of the proposed research at hand is to study some of the important primary issues which must be addressed when studying depressive disorders in children. .

             The primary focus of the proposed study are the factors which may directly cause childhood major depressive disorder, or which may cause children to be predisposed to depression. In order to understand depression in children, it is necessary to know the origins of this disorder. Treatment options can be opened up to include specifically formulated counseling and/or medication -- or even prevention -- if the exact causes of depression can be properly identified. "Education is key in the management of childhood depression. Both the patient and the family should understand the difference between clinical depression and the typical growing pains of development: although most children experience periods of loneliness, rebellion, and confusion, depressed children feel this way all or most of the time.Education may also diminish the feelings of blame and guilt often felt by the child or parents.depression does not simply result from the influence of a particular environment and is not preventable." (Louder 2004).

             An important aspect of the present study is to review literature that is currently available from research conducted on childhood depression. Unfortunately, while a great deal of the MDD research conducted which has focused on adults is invaluable to this subject, it is necessary to filter out a lot of information that is not transferable from depressed adults to depressed children.