Our understanding of depression in children has a curious, if not unfortunate,til roughly 15 years ago it simply did not exist!arlier theories said that children might be sad but could notbe depressed because they lacked a fully developed and well-internalizedfore adolescence. Thus, we could not see wour theories told us was not there! As if in reaction to this earlierof embarrassing ignorance, there has nowen an explosionest and research in childhood depression. This volumeDepressi in Young People, edited by Rutter, Izard, and Read,is the most impressive result of this radical change.
The volume contains 18 chapters by eminent researchers in the field of depression. Their writing is the result of a multidisciplinary 1982 conference that brought together basic developmentalists researchans to argue and discuss emerging issues in this rapidly developing field. This volume is thus more than a collection of separate pieces, for each author is familiar with his colleagues' work and frequently disagrees with or cites other authors contained