title: Depressive symptoms among teenagers in the emergency department: prevalence estimate and concordance with parental perceptions.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study aims to estimate the prevalence of depressive symptoms among adolescents seen in hospital emergency departments and to investigate the concordance between self-reported adolescent depression and parental perceptions of their adolescents' health status.
  
  
  METHODS
  A multicentre cross-sectional survey in three emergency departments receiving adolescents in Ile-de-France took place in 2010. All adolescents completed a questionnaire including the Adolescent Depression Rating Scale (ADRS) and a series of questions concerning somatisation and risk behaviours. Parents simultaneously completed a questionnaire collecting their perceptions of their adolescent's health status.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The study included 346 adolescents, and of them, 320 were fully analysed. ADRS scores were in the normal range for 70.6 % of the sample (score of <3) (n=226); 19.4 % (n=62) showed moderate depressive symptoms (3 ≤ score<6), and 10.0 %, severe depressive symptoms (score of ≥ 6) (n=32). We observed a wide discrepancy between adolescent depression, determined by a score on a self-administered scale, and parental perceptions of it.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Routine use of a self-administered questionnaire in emergency units could enable identification of adolescents with moderate or severe depressive symptoms. The present study confirms the importance of increasing parental awareness of their adolescent children's depressive symptoms.
authors.affiliation: Service de Pédiatrie, Hôpital A. Paré (APHP), 9, Avenue Charles de Gaulle, Boulogne, 92100, France, marc.sznajder@apr.aphp.fr.
authors.forename: Marc
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sznajder
authors.forename: Mario
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Speranza
authors.forename: Caroline
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Guyot
authors.forename: Solene
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Martin
authors.forename: Sylvie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nathanson
authors.forename: Stéphanie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kerbourc'h
authors.forename: Sandra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Biscardi
authors.forename: Sarah-Louise
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Cottinet
authors.forename: Delphine
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Delalande
authors.forename: Bertrand
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Chevallier
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Revah-Levy
authors.forename: Idir
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Ghout
authors.forename: Chantal
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Stheneur
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003863:Depression / Q000453:epidemiology*; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D005602:France / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010290:Parents; D015995:Prevalence; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D000297:Psychology, Adolescent; D012309:Risk-Taking; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires