According to a recent study published in the October 2000 volume of the American Journal of Psychiatry, 80 percent of a sample of 274 teens (ages 14-19) did not receive needed treatment, with negative consequences such as substance abuse and recurrence of depression in adulthood. "Especially at risk for a recurrence of major depression are depressed teenage girls who clash with parents; or any teenager who experiences more than one episode of depression, or who has a family history of recurrent depression." (Eureka Alert, http://www.eurekalert.org/releases/apa-vmo092500.htm, visited October 30, 2000). According to the study only one-forth of untreated teens were free of any disorder at age 24.

"Natural Course of Adolescent Major Depressive Disorder in a Community Sample: Predictors of Recurrence in Young Adults" by Peter M. Lewinsohn, Ph.D., et. al., p. 1584, American Journal of Psychiatry, October 2000.