Depression and Anxiety in Preschoolers: A Review of the Past 7 Years

This article reviews recent empirical literature on the prevalence, correlates, assessment, and treatment of preschool-onset internalizing disorders. Major advances in the acceptance and recognition of both preschool-onset depression and anxiety have occurred over the past decade. This work has been greatly enhanced by the discovery of genetic, neural, and physiologic indicators, which further validate these constellations of symptoms in young children. Despite this growth in research, much work still needs to be done to further elucidate the cause, risk, treatment, and protective factors for preschool-onset internalizing disorders.