MORE than 1,000 youngsters under the age of 15 were treated for depression last year, according to figures published by the Scottish executive.

Some 350 boys and 650 girls aged 14 and under were offered psychotherapy, counselling or prescribed antidepressants.

Psychiatrists have blamed the high figures on family break-ups and mounting pressures at school.

Experts believe those seeking help from GPs represent the tip of an iceberg, with many more going undiagnosed and untreated, threatening even more severe mental health problems in later life.

They are particularly concerned about the far higher rate of depression among adolescent girls, dozens of whom are turning to cosmetic surgery and succumbing to eating disorders because an obsession with celebrities is making them increasingly anxious about their body image.

“Children are very vulnerable to family breakdown as well as all sorts of other stressful life events,” said Dr Justin Williams, senior lecturer in child psychiatry at Aberdeen University.

“These days children face all sorts of pressures at school and those we tend to see in our clinics are high-achieving, conscientious children who feel the academic pressure on them at exam time. Typically, the children who suffer depression are from more affluent backgrounds.”

Williams said he feared that the depression among children was even more widespread than the figures suggest. “Often parents don’t recognise that their children are depressed and, therefore, they don’t receive treatment,” he explained.

“As a result, children’s self-esteem, confidence and academic performance can suffer along with their long-term mental health. In the most severe cases it can lead to anti-social behaviour, substance abuse and self-harm.”

Williams added that a range of factors put girls at greater risk of depressive illness. “There are social factors that make depression in girls more likely as well as some genetic factors,” he explained. “Girls tend to be more reliant on their friends and peers than boys and can find relationship break-ups more traumatic.”

Last week, the European Medicines Agency ruled that the drug Prozac should be given to children as young as eight to help them battle depression.

Over the past year, the total annual expenditure on anti-depressants has tripled to £58.7m in Scotland, where per capita spending on the drugs is 40% higher than in England.

One in five Scots are expected to suffer from depression at some stage in their lives and Scotland has one of the highest suicide rates in Europe, with 835 people taking their own lives in 2004.

“It is of grave concern that so many under-15s are so ill,” said Charlie McMillan of the Scottish Association for Mental Health.

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