Non-Specificity of Motor Hyperactivity as a Diagnostic Criterion

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Abstract
The relationship between motor hyperactivity and childhood depression was investigated in a group of 178 children referred for evaluation of school problems. 60% ( n = 107) of the children fulfilled the modified Feighner criteria for primary childhood depression. 44% ( n = 78) of the children had motor hyperactivity and 75% ( n = 59) of these also showed depression. Terminal insomnia, somatic complaints, self-deprecation, episodic loss of interest in school and usual activities, social withdrawal, and preoccupation with death and dying were the symptoms which significantly differentiated depressed from non-depressed children.