Cognitive bias and depression in psychiatrically disturbed children and adolescents.

The relation between cognitive distortion and depression, found in adult affective disorders, has not previously been demonstrated in childhood affective disorders. Therefore, a Cognitive Bias Questionnaire for Children (CBQC) was developed to examine this relation in a sample of 39 psychiatrically disturbed children and adolescents. The depressed-distorted (DD) scale from the CBQC was significantly correlated with psychiatric and self-reported ratings of depression and could significantly discriminate affective from non-affective disorders. These results are discussed in terms of their limitations and in terms of other evidence suggesting that child, adolescent, and adult depressives share similar cognitive attributes.