Depression is a common mental health challenge in teenagers and even in some children. It can be hard to spot because teenagers are typically moody and because depression can look different in teens and kids than it does in adults.
Take our depression test
If you’re looking for a free depression test, you can use our Symptom Checker to help you determine if your teen might have depression. By answering a few simple questions about your teen’s behaviors, you’ll receive a personalized list of behaviors and traits. If they correspond with the symptoms and behaviors associated with depression, it will let you know. If your answers to the quiz suggest another disorder, you’ll see that, too.
The Symptom Checker was developed in partnership with expert clinicians and is aligned with the Child Mind Institute’s rigorous editorial standards.
Is any online depression test reliable?
If you think your teen may have depression, it’s important to get a diagnosis from a medical or mental health professional. But if you’re looking for an online depression test to get started, our Symptom Checker can help you know if the behaviors you notice in your teen could be signs of depression — or something else. You’ll also find links to articles where you can learn more and help you prepare for a conversation with a professional who can diagnose your teen.
What are the signs of depression in teens?
The biggest sign of depression is a change in mood. A depressed teen will feel sad or irritable for no reason and lose interest in things they normally enjoy. These changes will last at least two weeks. Other symptoms include:
Being easily annoyed
Feeling hopeless
Trouble concentrating
Trouble making decisions
Struggling in school
Low self-esteem or saying negative things about themselves
Having trouble talking to friends
Thinking about or attempting suicide
To identify signs and symptoms of depression in teens, try using our free Symptom Checker.
Physical signs of depression
Since children, and especially teens, do not always share how they are feeling — or may even go out of the way to hide how they are feeling —it can be hard for parents to identify depression. But some signs of depression are visible. Physical signs of depression include:
A change in eating habits — eating conspicuously more or less
A change in weight — either gaining or losing weight
A change in sleeping habits — sleeping either more or less than usual
Having low energy or seeming tired all the time
Spending a lot of time alone in their room, avoiding friends
Seeming listless or lazy
Early signs of depression in teens
The key to spotting depression in teens and preteens is to be alert for changes in behavior. For example:
Being irritable when they are typically easygoing
Getting into fights or breaking rules at school when they’ve never done that
Becoming highly sensitive to mistakes or criticism, when they used to shrug it off
Withdrawing from things they used to enjoy, like skipping classes or dropping sports
Frequent stomachaches and headaches
Anxiety and depression
It’s common for a teenager to struggle with both anxiety and depression. Scientists think it may be because the regions of the brain affected by anxiety and depression are close together, and mutually affected. But one disorder can also lead to another.
When depression leads to anxiety, it may be because the negative state of mind results in uncertainty. If you’re not feeling good about yourself — or don’t feel confident, secure, or safe — anxiety may take root.
It’s also possible that a very anxious teenager begins avoiding many of the things they used to enjoy, so their life becomes extremely limited — and that leads to depression.
If a teenager has both anxiety and depression, it’s important to seek professional help for both disorders. Untreated, they lead to serious problems, including self-injury (or cutting), substance abuse, and suicidal thinking (or behavior).
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Major depressive disorder: Severe symptoms that last between two weeks and several months
Persistent depressive disorder (also called dysthymia): Less severe symptoms that last for a year or more
Depression usually begins during the teenage years, but younger kids can also be diagnosed. Girls are diagnosed with major depressive disorder twice as often as boys are.
How is depression tested and diagnosed?
If you’re looking to learn more about your teen’s symptoms via an online depression test, try our Symptom Checker. However, our test cannot diagnose depression, it can only help you identify possible signs of depression.
Depression can only be diagnosed by a mental health or medical professional. To make the diagnosis, the clinician will speak to the teen, family members, and other adults in the teen’s life.
To be diagnosed with major depressive disorder, a teenager must be depressed most of the time for at least two weeks and have several of the symptoms listed above. Their symptoms must be a change from their typical behavior.
To be diagnosed with persistent depressive disorder, a teen must be depressed or annoyed most of the time for at least one year. They must also have at least two of the symptoms getting in the way of their daily life.
How much does our online depression test cost?
The Symptom Checker is a free to use depression test that can help you identify possible signs of depression.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is any online depression test for teens reliable?
If you think your teen may have depression, it’s important to get a diagnosis from a medical or mental health professional. Our depression test cannot diagnose your teen but it can help you know if the behaviors you notice in your teen could be signs of depression — or something else.
