What are common features of mood disorders in adolescence?

• A. Onset in adolescence; depressed mood, irritability, anhedonia; sleep/appetite changes; suicidality.
• B. Mood disorders in youth never include changes in sleep or appetite.
• C. Mood disorders are always present with psychotic features.
• D. Mood disorders always include euphoria.

Answer: (A)

Adolescents with mood disorders typically show symptoms that reflect mood disruption plus behavioral changes, often presenting as irritability rather than just sadness, along with diminished interest (anhedonia), and noticeable shifts in sleep and appetite, with suicidality being a serious concern. The most accurate choice captures that these disorders commonly begin during adolescence and include these core features: depressed mood or irritability, anhedonia, sleep and appetite changes, and the risk of suicidality. Sleep problems can be insomnia or hypersomnia, and appetite can go up or down, all of which are common in youth with mood disorders.

The other descriptions don’t fit as well. Mood disorders in youth do include sleep and appetite changes, so saying they never occur is inaccurate. Psychotic features are not always present; when they do occur, they’re not universal and only appear in some cases. Euphoria isn’t a defining feature of mood disorders overall and is instead more associated with mania or hypomania.