Which symptom is commonly observed in adolescent mood disorders?

• A. Irritability and depressed mood.
• B. Persistent hallucinatory experiences.
• C. Manic euphoria without depressive symptoms.
• D. Chronic outward aggression with normal mood.

Answer: (A)

In adolescence, mood disturbances most often show up as irritability and depressed mood. Youths may not describe feeling sad in the same way adults do; instead, they may be chronically irritable, moody, or easily frustrated, with a noticeable decline in functioning at school, with friends, or at home. Along with irritability, depressive symptoms like anhedonia (loss of interest), fatigue, sleep changes, appetite changes, and concentration problems commonly accompany mood disorders in teens, helping to explain the impairment seen across areas of life.

Persistent hallucinatory experiences point more toward a primary psychotic disorder or mood disorders with psychotic features during severe episodes, and they are not the typical presenting symptom of adolescent mood disorders.

Manic euphoria without depressive symptoms may occur in bipolar disorder, but it is not the most common presentation in adolescents, where depressive symptoms often accompany or alternate with mood changes.

Chronic outward aggression with a normal mood doesn’t align with mood disorders, since mood disturbance is a defining feature; aggression may reflect comorbid behavior problems rather than the mood issue itself.

So, irritability and depressed mood best capture the common adolescent mood disorder presentation.