More than 7,000 school pupils from across the UK will be taking part in the trial of a new positive thinking programme led by the University of Bath designed to prevent children developing problems with depression.

Lone asylum seeking children are more likely to have experienced high levels of war trauma, combat and torture than those who arrive in a country with adult carers, according to a new study looking at the mental health of asylum seeking children in the UK.

Socially successful children tend to have fewer symptoms of anxiety or depression, while children with problems such as anxiety and depression tend to have difficulties forming relationships and being accepted by friends. However, it is difficult to determine whether the anxiety and depression lead to the social problems, or vice versa.

Depression is not always manifested in children as dejection and anhedonia. Depending on the age of the child, the dominant features may be weeping, irritability or defiance, as explained by Prof. Claudia Mehler-Wex and Dr. Michael Kцlch of Ulm University in the new edition of Deutsches Дrzteblatt International.