---
title: "Psych News Alert: Irritable Youngsters May Be Depressed"
description: When youngsters are irritable, what does it signify? More likely depression than delinquency, a study published in the January American Jour...
---

[Psych News Alert ](https://alert.psychnews.org)

# [Psych News Alert: Irritable Youngsters May Be Depressed](https://alert.psychnews.org/2012/02/irritable-youngsters-may-be-depressed.html)

 Written by [Psychiatric News Alert](https://alert.psychnews.org/author/psychiatric-news-alert) | 2/6/12 5:00 AM

<https://alert.psychnews.org/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/angry%20boy_74486923-Jun-24-2025-04-45-19-4374-PM.jpg> 

When youngsters are irritable, what does it signify? More likely depression than delinquency, a study published in the January *American Journal of Psychiatry *suggests.

A sample of some 2,500 youngsters were studied to see whether two components of oppositional behavior—irritability and headstrong/hurtful behavior—were related to depression or delinquency. Irritability showed a significantly stronger link with depression than with delinquency, while headstrong/hurtful behavior was more strongly related to delinquency than to depression, the researchers found. It thus appears that irritability has a stronger genetic link with depression than it does with delinquency.

For more information about this study in the *American Journal of Psychiatry*, click [ here](http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/article.aspx?articleid=181219)  .

(Image: Sergii Figurnyi/Shutterstock.com)

[View full post](https://alert.psychnews.org/2012/02/irritable-youngsters-may-be-depressed.html)

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