JoAnne RhodeAP LangPeriod 3Research Paper Final DraftAccording to the FDA, approximately 2.5% of children and approximately 8% of adolescents are affected by depression (Temple). A common way to treat depression is to take antidepressants. Children and adolescents have also been prescribed antidepressants for various reasons other than depression, such as obsessive compulsive disorder and anxiety disorders. Although it is legal for teenagers and children to take antidepressants, many people are concerned about the problems that come with taking antidepressants. Children and adolescents should be allowed to take antidepressants only when other forms of therapy do not work. Antidepressants are serious medications that come with serious warnings when children and adolescents use them. There is also an increased risk of worsening depression and suicide in children and adolescents, especially when they start taking it. Even less serious side effects can have a rather negative impact on your life. Antidepressants are usually a type of medication called SSRIs. SSRIs stands for selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. The most popular antidepressants such as Zoloft, Paxil, Celexa, Lexapro, and Luvox are all SSRIs (antidepressant drugs for children and adolescents). Many newer antidepressants are SSRIs due to fewer side effects and being safer for adults than other generations of older antidepressants. Children and adolescents, however, are not. In fact, the FDA has placed a black box warning on SSRIs that “is the most serious type of warning in prescription drug labeling” (Antidepressant Drugs for Children and Adolescents). There is actually only one SSRI that can be prescribed to depressed children (who must be at least eight years old) which is Prozac and this did not prevent the SSRIs...half of the paper...and when they started the antidepressant. As much as people don't want to think about it, antidepressant withdrawal symptoms can affect anyone, especially teenagers and children. One study reported that 55% of teens taking antidepressants experienced withdrawal patterns (Antidepressants: Psychological Side Effects Are Even Worse Than Thought). With around half of teenagers suffering from withdrawal symptoms and many more due to the effects of antidepressants, antidepressants create more things for a child or teenager to suffer from. There are children and adolescents who do well on antidepressants, but they are not for everyone. SSRIs may do the opposite of helping children and adolescents. There are serious risks that could occur, especially when a child or teenager is starting to do it. The side effects can affect them not only physically, but mentally.