Depersonalization in Early Adolescence

Depersonalization is a comparatively rare disease in the psychiatric field. Particularly, its occurrence in early adolescence or even before seems to be quite uncommon. We have observed 120 cases of depersonalization, of which only 16 cases had their onset before the age of 15. Among them, we will present here 6 cases for which a detailed observation was available. It is very difficult for these minors to put their feeling into verbal expressions because the experience of depersonalization is a “negative symptom.” Adult patients can explain metaphorically how they feel. However, children can use only similes. Therefore, in the case of depersonalization, children have more difficulty in expressing their feeling than adults. This might cause to clinically overlook depersonalization in children. Even in our observation of the cases reported here, we found after a while that their complaints actually meant experiences of depersonalization, although their explanations were at first obscure. These 6 cases showed common personality traits that they are passive in interpersonal relationship and that they easily become frustrated or hold a sense of inferiority even at trifles.