DEALING WITH DEPRESSION

The trickiest task faces parents whose children seem 100 percent healthy when they leave for college. Donna Satow of New York had sent two children to college by the time her third, Jed, went off to the University of Arizona. In 1998, as a sophomore, he committed suicide. Today Satow and her husband run the Jed Foundation, which helps colleges develop strategies for dealing with student depression. She'd like all colleges to screen incoming students for depression, the same way they make sure they've had all their immunizations. Satow advises parents of every student to become informed about mental-health services at their child's school. "You don't ask, 'What kind of support do you have in case my youngster gets in trouble?' " But in a world where families agonize over finding the cushiest dorm room and the perfect meal plan, it's a question that deserves to be asked.

© 2004