有压力的生活事件、创伤史、慢性疾病史和父母患抑郁在儿童抑郁症中起着重要作用。减轻压力和创伤以及治疗父母抑郁的努力，有可能降低儿童抑郁症的可能性。基于学校、社区或互联网的认知行为防治方案可能是针对高危青少年有用的预防措施。[53]Hetrick SE, Cox GR, Witt KG, et al. Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), third-wave CBT and interpersonal therapy (IPT) based interventions for preventing depression in children and adolescents. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2016 Aug 9;(8):CD003380.http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD003380.pub4/fullhttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27501438?tool=bestpractice.com[54]Christensen H, Pallister E, Smale S, et al. Community-based prevention programs for anxiety and depression in youth: a systematic review. J Prim Prev. 2010 Jun;31(3):139-70.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20437102?tool=bestpractice.com[55]Calear AL, Christensen H. Review of internet-based prevention and treatment programs for anxiety and depression in children and adolescents. Med J Aust. 2010 Jun 7;192(11 suppl):S12-4.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20528700?tool=bestpractice.com [ 
]Do psychological interventions prevent the onset of depression in children and adolescents?https://cochranelibrary.com/cca/doi/10.1002/cca.1494/full显示答案
最近已侧重使用技术预防抑郁症。在一项针对新西兰高中学生的研究中，与没有收到消息的学生相比，那些每日收到消息持续超过 9 周的学生表示这些消息帮助他们变得更积极并减少了消极的想法。[56]Whittaker R, Merry S, Stasiak K, et al. MEMO - a mobile phone depression prevention intervention for adolescents: development process and postprogram findings on acceptability from a randomized controlled trial. J Med Internet Res. 2012 Jan 24;14(1):e13.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22278284?tool=bestpractice.com 关于技术在预防和治疗中的作用还需要更多的研究。
治疗其他精神疾病，例如 ADHD 和焦虑症，也有可能降低抑郁症的发生率。
