This summary of literature during the past year reviews published studies relating to risk factors for depressive disorders in children and adolescents. Risk factors include environmental toxins, socio-environmental, and genetic factors. As depression has a complex, multifactorial causal mechanism, it is likely that the accumulation and/ or interaction among multiple risk factors lead to depression. Findings related to the result of toxin exposure have been difficult to interpret given that risk factors tend to interact and that higher mental functions are not easily measurable. However, some findings have been consistent. Clinical research data has also shown that the risk for negative outcomes may be modified both by genetic and environmental factors through a gene environment interplay mechanism.