RESUMO
This is an epidemiologic study of 199 children and adolescents who were referred for evaluation to a child psychiatry clinic in a teaching hospital in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia during a 6 year period. [I] to clarify who utilizes the services of a child psychiatry clinic. [2] what are the psychological problems that triggers the referral, and [3] compare our results with western literature on similar clinical populations of children and adolescents. All children referred to the child psychiatry clinic were assessed using a semi-structured interview according to the +AP DSM-III system and a modified global assessment of functioning scale provided for the fourth axis of the DSM III. Significant findings which differ from literature reports include: a low representation of conduct disorder [5%], high representations of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder [12.6%], mental retardation [20Tc], conversion disorder [8%] and obsessional disorder [4%]. First referred to traditional healers were 46% and there was a low rate [0.6%] of referral from pediatricians compared to 22% in western societies. The results are discussed with emphasis on socio-cultural perspectives