ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To identify rates of psychiatric disorder in a representative sample of primary school children in a North of England city. METHOD: The study obtained multi-criterion screen data on a representative one-in-three sample of 7- and 8-year-old children in Newcastle upon Tyne. It also obtained psychiatric interview data for screen-positive and a proportion of screen negative children. In addition the clinically trained interviewers rated psychiatric impairment. RESULTS: Estimated rates of disorder with impairment, calibrated to be equivalent to that of children attending local child psychiatric clinics, were 1.2% for emotional disorder, 5.6% for disruptive behaviour disorder and 6.7% for any disorder. CONCLUSION: These findings are consistent with other contemporary studies using similar impairment criteria.
Subject(s)
Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity/epidemiology , Mental Disorders/epidemiology , Child , Comorbidity , Female , Humans , Male , Mental Disorders/psychology , Prevalence , Psychological Tests , Psychometrics , Psychophysiologic Disorders/epidemiology , United Kingdom/epidemiology , Urban PopulationABSTRACT
Over the recent past, reports have argued that there has been a decline in the mental health of children and young people in Western societies. This is said to have occurred gradually over the second half of the last century and possibly longer. This view is based on evidence of a progressively declining peak age for adult type depressive disorders, and an apparent increase in adolescent disturbance such as substance abuse, attempted and completed suicide, perhaps eating disorders, and behaviour disorders. These phenomena have been attributed to the major changes in social values and behaviour, with their impact on child rearing and family life that gathered pace over the course of the last century.
