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Prevalence of Psychiatric Diagnoses and the Role of Perceived Impairment: Findings from an Adolescent Community Sample

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 June 2001

Elisa Romano ,
Richard E. Tremblay ,
Frank Vitaro ,
Mark Zoccolillo  and
Linda Pagani
Elisa Romano
Affiliation:
University of Montreal,Canada
Richard E. Tremblay
Affiliation:
University of Montreal,Canada
Frank Vitaro
Affiliation:
University of Montreal,Canada
Mark Zoccolillo
Affiliation:
McGill University-Montreal Children's Hospital,Canada
Linda Pagani
Affiliation:
University of Montreal,Canada
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Abstract

The present study examined psychiatric functioning in a community sample of adolescents aged 14 to 17 years (average age of 15 years). We administered the Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children-2·25 (DISC-2·25) to 1201 adolescents and their mothers to obtain prevalence estimates of DSM-III-R disorders and the amount of perceived impairment associated with these disorders. While adolescent females reported a significantly higher prevalence of psychiatric disorders than males (15·5% vs. 8·5%), mothers indicated no sex difference. Compared with adolescent males, females had significantly higher rates of internalizing, anxiety, and depressive disorders. In contrast, the prevalence of externalizing disorders was significantly higher among adolescent males. The inclusion of an impairment criterion had a significant impact in reducing the prevalence rates of overall psychiatric disorders. This reduction occurred mainly through impairment's effects on internalizing disorders, specifically anxiety-based disorders (i.e., simple and social phobia). Given the limited research on the effect of impairment on the prevalence of adolescent psychiatric disorders, future work in this area seems warranted.

Keywords

AdolescencediagnosisDSMepidemiologyprevalenceimpairment
Type
Paper
Information
The Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines , Volume 42 , Issue 4 , May 2001 , pp. 451 - 461
Copyright
© 2001 Association for Child Psychology and Psychiatry

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