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Prevalence of Psychiatric Disorders Among Turkish Children: The Effects of Impairment and Sociodemographic Correlates

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Abstract

This study was designed to assess the prevalence of psychiatric disorders and the impact of impairment criteria on rates of diagnoses in a representative sample of elementary school children from a country in a region. We sampled 419 primary school children by using a one-stage design in Izmir, Turkey. The response rate was 99.5 % and 417 cases were assessed using the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-Age Children Present and Lifetime Version and a scale to assess the impairment criterion. The results showed that 36.7 % of the sample met DSM-IV criteria independent of impairment and that 14.1 % of the population had one or more DSM-IV disorders when a measure of impairment specific to each diagnosis was considered. The most prevalent disorders were attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and anxiety disorders. This study provided the first estimates of the prevalence of specific DSM-IV-defined psychiatric disorders in Turkish population of children.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Ege University Faculty of Medicine, Izmir, Turkey

    Eyüp Sabri Ercan

  2. Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Manisa Mental Health Hospital, Manisa, Turkey

    Öznur Bilaç

  3. Isparta Maternity and Children’s Hospital, Isparta, Turkey

    Taciser Uysal Özaslan

  4. Denizli State Hospital, Denizli, Turkey

    Ulku Akyol Ardic

Authors
  1. Eyüp Sabri Ercan
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  2. Öznur Bilaç
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  3. Taciser Uysal Özaslan
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  4. Ulku Akyol Ardic
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Correspondence to Ulku Akyol Ardic.

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Ercan, E.S., Bilaç, Ö., Uysal Özaslan, T. et al. Prevalence of Psychiatric Disorders Among Turkish Children: The Effects of Impairment and Sociodemographic Correlates. Child Psychiatry Hum Dev 47, 35–42 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-015-0541-3

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