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Psychiatric Morbidity of Second and Third Grade Primary School Children in Korea

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Abstract

This study was undertaken to identify psychiatric morbidity among Korean second and third elementary school children using an objective diagnostic interview tool. Data from 5,118 (2,723 boys, 2,395 girls; mean age = 8.41 years (SD = 0.66)) second and third grade schoolchildren were drawn from 28 elementary schools. After initial screening assessments using the 28-item Child Problem-Behavior Screening Test for parents, 672 primary caregivers were subjected to secondary screening using the Korean version of the CBCL. Two hundred and seventy-one high-risk children selected according to the K-CBCL results, 138 (50.9%) children and their primary caregivers were interviewed using the Korean version of K-SADS-PL for objective DSM-IV psychiatric diagnoses. Sixty-four (46.4%) of the hundred and thirty eight children were determined to have at least one psychiatric disorder. More boys were diagnosed as psychiatric patients than girls (46 males, 18 females; OR = 2.21). The most frequently diagnosed disorder was ADHD (46/64; 71.9%), followed by tic disorder, anxiety disorders, mental retardation, oppositional defiant disorder, and separation anxiety disorder. Two or more comorbid psychiatric disorders were found in 22 (34.4%) of the 64 patients. The computed crude percentage of psychiatric patients in this study was 4.12%, which is similar to previously published data.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Seoul National University, Korea

    H. I. Yoo, S. C. Cho & B. N. Kim

  2. College of Medicine, Chungang University, Korea

    S. Y. Kim

  3. Seoul National University, Korea

    M. S. Shin & K. E. Hong

Authors
  1. H. I. Yoo
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  2. S. C. Cho
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  3. B. N. Kim
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  4. S. Y. Kim
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  5. M. S. Shin
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  6. K. E. Hong
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Correspondence to S. C. Cho.

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Yoo, H.I., Cho, S.C., Kim, B.N. et al. Psychiatric Morbidity of Second and Third Grade Primary School Children in Korea. Child Psychiatry Hum Dev 36, 215–225 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-005-4078-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-005-4078-8

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