Psychiatric disorders in a community sample of adolescents

The prevalence of psychiatric disorders diagnosed according to DSM-III in adolescents in the general population is not known. The authors address this issue in a community sample of 150 adolescents 14-16 years of age. Structured interviews as well as other instruments were used to collect data. Twenty-eight (18.7%) of the 150 adolescents were identified as having a psychiatric disorder. These 28 adolescents viewed their parents as less caring, had lower self-esteem, and resolved their conflicts through verbal aggression and physical violence more often than did the adolescents who did not have a psychiatric disorder. The authors make recommendations regarding the use of structured interviews in future research.