Epidemiological Survey of Psychiatric Disorders in Children and Adolescents of Mashhad in 2009

Introduction: Prevention and treatment of children’ mental disorders are important, not just to reduce their present problems but to improve their performance in adulthood. The nation-wide epidemiological survey of psychiatric disorders in terms of lifetime prevalence is not adequately known in Iran. This study aimed to assess the mental health status of 6-18 year-old children and adolescents in Mashhad province using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ).
 Materials and Methods: 2012 children and adolescent (6-18 years old) were selected from 10 cluster heads from different municipality areas of Mashhad, Iran. Parents and adolescents filled out the SDQ. The prevalence of symptoms and the relationship between the obtained scores and demographic factors were determined. In this study, a p-value less than 0.05 was considered significant for statistical analysis.
 Results: Analyzing the self-report form of the SDQ indicated that 34% of the participants were abnormal. In other words, 34% of children had psychiatric problems. In the parent form of the SDQ, 67.7% of children had psychological problems. Determining the subscale score in the self-report form revealed that peer relationship problems (44.4%) was the most common problem in children and adolescents followed by conduct disorder (44.1%), impairment of prosocial behavior (26.8%), emotional problems (15.9%) and hyperactivity (5.8%). In the parent form, impairment in peer relationships (75%) was the most common problem followed by emotional problems (69.6%), conduct disorder (64.5%), impairment in prosocial behavior (52.7%) and hyperactivity (6.3%). In the parent form of the SDQ, the total difficulties score was higher in children and adolescents aged 14-18 and primary school children. There was a significant difference between different age groups and grades in terms of the total difficulties score. In the self-report form of the SDQ, no significant difference was observed between demographic features in terms of the total difficulties score.
 Conclusion: Our findings showed that mental health of children in Mashhad, especially peer relationship problems, needs more attention.