Diagnostic outcome of self-reported hallucinations in a community sample of adolescents.

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to assess the diagnostic outcome of self-reported hallucinations in adolescents from the general population. METHOD: The sample consisted of 914 adolescents between ages 11-18 participating in an ongoing longitudinal study. The participation rate from the original sample was 70%. Responses on the Youth Self-Report questionnaire were used to ascertain hallucinations in adolescents. Eight years later, Axis 1 DSM-IV diagnoses were assessed using the 12-month version Composite International Diagnostic Interview in 783 (86%) of 914 study subjects. No subjects were diagnosed with schizophreniform disorders or schizophrenia. RESULTS: Hallucinations were reported by 6% of adolescents and 3% of young adults. Self-reported hallucinations were associated with concurrent non-psychotic psychiatric problems in both age groups. Adolescents who reported auditory, but not visual, hallucinations, had higher rates of depressive disorders and substance use disorders, but not psychotic disorders, at follow-up, compared to controls. CONCLUSIONS: Self-reported auditory hallucinations in adolescents are markers of concurrent and future psychiatric impairment due to non-psychotic Axis 1 disorders and possibly Axis 2 disorders. It cannot be excluded that there was selective attrition of children and adolescents who developed Schizophrenic or other psychotic disorders later in life.

Adolescents' self-reported problems as predictors of psychopathology in adulthood: 10-year follow-up study.

BACKGROUND: Knowledge of the course of psychopathology from adolescence into adulthood is needed to answer questions concerning origins and prognosis of psychopathology across a wide age range. AIMS: To investigate the 10-year course and predictive value of self-reported problems in adolescence in relation to psychopathology in adulthood. METHOD: Subjects from the general population, aged 11-19 years, were assessed with the Youth Self-Report (YSR) at initial assessment, and with the Young Adult Self-Report (YASR), the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI) and three sections of the Diagnostic Interview Schedule (DIS) 10 years later. RESULTS: Of the subjects with deviant YSR total problem scores, 23% (males) and 22% (females) had deviant YASR total problem scores at follow-up. Subjects with initial deviant YSR total problem, internalising and externalising scores had higher prevalences of DSM-IV diagnoses at follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: Adolescent problems tended to persist into adulthood to a moderate degree. High rates of problems during adolescence are risk factors for psychiatric disorders in adulthood.

Continuity and change of psychopathology from childhood into adulthood: a 14-year follow-up study.

OBJECTIVE: To test the 14-year continuity and change of behavioral and emotional problems from childhood into adulthood. METHOD: For 1,615 children and adolescents aged 4 to 16 years from the general population, parents completed the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) at initial assessment. At follow-up 14 years later, subjects completed the Young Adult Self-Report (YASR), and their parents completed the Young Adult Behavior Checklist (YABCL). RESULTS: Of the subjects who were initially classified as deviant, 14 years later 41% were classified as deviant according to their YABCL Total Problem score, and 29% according to their YASR Total Problem score. Intrainformant (CBCL/YABCL) Withdrawn, Social Problems, Delinquent Behavior, and Aggressive Behavior scores, and cross-informant (CBCL/YASR) Anxious/Depressed, Thought Problems, and Delinquent Behavior scores were independent predictors of general levels of problem behavior. CONCLUSIONS: Childhood and adolescent problems persisted to a considerable degree into adulthood, although the majority of children who were deviant at initial assessment could not be regarded as deviant 14 years later. Children who were adolescents at initial assessment (12-16 years) showed higher stability of problem behaviors than subjects who were children at initial assessment (4-11 years).