RESUMO
BACKGROUND: Much attention has been given to parental separation as a possible risk factor for adverse child development; however, little information is available regarding the family status of children referred to psychiatric facilities. AIMS: To assess the association between psychiatric illness in childhood and family status compared to the background population. METHODS: Data was derived from a national register on children referred to psychiatric facilities in Denmark and a databank containing detailed statistical information on the Danish society. RESULTS: Regardless of age significantly fewer children with psychiatric illnesses lived with both biological parents as compared to the background population (51.1% vs 73.3%). There were no gender differences. Analyses of the specific diagnoses association with family status revealed only few significant differences. CONCLUSIONS: Psychiatrically ill children are at increased risk of not living with both biological parents independent of age of the child.
Assuntos
Características da Família , Transtornos Mentais/epidemiologia , Família Monoparental/estatística & dados numéricos , Adolescente , Psiquiatria do Adolescente , Distribuição por Idade , Criança , Psiquiatria Infantil , Pré-Escolar , Estudos de Coortes , Dinamarca/epidemiologia , Feminino , Humanos , Lactente , Recém-Nascido , Masculino , Transtornos Mentais/diagnóstico , Transtornos Mentais/psicologia , Escalas de Graduação Psiquiátrica , Sistema de Registros , Família Monoparental/psicologiaRESUMO
The paper provides prevalence estimates of anxiety disorders as well as homotypic (e.g., other anxiety disorders) and heterotypic (e.g., mood, externalizing) co-morbidity in a national sample of children and adolescents referred to the psychiatric system in Denmark. Data were gathered from a database containing 83% of all youth referred from 2004 to 2007 (N=13,241). A prevalence of 5.7% of anxiety disorder was found in the sample. Homotypic co-morbidity was found in only 2.8%, whereas heterotypic co-morbidity was found in 42.9% of the cohort. A total of 73.6% had a principal anxiety disorder as opposed to 26.4% who had other principal diagnoses and a secondary anxiety disorder. The national database not only provides a valuable prevalence estimate of anxiety disorders in every-day non-research psychiatric settings, but also highlights the importance of applying standardized screening instruments as routine to increase the precision in recognizing and reporting on childhood anxiety disorders.