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.
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