Frequency of Psychological Disorders amongst Children in Urban Areas of Tehran

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the frequency of different psychiatric disorders among 7 to 12 years old children in urban areas of Tehran. METHOD: A sample of 799 children (6 to 11 years old) were selected from 250 clusters of the entire 22 municipality areas of Tehran using a multistage sampling method from 250 clusters from the entire 22 municipality areas of Tehran.. After responding to a Persian version of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) parent-report form, the Persian version of Kiddie Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia – Present and Lifetime (K-SADS-PL) was administered to 241 children and their families. The frequency of child psychological disorders was determined using the results of K-SADS-PL. RESULTS: The overall frequency of any psychological disorders in the sample of children was 17.9 percent. Among the interviewed children childrenwho were interviewed, the most prevalent diagnoses were Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) (8.6 percent)8.6%, Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) (7.3 percent)7.3%, and separation anxiety disorder (SAD) (5.9 percent)5.9%. There were not any statistically significant differences between sexes in the frequency of psychological disorders except enuresis that was more frequent in the boys and anorexia nervosa that was observed more frequently in the girls. CONCLUSION: Higher frequency of ADHD and ODD and SAD among the studied children warrantswarrants more specific evaluation of frequency and possible causes of these high frequency rates. The frequency of psychological disorders in the studied children was comparable to the that of other studies.