Detailed contribution information
| Contribution title | 3497 - Comparison of Croatian clinical and non-clinical population of adolescent (using Youth Self Report) |
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| Contribution code | PS02-19 (P) |
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| Form of presentation | Poster |
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| Abstract |
Background: During a first time evaluation with the Child and adolescent psychiatrist, adolescents are routinely asked to fill out several self rated questionnaires. One of the most prominent and widely used questionnaire is The Youth Self Report (YSR; Achenbach & Rescorla, 2001). We conducted this study to gain insight in self-assessed mental status of adolescents, detect most prominent emotional and behavioral problems among youth aged 14 to 18, and to compare clinical and non-clinical population of adolescents in Croatia. Considering that mental health and mental health problems are an increasing issue in the society, we also wanted to evaluate current mental health services in Croatia and to adjust and plan treatment and prevention measures accordingly. Subjects and Methods: We performed a cross-sectional study of non-clinical and clinical (at the point of their first contact with mental health service) sample of 334 adolescents, males N=147, females N=187, aged 14-18, and compared the data on the syndrome scales of the Youth Self Report between two samples and between male and female asolescents in every group. For this purpose we used self rated questionnaire Youth Self Report, authors T. Achenbach, L. Rescorla, revision 2001, Croatian version, which was published in 2005 by a group of Croatian authors. Results: There was a significant increase in findings in clinical population compared to non-clinical one in overall results scored with the Youth Self Report (F(1,330)=107,976; p<,01), with higher results for females (F(1,330)=15,892; p<,01). There is a significant increase in clinical population compared to non-clinical one in all scales: Somatic Complaints (F(1,330)=84,157; p<,01), Anxious/Depressed (F(1,330)=94, 654; p<,01), Social problems (F(1,330)=54,538; p<,01), Thought Problems (F(1,330)=96,268; p<,01), Withdrawn F(1,330)=65,844; p<,01, Attention Problems (F(1,330)=50,031; p<,01). Delinquent Behavior (F(1,330)=50,850; p<,01), Aggressive Behavior, Internalizing (F(1,330)=115,299; p<,01) and Externalizing (F(1,330)=44,650; p<,01). Conclusion: Emotional and behavioral problems are frequent in clinical sample of adolescents referred to the CAP service. Mental health professionals have an opportunity to work with General Practitioners to develop activities which would encourage troubled adolescent to approach mental health services earlier which will contribute to early diagnosis and prevention of progression of mental disorders. |