Psychiatric Disorders Among Japanese Children

To generate current data on the prevalence of psychiatric disorders among Japanese children, using DSM-III-R criteria. As part of an ongoing longitudinal study in a Japanese community sample, 114 mother-child dyads were interviewed when the children were approximately 8 years old. DSM-III-R disorders of the children were diagnosed through the administration of a structured diagnostic instrument, the parent and child versions of the Child Assessment Schedule, to both the children and their mothers. The prevalence rate for any diagnosis was 49.1%, which is similar to that of U.S. children and adolescents. The Child Assessment Schedule is an appropriate scale for assessing the psychopathology of Japanese children, which is as prevalent as in a U.S. sample. J. Am. Acad. Child Adolesc. Psychiatry, 1999, 38(4):444–452