Social Outcomes Related to Age of Onset Among Psychiatric Disorders

Analyses are presented that examine the impact of a diagnosis of affective disorder, anxiety disorder, and substance abuse before and after age 20 on multiple measures of education, socioeconomic and employment status, childbearing, marital status, and instability in a random sample ( N = 3,000) of community respondents from the Piedmont Health Survey. Results indicate that all categories are associated with social outcomes regardless of age of onset, particularly for marital and family outcomes. For socioeconomic outcomes, the correlates of anxiety disorder are more pervasive, and the effects of a substance abuse diagnosis are stronger for early onset.