title: Identifying depressed and suicidal adolescents in a teen health clinic.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study examined the 6-month prevalence of depression and suicidal probability among new referrals to an adolescent health clinic.
  
  
  METHODS
  All subjects (n = 104) completed the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and the Suicide Probability Scale (SPS) prior to being seen by a physician and were categorized according to presenting problem (physical complaints only, psychological complaints only, and physical and psychological complaints combined).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Fifty-nine percent of the sample was depressed with 21% falling in the moderate range and 21% falling within the severe range of depression. Almost 23% of the sample demonstrated significant suicidal probability. The BDI and SPS were highly correlated (r = .73, p < .001) and 22% of the sample met criteria for both moderate to severe depression and suicidal probability. A significantly greater proportion of patients presenting with physical and psychological complaints combined (60%) met BDI criteria for depression than was found for the other two groups. Suicidal probability was most prevalent in patients presenting with psychological complaints only (26%) and moderate to severe depression and significant suicidal probability also coexisted to a greater extent within this group (26%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Results suggest that depression and suicidal probability represent significant mental health problems within the adolescent clinic and the identification of high-risk individuals can be achieved through comprehensive screening practices.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario, Ottawa.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cappelli
authors.forename: M K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Clulow
authors.forename: J T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Goodman
authors.forename: S I
authors.initials: SI
authors.lastname: Davidson
authors.forename: S H
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Feder
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Baron
authors.forename: I G
authors.initials: IG
authors.lastname: Manion
authors.forename: P J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: McGrath
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior; D016497:Adolescent Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003863:Depression / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010555:Personality Inventory; D015995:Prevalence; D012017:Referral and Consultation; D012307:Risk Factors; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013406:Suicide, Attempted / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*