title: Do we need the "adolescent crisis" diagnosis?
abstract: The aim of the study was to examine patients in adolescent crisis at the beginning of treatment and after a period of 12 months in order to evaluate the relative diagnostic and therapeutic validity. The study included 153 Split University students in adolescent crisis; 90 of them were treated by counseling and 63 served as controls. For diagnosis, Hampstead index and Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) multiaxial evaluation were used, allowing a wider insight into personal functioning. The study sample was split in 7 significantly different diagnostic subgroups. The counseling-treated examinees had better personality functioning after 12 months, but did not differ significantly from the control group. Some of their single functions were more severely disturbed at the very beginning. Counseling is a valuable therapeutic and diagnostic tool for adolescent crisis. The assessment must evaluate the entire person, because looking at only one aspect, due to different development and its place, a wrong conclusion may be reached. The "adolescents crisis" entity is clinically relevant.
authors.affiliation: Department of Family Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Split, Split, Croatia.
authors.forename: Ana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dvornik-Radica
authors.forename: Vlasta
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Rudan
authors.forename: Vesna
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Juresa
authors.forename: Davor
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ivanković
authors.forename: Mirjana
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rumboldt
authors.forename: Elvira
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Smoje
authors.forename: Davorka
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Vrdoljak
authors.forename: Natasa
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Mrduljas-Dujić
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003376:Counseling; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010554:Personality Disorders / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy*; D013334:Students