Epidemiology of attention problems among Turkish children and adolescents: a national study.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the epidemiology of attention problems using parent, teacher, and youth informants among a nationally representative Turkish sample.


METHODS
The children and adolescents, 4 to 18 years old, were selected from a random household survey. Attention problems derived from the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) (N = 4,488), Teacher Report Form (TRF) (N = 2,360), and the Youth Self Report (YSR) (N = 2,206) were examined.


RESULTS
The CBCL and TRF attention problems scores were higher among young male children, whereas the YSR reported scores were higher among older adolescents without a gender effect. The CBCL and YSR scores were also higher by urban residence.


CONCLUSIONS
Compared with other European samples, our national sample had higher mean attention problems scores than the Scandinavian but lower mean scores than the former Soviet Union samples. In addition to elucidating the profile of attention problems in Turkey, our results also contribute to understanding the comparative global epidemiology of attention problems.
Erol
Nese
N
Ankara University, Turkey.
Simsek
Zeynep
Z
Oner
Ozgür
O
Munir
Kerim
K
D000293:Adolescent; D017677:Age Distribution; D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002391:Catchment Area, Health; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D017678:Sex Distribution; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014421:Turkey / Q000453:epidemiology