High school mental health survey: assessment of a mental health screen.
OBJECTIVE
To estimate the size of the population in need of psychiatric diagnostic assessment, based on the 12-month period prevalence of child and adolescent psychiatric disorders in one local high school, and to evaluate the validity of the Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children Predictive Scales 8 (DPS-8) screen against the National Institute of Mental Health-Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children-IV (NIMH-DISC-IV) for any diagnosis.


METHODS
This 2-stage cross-sectional study included high school students aged 13 to 19 years. In the first stage, we administered the DPS-8 screen. In the second stage, we used the NIMH-DISC-IV. Prevalence and validity were estimated using the Bayesian formula owing to the unequal subsample fractions in the second stage.


RESULTS
A total of 222 students participated in the first stage Screen. Of these, 153 completed the second stage NIMH-DISC-IV. In this sample, the prevalence for anxiety disorders was 17%, behaviour disorders was 11%, and depressive disorders was 1%. The overall prevalence of any one of these disorders was 29%. The sensitivity of the DPS-8 screen was 53.4%, specificity was 87.6%, the positive predictive value was 63.8%, and th negative predictive value was 82%. The overall accuracy of the screen was 77%.


CONCLUSIONS
This study highlights some of the difficulties in conducting psychiatric research in a high school population. Despite the difficulties, the DPS-8 screen, if used judiciously by school counsellors, may be helpful in identifying students needing further comprehensive psychiatric assessment.
Department of Psychiatry, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario. eerobertsn@hdh.kari.net
Nasreen
N
Roberts
Heather
H
Stuart
Mui
M
Lam
D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000379:methods*; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D015995:Prevalence; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires