[Three typologies for adolescents' mental health in north-eastern Medellín, Colombia, 2006].
OBJECTIVE
Obtaining typologies for adolescent students in north-eastern Medellin in 2006 concerning five mental health indicators (depression level, family functioning level, risk of suicide, consuming psychoactive substances and family vulnerability) linked to gender, age group and commune.


METHODS
The information was collected from a stratified random sample of 779 adolescents who were proportionally assigned by the size of educational institutions in each commune in the study area; a 3,5 % error and 95 % confidence interval were used in such calculation. The students were given a questionnaire to fill in by themselves.


RESULTS
Three typologies were presented where adolescents were classified as follows: two grouped adolescents without difficulties regarding the five mental health indicators and a third category grouped adolescents having problems in all the mental health indicators studied formed mainly by students from the Popular and Santa Cruz communes (35 %, around 15,636 students).


CONCLUSIONS
The mental health of adolescent students from north-eastern Medellín was seen to be a multidimensional phenomenon needing interdisciplinary intervention and presented differences by gender, age group and commune.
Paniagua-Suárez
Ramón E
RE
Facultad Nacional de Salud Pública, Universidad de Antioquia. epania@guajiros.udea.edu.co
González-Posada
Carlos M
CM
Montoya-Gómez
Brígida
B
D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D003105:Colombia / Q000453:epidemiology; D003863:Depression; D005192:Family Health; D005260:Female; D006305:Health Status Indicators; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology; D008960:Models, Psychological; D000297:Psychology, Adolescent; D012494:Sampling Studies; D013405:Suicide; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D035862:Vulnerable Populations; D055815:Young Adult