Abstract
Psychopathology was assessed through standardized observations by teachers of 1,400 youths 5 through 17 years old comprising the national norm sample of the Adjustment Scales for Children and Adolescents. The sample was stratified according to the U.S. population by age, sex, ethnicity, parent education, family structure, national region, community size, and handicapping condition. The maladjusted portion of the sample for each of six specific syndromes was examined for departures from expected developmental and gender prevalence. Males outnumbered females for most types of maladjustment, including attention-deficit hyperactive, both provocative and impulsive forms of solitary aggressive, oppositional defiant, and avoidant disorders. Also revealed were general patterns of reduced behavior excess and increased avoidant behavior with advancing age.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Achenbach, T. M. (1982).Developmental psychopathology (2nd ed.). New York: Wiley.
Achenbach, T. M. (1988). Integrating assessment and taxonomy. In M. Rutter, A. H. Tuma, & I. S. Lann (Eds.),Assessment and diagnosis in child psychopathology (pp. 300–342). New York: Guilford Press.
American Psychiatric Association. (1987).Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (3rd ed., rev.). Washington, DC: Author.
American Psychiatric Association. (1994).Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.
Brandenburg, N. A., Friedman, R. M., & Silver, S. E. (1990). The epidemiology of childhood psychiatric disorders: Prevalence findings from recent studies.Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 29 76–83.
Brody, G. H., & Forehand, R. (1986). Maternal perceptions of child maladjustment as a function of the combined influence of child behavior and maternal depression.Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 54 237–240.
Brophy, J. E., & Good, T. L. (1970). Teachers' communication of differential expectations for children's classroom performance.Journal of Educational Psychology, 61 365–374.
Cantwell, D. P., & Baker, L. (1991). Association between attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder and learning disorders.Journal of Learning Disabilities, 24 88–95.
Caron, C., & Rutter, M. (1991). Comorbidity in child psychopathology: Concepts, issues and research strategies.Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines, 32 1063–1080.
Cattell, R. B., & Kline, P. (1977).The scientific analysis of personality and motivation. New York: Academic Press.
Crowther, J. H., Bond, L. A., & Rolf, J. E. (1981). The incidence, prevalence, and severity of behavior disorders among preschool-aged children in day care.Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 9 23–42.
Cullinan, D., Polloway, E., & Epstein, M. H. (1987). Social and personal adjustment of elementary and secondary students.Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 9 281–294.
Dumas, J. E., & Gibson, J. A. (1990). Behavioral correlates of maternal depressive symptomatology in conduct-disorder children: II. Systemic effects involving fathers and siblings.Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 58 877–881.
Elliot, C. D. (1990).Differential Ability Scales; Introductory and technical handbook. San Antonio: Psychological Corporation.
Ferguson, D. M., Lynskey, M. T., & Horwood, J. (1993). The effect of maternal depression on maternal ratings of child behavior.Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 21 245–269.
Ferguson, G. A., & Takane, Y. (1988).Statistical analysis in psychology and education (6th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.
Friedman, R. M. (in press). Child mental health policy. In B. L. Levin & J. Petrila (Eds.),Mental health services: A public health perspective. New York: Oxford University Press.
Goodman, G., & Poillion, M. J. (1992). ADD: Acronym for any disturbance or difficulty.Journal of Special Education, 26 37–56.
Gould, M. S., Wunsch-Hitzig, R., & Dohrenwend, B. P. (1980). Formulation of hypotheses about the prevalence, treatment and prognostic significance of psychiatric disorders in children in the United States. In B. P. Dohrenwend, B. S. Dohrenwend, M. S. Gould, B. Link, R. Neugebbauer, & R. Wunsch-Hitzig (Eds.),Mental illness in the United States (pp. 9–44). New York: Praeger.
Jensen, P. S., Koretz, D., Locke, B. Z., Schneider, S., Radke-Yarrow, M., Richters, J. E., & Rumsey, J. M. (1993). Child and adolescent psychopathology research: Problems and prospects for the 1990s.Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 21 551–580.
Kazdin, A. E. (1989). Developmental psychopathology: Current research, issues, and direction.American Psychologist, 44 180–187.
Kline, R. B. (1988). Methodological considerations in the evaluation of the convergence of psychiatric diagnoses and parent-informant checklists.Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 16 289–298.
Martin, R. (1972). Student sex and behavior as determinants of the type and frequency of student-teacher contacts.Journal of School Psychology, 10 339–347.
McDermott, P. A. (1986). The observation and classification of exceptional child behavior. In R. T. Brown & C. R. Reynolds (Eds.),Psychological perspectives on childhood exceptionality: A handbook (pp. 136–180). New York: Wiley-Interscience.
McDermott, P. A. (1993). National standardization of uniform multisituational measures of child and adolescent behavior pathology.Psychological Assessment, 5 413–424.
McDermott, P. A., Marston, N. C., & Stott, D. H. (1993).Adjustment Scales for Children and Adolescents. Philadelphia: Edumetric and Clinical Science.
McDermott, P. A., & Watkins, M. W. (1987).McDermott Multidimensional Assessment of Children; IBM version. San Antonio: Psychological Corporation.
Meehl, P. E. (1986). Diagnostic taxa as open concepts: Metatheoretical and statistical questions about reliability and construct validity in the grand strategy of nosological revision. In T. Millon & G. L. Klerman (Eds.),Contemporary directions in psychopathology (pp. 215–231). New York: Guilford Press.
Meehl, P. E., & Golden, R. R. (1982). Taxometric methods. In P. C. Kendall & J. N. Butcher (Eds.),Handbook of research methods in clinical psychology (pp. 127–181). New York: Wiley.
Meehl, P. E., & Rosen, A. (1955). Antecedent probability and the efficiency of psychometric signs, patterns, or cutting scores.Psychological Bulletin, 52 194–216.
Meyer, J., & Thompson, G. G. (1956). Sex differences in the distribution of teacher approval and disapproval among sixth-grade children.Journal of Educational Psychology, 47 385–396.
Milich, R., Widiger, T. A., & Landau, S. (1987). Differential diagnosis of attention deficit and conduct disorders using conditional probabilities.Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 55 762–767.
Mischel, W. (1970). Sex-typing and socialization. In P. H. Mussen (Ed.),Carmichel's manual of child psychology (Vol. 2). New York: Wiley.
Naeye, R. L., Burt, L. W., Wright, D. L., Blanc, W. W., & Tatter, D. (1971). Neonatal mortality, the male disadvantage.Pediatrics, 48 902–906.
National Institute of Mental Health. (1990).National plan for research on child and adolescent mental disorders: A report requested by the U.S. Congress (DHHS Publication No. ADM 90-1683). Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
Pasamanick, B., Rogers, M. E., & Lilienfield, A. M. (1956). Pregnancy experience and the development of behavior disorders in children.American Journal of Psychiatry, 112 613–618.
Phares, V., Compas, B. E., & Howell, D. C. (1989). Perspectives on child behavior problems: Comparisons of children's self-reports with parent and teacher reports.Psychological Assessment: A Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 1 68–71.
Piacentini, J. C., Cohen, P., & Cohen, J. (1992). Combining discrepant diagnostic information from multiple sources: Are complex algorithms better than simple ones?Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 20 51–63.
Quay, H. C., & Peterson, D. R. (1983).Manual for the Revised Behavior Problem Checklist. Coral Gables, FL: Authors.
Richters, J. E. (1992). Depressed mothers as informants about their children: A critical review of the evidence for distortion.Psychological Bulletin, 112 485–499.
Robins, P. M. (1992). A comparison of behavioral and attentional functioning in children diagnosed as hyperactive or learning-disabled.Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 20 65–82.
Rutter, M., Shaffer, D., & Shephard, M. (1975).A multi axial classification of child psychiatric disorders. Geneva: World Health Organization.
Safer, D. J., & Allen, R. P. (1976).Hyperactive children: Diagnosis and management. Baltimore: University Park Press.
Schaughency, E. A., & Lahey, B. B. (1985). Mothers' and fathers' perceptions of child deviance: Roles of child behavior, parental depression, and marital satisfaction.Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 53 718–723.
Seidel, W. T., & Joschko, M. (1990). Evidence of difficulties in sustained attention in children with ADDH.Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 18 217–229.
Stott, D. H. (1978). Epidemiological indicators of the origin of behavior disturbance as measured by the Bristol Social Adjustment Guides.Genetic Psychology Monographs, 97 127–159.
Strauss, C. C., Lahey, B. B., Frick, P., France, C. L., & Gynd, G. W. (1988). Peer social status of children with anxiety disorders.Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 56 137–141.
Thorndike, R. L. (1982).Applied psychometrics. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
Trites, R. L., & Laprade, K. (1983). Evidence for an independent syndrome of hyperactivity.Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 24 573–586.
Tuma, J. M. (1989). Mental health services for children: The state of the art.American Psychologist, 44 188–199.
U.S. Department of Commerce. (1990).Current population survey, March 1988 [Machine-readable computer file]. Washington, DC: Bureau of the Census.
U.S. Department of Education. (1989).Eleventh annual report to Congress on the implementation of the Education of the Handicapped Act. Washington, DC: Author.
Verhulst, F. C., Koot, H. M., & Van der Ende, J. (1994). Differential predictive value of parents' and teachers' reports of children's problem behaviors: A longitudinal study.Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 22 531–546.
Watson, S. M., Henggeler, S. W., & Whelan, J. P. (1990). Family functioning and the social adaptation of hearing-impaired youths.Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 18 143–163.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
McDermott, P.A. A nationwide study of developmental and gender prevalence for psychopathology in childhood and adolescence. J Abnorm Child Psychol 24, 53–66 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01448373
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01448373