Prevalence and correlates of mental disorders among adolescents in Italy: the PrISMA study.

Background: While in the last 5 years several studies have been conducted in Italy on the prevalence of mental disorders in adults, to date no epidemiological study has been targeted on mental disorders in adolescents.

Method: A two-phase study was conducted on 3,418 participants using the child behavior checklist/6-18 (CBCL) and the development and well-being assessment (DAWBA), a structured interview with verbatim reports reviewed by clinicians.

Results: The prevalence of CBCL caseness and DSM-IV disorders was 9.

Prevalence of common mental disorders in Italy: results from the European Study of the Epidemiology of Mental Disorders (ESEMeD).

Objective: To present 1-month, 12-month and lifetime prevalence estimates of mood, anxiety and alcohol disorders in Italy; and the socio-demographic correlates and comorbidity patterns of these estimated disorders.

Method: A representative random sample of non-institutionalised citizens of Italy aged 18 or older (N=4,712) was interviewed between January 2001 and July 2003, with a weighted response rate of 71.3%.

The Italian preadolescent mental health project (PrISMA): rationale and methods.

The Italian preadolescent mental health project (PrISMA--Progetto Italiano Salute Mentale Adolescenti) is the first Italian study designed to estimate the prevalence of mental disorders in preadolescents (10-14 years old) living in urban areas, and to analyse the demographic and biological correlates of emotional and behavioural problems. This paper describes the rationale, methods and the analysis plan of the project. The design of the study used a two-stage sampling procedure, one screening stage of emotional and behavioural problems in a large sample of subjects attending public and private schools and a second stage of diagnostic assessment in a sample including all high scorers and a proportion of low scorers.

Prevalence, severity, and unmet need for treatment of mental disorders in the World Health Organization World Mental Health Surveys.

Context: Little is known about the extent or severity of untreated mental disorders, especially in less-developed countries.

Objective: To estimate prevalence, severity, and treatment of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) mental disorders in 14 countries (6 less developed, 8 developed) in the World Health Organization (WHO) World Mental Health (WMH) Survey Initiative.

Design, Setting, And Participants: Face-to-face household surveys of 60 463 community adults conducted from 2001-2003 in 14 countries in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia.