Youngsters, Teens With A Psychiatric Disorder May Have Increased Odds Of Negative Outcomes In Adulthood

The NPR (7/15) “Shots” blog reports that youngsters and adolescents “with a psychiatric disorder had six times higher odds of having at health, legal, financial and social problems as adults,” according to research published online July 15 in JAMA Psychiatry. Kids and teens “with milder symptoms were three times more likely to have problems as adults,” the study found.

HealthDay (7/16, Preidt) reports that for the study, investigators “analyzed data from more than 1,400 participants in 11 North Carolina counties who were followed from childhood through adulthood.” While they were children, “about 26 percent of the participants met the criteria for depression, anxiety or a behavioral disorder, 31 percent had milder forms below the full threshold of a diagnosis, and nearly 43 percent had no mental health problems.”

TIME (7/16, Basu) reports, “Of the young adults who had suffered from a subthreshold psychiatric problem in childhood, 42% suffered an adverse outcome in adulthood.” Meanwhile, “of the kids who had behavioral or emotional issues as kids, 60% of them reported having trouble as adults.” Comparatively, “just 20% of the young adults who had no psychiatric issues reported adult problems.”

Related Links:

— “Even Mild Mental Health Problems In Children Can Cause Trouble Later,” Ina Yang, National Public Radio, July 15, 2015.

Posted in In The News.