PSYCHIATRIC EPIDEMIOLOGY IN A SAMPLE OF 1510 TEN‐YEAR‐OLD CHILDREN–I. PREVALENCE

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Abstract
Prevalence estimates of psychiatric disorder in 10 yr old rural Norwegian children were based on responses to symptom checklists for parents and teachers. The parents'' index showed highest validity and was used as a basis for prevalence estimates. Properties of the index were sample specific and a validity test should consequently always be administered to representative subsamples in psychiatric epidemiological studies based on symptom checklists. Prevalence in functional problems of a primarily psychological nature was calculated by proportional extrapolations from the validity test results. The prevalence rate for the total sample was 5% and corrected prevalence when emigrants were excluded was 4.6%.