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Comparing the prevalence of mental health problems in children 6–11 across Europe

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Abstract

Background

Worldwide, approximately one in eight children or adolescents suffer from a mental disorder. The present study was designed to determine the cross-national prevalence of mental health problems in children aged 6–11 across seven European countries including Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, Lithuania, Bulgaria, Romania, and Turkey.

Methods

Data were collected on 7682 children for whom either parent- or teacher SDQ were completed.

Results

The present study provides country-specific normative banding for both parent- and teacher SDQ scores. Overall, 12.8 % of children have any probable disorder, with rates ranging from 15.5 % in Lithuania to 7.8 % in Italy, 3.8 % of children have a probable emotional disorder, 8.4 % probable conduct disorder, and 2.0 % probable hyperactivity/inattention. However, when adjusting for key sociodemographic variables and parental psychological distress, country of residence did not predict the odds of having any disorder. For specific disorders, however, country of residence does have an effect on the odds of presenting with mental health problems.

Conclusions

As normative data are key in the comparison of mental health status on an international level, the present data considerably advance the possibilities of future research. Furthermore, the findings underline the importance of controlling for a number of sociodemographic and parental variables when conducting international comparisons of child mental health. In addition, the findings suggest that efforts are needed locally to assist in the detection and prevention of parental psychological distress.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Université Paris Descartes, Sorbonne Paris Cité, Paris, France

    Viviane Kovess-Masfety & Mathilde M. Husky

  2. EHESP French School of Public Health, Paris, France

    Viviane Kovess-Masfety & Ondine Pez

  3. INSERM U1219, Université de Bordeaux, Institut Universitaire de France, 3 ter, place de la Victoire, 33076, Bordeaux, France

    Mathilde M. Husky

  4. Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA

    Katherine Keyes & Ava Hamilton

  5. The Romanian League for Mental Health, Bucharest, Romania

    Adina Bitfoi

  6. Centro di Psichiatria di Consulenza e Psicosomatica Azienda Ospedaliero Universitaria di Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy

    Mauro Giovanni Carta

  7. Institute of Psychology, University of Koblenz-Landau, Koblenz, Germany

    Dietmar Goelitz

  8. Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, The Netherlands

    Rowella Kuijpers & Roy Otten

  9. Yeniden Health and Education Society, Istanbul, Turkey

    Ceren Koç

  10. Clinic of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Vilnius, Vilnius, Lithuania

    Sigita Lesinskiene

  11. New Bulgarian University, Sophia, Bulgaria

    Zlatka Mihova

Authors
  1. Viviane Kovess-Masfety
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  2. Mathilde M. Husky
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  3. Katherine Keyes
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  4. Ava Hamilton
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  5. Ondine Pez
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  6. Adina Bitfoi
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  7. Mauro Giovanni Carta
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  8. Dietmar Goelitz
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  9. Rowella Kuijpers
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  10. Roy Otten
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  11. Ceren Koç
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  12. Sigita Lesinskiene
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  13. Zlatka Mihova
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mathilde M. Husky.

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Conflict of interest

On behalf of all authors, the corresponding author states that there is no conflict of interest.

Funding

This study was funded by the European Union, Grant number 2006336.

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Kovess-Masfety, V., Husky, M.M., Keyes, K. et al. Comparing the prevalence of mental health problems in children 6–11 across Europe. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol 51, 1093–1103 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-016-1253-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-016-1253-0

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