What Are the Specific DSM4 Psychiatric Diagnoses?
• Dr P V Finn Cosgrove, Consultant All-Age Psychiatrist The Bristol Priority Clinic, BA2 5YD Goodman R, Gledhill J & Ford T have studied almost 10,500 school children, and they have concluded that younger children in the school year are more likely to have a psychiatric diagnosis (BMJ 2003;327:472-5). They say that the youngest third of children in a school year have a psychiatric diagnosis at the rate of 9.9%, compared to 8.8% for the middle third and 8.3% for the oldest third in the school year. These percentages are for their “Any Psychiatric Diagnosis” category. The statistical significance for these three percentages for “Any Psychiatric Diagnosis” is P = 0.03 (significant). This is not nearly as high a level of statistical significance compared to the 0.001 (very highly significant) which they get for both the parent and for the teacher reported symptoms for All Ages and for the 5-10 year old group. Please will Goodman R et al provide us with the breakdown they must have of this
