Time trends in symptoms of mental illness in children and adolescents in Canada.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Existing research and media reports convey conflicting impressions of trends in the prevalence of mental illness. We sought to investigate trends in the prevalence of symptoms of mental illness in a large population-based cohort of Canadian children and adolescents.

Methods

We obtained population-based data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth. Every 2 years, participants completed self-reported measures of mental illness indicators, including conduct disorder, hyperactivity, indirect aggression, suicidal behaviour, and depression and anxiety. We analyzed trends in mean scores over time using linear regression.

Results

We evaluated 11 725 participants aged 10-11 years from cycles 1 (1994/95) through 6 (2004/05), 10 574 aged 12-13 year

SUBMITTER: McMartin SE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4259795 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature