This Article  • References  • Full text PDF  • Reply to article  • Send to a friend  • Save in My Folder  • Save to citation manager  • Permissions  Citing Articles  • Citation map  • Citing articles on HighWire  • Contact me when this article is cited  Related Content  • Similar articles in this journal  Social Bookmarking   What's this?

Discrepancies Between Mothers' and Children's Reports

Myrna M. Weissman, PhD; Priya Wickramaratne, PhD; Virginia Warner, MPH; Karen John, MA; Brigitte A. Prusoff, PhD; Kathleen R. Merikangas, PhD; G. Davis Gammon, MD

Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1987;44(8):747-753.

Abstract
• Results were compared from independent interviews using the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-aged Children—Epidemiologic Version and DSM-III with 220 subjects (ages 6 to 23 years) and their parent informants. In agreement with results from studies using a variety of structured diagnostic interviews or symptom scales, considerable discrepancies were found between parents' and children's reports on the degree and nature of the child's psychopathology. The children reported more illness about themselves than their parents reported about them. The parents' reports were primarily a subset of the children's reports. Various factors that might affect agreement, including demography, parental clinical status, severity of illness, and treatment, were also explored. The findings that parents underreport psychiatric disorders in their children are comparable with those reported in studies of adults when family informants are used to obtain diagnostic information. Until these parent-child discrepancies can be resolved by longitudinal, family, and other research, diagnostic assessment of children should include direct interviews with them. An independent assessment of the child's diagnosis based on information from multiple informants, including the child, may be the best estimate.

Author Affiliations
From the Departments of Psychiatry (Drs Weissman, Wickramaratne, Prusoff, Merikangas, and Gammon, and Mss Warner and John) and Epidemiology (Drs Weissman and Merikangas), Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Conn. Dr Weissman is now with the College of Physicians & Surgeons of Columbia University, New York.

Footnotes
Accepted for publication Nov 20, 1986.

Reprint requests to Department of Psychiatry, Depression Research Unit, Yale University School of Medicine, 350 Congress Ave, New Haven, CT 06519 (Dr Weissman).

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter     What's this?

THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES

National Trends in the Outpatient Diagnosis and Treatment of Bipolar Disorder in Youth
Moreno et al.
Arch Gen Psychiatry 2007;64:1032-1039.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Making Sense of Multiple Informants in Child and Adolescent Psychopathology: A Guide for Clinicians
Smith
Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment 2007;25:139-149.
ABSTRACT  

Gender-Related Quality of Parent-Child Interactions and Early Adolescent Problem Behaviors: Exploratory Study With Midwestern Samples
Spoth et al.
Journal of Family Issues 2006;27:826-849.
ABSTRACT  

Relationship of Parent and Child Informants to Prevalence of Mania Symptoms in Children With a Prepubertal and Early Adolescent Bipolar Disorder Phenotype
Tillman et al.
Am. J. Psychiatry 2004;161:1278-1284.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Four-Year Prospective Outcome and Natural History of Mania in Children With a Prepubertal and Early Adolescent Bipolar Disorder Phenotype
Geller et al.
Arch Gen Psychiatry 2004;61:459-467.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Psychopathology and Social Competencies of Adolescents Who Were Extremely Low Birth Weight
Saigal et al.
Pediatrics 2003;111:969-975.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Test Review: Devereux Scales of Mental Disorders
R. and A.
Canadian Journal of School Psychology 2000;15:85-91.
 

Exploring Factors Governing Successful Residential Treatment of Youngsters with Serious Behavioural Difficulties: Findings from a Longitudinal Study in Holland
SCHOLTE and VAN DER PLOEG
Childhood 2000;7:129-153.
ABSTRACT  

Adolescent Temperament Moderates the Relation of Parenting to Antisocial Behavior and Substance Use
Stice and Gonzales
Journal of Adolescent Research 1998;13:5-31.
ABSTRACT  

The Psychological and Medical Sequelae of War in Central American Refugee Mothers and Children
Locke et al.
Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med 1996;150:822-828.
ABSTRACT  

Predictors of Outcome in Child Psychoanalysis: A Retrospective Study of 763 Cases at the Anna Freud Centre
Fonagy and Target
J Am Psychoanal Assoc 1996;44:27-77.
ABSTRACT  

Correlates of Depressive Symptoms in Early Adolescence
Vitaro et al.
Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders 1995;3:241-251.
ABSTRACT  

The Vanderbilt School-Based Counseling Program: An Interagency, Primary-Care Model Of Mental Health Services
Catron and Weiss
Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders 1994;2:247-253.
ABSTRACT  

Review of Issues and Measures in Childhood Depression
Semrud-Clikeman and Hynd
School Psychology International 1991;12:275-298.
ABSTRACT  

Mental Disorders in Adolescent Suicide: DSM-III-R Axes I and II Diagnoses in Suicides Among 13- to 19-Year-Olds in Finland
Marttunen et al.
Arch Gen Psychiatry 1991;48:834-839.
ABSTRACT  

Longitudinal Study of Diagnoses in Children of Women With Unipolar and Bipolar Affective Disorder
Hammen et al.
Arch Gen Psychiatry 1990;47:1112-1117.
ABSTRACT  

Two-Year Recall of Lifetime Diagnoses in Offspring at High and Low Risk for Major Depression: The Stability of Offspring Reports
Fendrich et al.
Arch Gen Psychiatry 1990;47:1121-1127.
ABSTRACT  

Psychiatric Disorders in Pediatric Primary Care: Prevalence and Risk Factors
Costello et al.
Arch Gen Psychiatry 1988;45:1107-1116.
ABSTRACT  

Depressive Affect and Restraint in Early Adolescents: Relationships with Family Structure, Family Process and Friendship Support
Feldman et al.
The Journal of Early Adolescence 1988;8:279-296.
ABSTRACT  

Physicians' Recognition of Psychiatric Disorders in Children and Adolescents
Chang et al.
Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med 1988;142:736-739.
ABSTRACT