Annual Report to Congress on the Evaluation of the Comprehensive Community Mental Health Services Program for Children and Their Families

Diagnostic Characteristics

Diagnoses are field diagnoses provided at intake using criteria from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV).

Children Presented with a Wide Range of Primary Diagnoses

The children had a wide range of diagnoses with many having disruptive behavior disorders (43 percent) including conduct disorder, oppositional defiance disorder, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Other primary diagnoses were depressive disorders (27 percent), anxiety (8 percent), and adjustment disorders (6 percent). Disorders such as substance abuse, eating, somatic, speech problems, enuresis, poor self-concept, phobia, and psychosis were less commonly reported as primary diagnoses, totaling 8 percent of the sample (see Figure ES-12).

Approximately One-Third of the Children Had a Secondary Diagnosis

Roughly one-third of the children (34 percent) had two distinct diagnoses. Of these children, 19 percent had a secondary diagnosis of a substance abuse disorder, and 18 percent had a secondary diagnosis of a conduct-related disorder (see Figure ES-13).

More children with disruptive behavior disorders and fewer children with depression or anxiety entered systems of care compared to expectations derived from overall population prevalence rates. The number of children with multiple diagnoses was similar to other studies of children with serious emotional disturbance (Greenbaum et al., 1996).

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