The Stability of Axis I Diagnoses in Youth across Multiple Psychiatric Hospitalizations

The literature has yet to reach a consensus as to the stability of severe psychiatric diagnoses in youth. Previous studies among youngsters tracked over set follow-up periods have reported diagnostic stability estimates that are similar to or slightly lower than those of adults. Less is known, howev...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Child psychiatry and human development 2005-09, Vol.36 (1), p.53-71
Main Authors: Pettit, Jeremy W, Morgan, Sharon, Paukert, Amber L
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Behavior Disorders
Biological and medical sciences
Child
Clinical Diagnosis
Drug use
Emotional Disturbances
Female
Hospitalization - statistics & numerical data
Hospitalized Children
Humans
Institution therapy. Inpatient treatment
Male
Medical sciences
Mental Disorders
Mental Disorders - rehabilitation
Patient Admission - statistics & numerical data
Psychiatry
Psychological Patterns
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychopathology
Psychopathology. Psychiatry
Schizophrenia
Severity of Illness Index
Substance Abuse
Treatments
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The literature has yet to reach a consensus as to the stability of severe psychiatric diagnoses in youth. Previous studies among youngsters tracked over set follow-up periods have reported diagnostic stability estimates that are similar to or slightly lower than those of adults. Less is known, however, about the stability of youth psychiatric diagnoses across multiple episodes of psychopathology, such as recurrent inpatient hospitalizations. The present study investigated diagnostic stability among inpatient youth with multiple hospitalizations through longitudinal and cross-sequential designs. Results indicate that diagnostic stability, as measured by positive concordance rates and the kappa coefficient, is highest for mood disorders, especially bipolar disorder. Externalizing disorders and schizophrenia displayed moderate to low stability, with oppositional-defiant disorder displaying the lowest stability. Substance use disorders were found to have moderate stability. Overall, across-episode diagnostic stability among hospitalized youngsters appears to be lower than that of adults. This finding appears to be due to lower stability among certain externalizing disorders and substance use disorders, whereas mood disorders display stability rates resembling those of adults. Potential explanations for and implications of these findings are discussed.
ISSN:0009-398X
1573-3327
DOI:10.1007/s10578-004-3493-6