Youth and caregiver reports of mental health issues differ, but both perspectives needed

AI Summary

A study finds that children’s and adolescents’ reports of mental health concerns can differ substantially from caregivers’ accounts. The differences may affect psychiatric diagnoses, treatment planning, and estimates of how common disorders are.

Psychiatric assessments of children and adolescents commonly incorporate reports from both youth and their caregivers. However, they may identify substantially different mental health problems, potentially influencing diagnosis, treatment planning and estimates of psychiatric disorder prevalence.