Correlation between adolescents psychical disorders and their difficulties of psychosocial adaptation

Aurelija Markevičiūtė, Rūta Kalkytė, Virginija Adomaitienė, Devika Gudienė, Dalia Vėlavičienė

Psychiatry Department, Kaunas University of Medicine Hospital, Lithuania

Key words: adolescents; psychical disorders; psychosocial adaptation.

Summary. Objective. To study the correlation between adolescents’ psychical disorders and their difficulties of psychosocial adaptation.

Methods and materials. There were 63 adolescent participants in our study (47 girls and 16 boys) who were hospitalized in Department of Children and Adolescent Psychiatry, Kaunas University of Medicine Hospital (Lithuania) during the period from September to December, 2005. Twenty-seven adolescents (19 girls and 8 boys) had suicidal and self-harming behavior. Psychical disorders were diagnosed according to ICD-10 diagnostic criterions. We used Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire SDQ-lit adapted for Lithuania.

Results. While comparing the mean scores in both sexes of adolescents with diagnoses of depressive, behavioral and adaptation disturbances, we found a statistically significant difference only in emotionally disturbance scale results (p=0.016). Analyzing groups of girls and boys separately, girls showed to be worse psychosocially adapted and had more emotional problems. Girls who tried to commit suicide had more emotional (p=0.006) and psychosocial problems (p<0.001). Girls who were diagnosed with affective disorders had more expressed emotional (p<0.001) and general adaptation (p=0.031) difficulties. Parents noted that those who committed a suicide and had behavior disturbances had more expressed emotional (p=0.007) and general adaptation (p=0.053) problems.

Conclusions. 1. Adolescent girls who were diagnosed depressive illnesses had more emotional and general adaptation problems than girls who were diagnosed behavior or adaptation disorders. 2. Adolescent girls who tried to commit suicide had more expressed behavior problems and difficulties of emotional, general adaptation. 3. Most expressed difficulties of emotional and general adaptation were typical to girls who were diagnosed with depression and who tried to commit a suicide.

Correspondence to A. Markevičiūtė, Psychiatry Department, Kaunas University of Medicine Hospital, Eivenių 2, 50009 Kaunas, Lithuania. E-mail: aurelijamark@yahoo.com

Received 6 June 2007, accepted 9 August 2007