Parent-youth agreement on psychiatric diagnoses and symptoms: results from an adolescent outpatient clinical sample.

• Published in: Nordic Journal of Psychiatry
• Main Authors: Jónsdóttir, Helga, Agnarsdóttir, Hrafnkatla, Jóhannesdóttir, Hrund, Smárason, Orri, Harðardóttir, Harpa Hrönn, Højgaard, Davíð R M A, Skarphedinsson, Gudmundur
• Other Authors: 1Centre for Child Development and Behavior for the Primary Health Care of the Capital Area, Reykjavik, Iceland. 2Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Landspítali University Hospital, Reykjavík, Iceland. 3State Diagnostic and Counselling Centre, Kopavogur, Iceland. 4Faculty of Psychology, University of Iceland. 5Municipal Service Centres Breiðholts, Reykjavík, Iceland. 6Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Aarhus University Hospital Psychiatry, Aarhus, Denmark.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Taylor & Francis 2022
• Subjects: Agreement; assessment; children; parent–youth agreement; schedule for affective disorders and schizophrenia for school-age children Kiddie-SADS-PL (K-SADS); Geðsjúkdómar; Sjúkdómsgreining; Ungt fólk; Foreldrar; Viðhorf; Mental Disorders; Diagnosis; Parents; Adolescent; Iceland
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/2336/622049; https://doi.org/10.1080/08039488.2021.2002405

To access publisher's full text version of this article click on the hyperlink below Objective: Previous research suggests that agreement, between youths and their parents, regarding assessment of youth psychiatric problems is limited. Due to this discrepancy, a multi-informant, multimethod approach is recommended when gathering psychopathological information. This study examines parent-youth agreement regarding youth psychiatric problems. It does so at a diagnostic level and at a symptom level, as well as studying the influence of age, gender, depressive disorder, anxiety disorder and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) as potential moderators of agreement. Methods: The participants in this study were 61 adolescents aged 12-18 years and their parents. The K-SADS-PL DSM-5 was administered in two outpatient units, with adolescents and their parents interviewed separately. Participants also rated symptoms using a broad rating scale (Child Behavior Checklist and the Youth Self-Report) prior to being interviewed. Results: Parent-youth agreement at a diagnostic level ranged from fair to excellent. Agreement at a symptom level was lower than that at a diagnostic level, ranging from poor to fair. These results indicate that parent-youth agreement regarding diagnosis and symptoms is higher than in most previous studies. The results also suggest that some variables, such as age, gender, depressive disorders, and ADHD, potentially influence agreement on symptoms. Conclusion: These findings support the importance of gathering information from both children and parents, and that clinicians should consider moderating factors when integrating data from multiple informants. Keywords: Agreement; assessment; children; parent–youth agreement; schedule for affective disorders and schizophrenia for school-age children Kiddie-SADS-PL (K-SADS). University of Iceland Research Fund