A computerised algorithm was developed to predict child psychiatric diagnoses on the basis of the symptom and impact scores derived from Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaires (SDQs) completed by parents, teachers and young people. The predictive algorithm generates "unlikely", "possible" or "probable" ratings for four broad categories of disorder, namely conduct disorders, emotional disorders, hyperactivity disorders, and any psychiatric disorder. The algorithm was applied to patients attending child mental health clinics in Britain (N = 101) and Bangladesh (N = 89). The level of chance-corrected agreement between SDQ prediction and an independent clinical diagnosis was substantial and highly significant (Kendall's tau b between 0.49 and 0.73; p < 0.001). A "probable" SDQ prediction for any given disorder correctly identified 81-91% of the children who definitely had that clinical diagnosis. There were more false positives than false negatives, i.e. the SDQ categories were over-inclusive. The algorithm appears to be sufficiently accurate and robust to be of practical value in planning the assessment of new referrals to a child mental health service.

A conservative extrapolation is that around 5 million Bangladeshi children and adolescents have psychiatric disorders. In a country with very few child mental health professionals, there is a vast gap between need and provision that must be addressed.

Predictions based on multi-informant SDQs potentially provide a cheap and easy method for detecting children in the developing world with significant mental health problems. The potential effectiveness of any such screening programme should be evaluated on a broad range of children, using both international and culture-specific assessments.

PurposeTo examine whether the widely used Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) can validly be used to compare the prevalence of child mental health problems cross nationally.MethodsWe used data on 29,225 5- to 16-year olds in eight population-based studies from seven countries: Bangladesh, Brazil, Britain, India, Norway, Russia and Yemen. Parents completed the SDQ in all eight studies, teachers in seven studies and youth in five studies. We used these SDQ data to calculate three different sorts of “caseness indicators” based on (1) SDQ symptoms, (2) SDQ symptoms plus impact and (3) an overall respondent judgement of ‘definite’ or ‘severe’ difficulties. Respondents also completed structured diagnostic interviews including extensive open-ended questions (the Development and Well-Being Assessment, DAWBA). Diagnostic ratings were all carried out or supervised by the DAWBA’s creator, working in conjunction with experienced local professionals.ResultsAs judged by the DAWBA, the prevalence of any mental disorder ranged from 2.2% in India to 17.1% in Russia. The nine SDQ caseness indicators (three indicators times three informants) explained 8–56% of the cross-national variation in disorder prevalence. This was insufficient to make meaningful prevalence estimates since populations with a similar measured prevalence of disorder on the DAWBA showed large variations across the various SDQ caseness indicators.ConclusionsThe relationship between SDQ caseness indicators and disorder rates varies substantially between populations: cross-national differences in SDQ indicators do not necessarily reflect comparable differences in disorder rates. More generally, considerable caution is required when interpreting cross-cultural comparisons of mental health, particularly when these rely on brief questionnaires.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s00127-011-0440-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Medical students confront significant academic, psychosocial and existential stressors for coping with new college and schedule,. So assessment of the symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress among medical students are essential to take necessary steps to treat or prevent any psychiatric morbidity. The objective of the study was to assess depression, anxiety and stress among the first year MBBS students. This was a cross sectional and descriptive study conducted in Khulna Medical College, Bangladesh from December 2009 to July 2010. For this purpose, 105 students fulfilling inclusion and exclusion criteria were taken as sample. They filled up personal data and the short-form Bangla version of DASS (DASS-21 BV) scale. The results showed that, the mean age of students was 18.8 years with male predominance (54.3%). Symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress were found among 54.3%, 64.8% and 59.0% of students respectively. Eighty five (81%) students either had depression, anxiety or stress alone or in combination. Combination of depression, anxiety and stress was highest (36.2%). No significant association was found between gender difference and depression, anxiety or stress. Age was positively correlated with depression (p=0.004) and stress (p=0.001). Percentage of 1st year MBBS students suffering from depression, anxiety and stress were very high. Adequate psychiatric services should be provided to manage these symptoms among medical students.Bang J Psychiatry June 2015; 29(1): 23-29