A study of Psychological Disorders on Ordinary, Talented and Orphan Students in High Schools of Kerman City in 2010 Print

Paying attention to mental health of students in adolescence decreases the burden of psychological disorders in their subsequent life. This paper aimed to study the psychological disorders of ordinary, talented and orphan students in high schools of Kerman city. This and cross-sectional study was carried out in 2010. A pilot study for preliminary prevalence estimation was conducted and 622 students were selected by multi-stage random sampling method. The data were collected by a Persian version of a validated self-report Symptom Checklist (SCL-90). Scale for data assessment was defined based on global severity index (GSI) (no symptom<1, 1 to1.99 minor, 2 to 2.99 moderate and severe≥3). Data were analyzed by descriptive statistics and X2 test. The frequency of psychological disorders in girls and boys were 44.6% (n=146) and 31.5% (n=93), respectively (p=0.0001). In minor and moderate levels, hostility with 61.2% (n=381) and psychoticism with 13.5% (n=84) had the most and the least frequency, respectively. Also, no severe psychological disorders were observed in any groups of the students. Furthermore, in minor and moderate levels, most of nine dimensions of psychological disorders were related to orphans with 51.9% (n=42) and the least psychological disorders were related to the talented with 30.4% (n=78) students, (p=0.003). Regarding higher frequency of disorders in orphan students compared to the other two groups, teaching problem-solving and living skills to these students is suggested.