Prevalence of Mental Disorders in Primary School Students of Golestan Province in 2014

There exists a risk of developing a mental disorder for humans at any time and place; therefore, recognizing these disorders and their prevalence and incidence seems necessary. Thus, the present study is conducted to investigate the prevalence of mental disorders in primary school students in Golestan province.

This research was cross-sectional. The statistical population included all male and female primary school students of Golestan province in the academic year 2013-2014; from which, a sample of 843 individuals were selected by the multi-stage cluster sampling method. The research instruments included the Child Symptom Inventory (CSI-4; Sprafkin et al., 2002). ). Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics (frequency and percentage) and the chi-square statistical method.

The results showed that the most common disorder in the studied students is the mild mood disorder (29%) and the severe depression disorder (0.3%) has the lowest prevalence. Moreover, in the prevalence of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder )ADHD; from three types of inattentive, hyperactive-impulsive, and combination), oppositional defiant disorder (ODD), conduct disorder (CD), specific phobia, obsessive thoughts, motor tics, vocal tics, separation anxiety, enuresis, and urinary and fecal incontinence between the genders (boys and girls), there were significant differences (p <0.01); but in the prevalence of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), schizophrenia, major depression, mild mood disorder, Asperger's syndrom, and social phobia, no significant difference was observed between girls and boys (p > 0.05).

Mental disorders, including mild mood disorders, are highly prevalent in primary school students in Golestan province, and environmental factors such as the presence of different ethnic groups, economic and social conditions, and the emotional atmosphere of the family, play an important role in the development of mental disorders in children.