There has been tremendous growth in the field of child psychiatric epidemiology over the past two decades.1 The results of numerous community surveys in specific regions of the U.S.2–8 have shown that about one in every three to four children suffers from a mental disorder and that about one in ten has a Serious Emotional Disturbance, 9–11 with few affected youth receiving adequate mental health care. However, there has been a lack of empirical data on the prevalence and distribution of a wide range of DSM-IV mental disorders from a nationally representative sample of children or adolescents. Such information is necessary to establish resource allocation priorities for prevention, treatment, and research.
