Epidemiological study of DSM-5 mental disorders: National mental health survey of Korea - child and adolescent 2022

Effective mental health policies for children and adolescents rely on accurate evaluations of psychiatric disorder prevalence; however, no nationally representative epidemiological studies on psychiatric disorders among children and adolescents have been conducted in South Korea. This study examined the prevalence and socio-demographic factors of mental disorders among Korean children and adolescents aged 6–17 years using web-based DSM-5 diagnostic tools, the computerized version of the Kiddie Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia. Between September 2022 and February 2023, 142 interviewers visited houses with tablet PCs in each national census tract by stratified cluster sampling (N = 6275; response rate: 59.94 %). The lifetime prevalence of mental disorders, combining past and current rates, was 16.1 % overall. The highest psychiatric disorders were anxiety disorders (9.6 %), followed by disruptive, impulse control, and conduct disorders (4.4 %), and eating disorders (1.7 %). Substance use disorder among adolescents was 3.1 %, adolescent depressive disorder was 1.5 %, and childhood ADHD was 0.6 %. Parental education and household income influenced mental disorders. This first national-level prevalence can help improve our understanding of child and adolescent mental health in Korea and inform early detection and intervention efforts.