Annual research review: conceptualising functional impairment in children and adolescents

Ronald M. Rapee*, Susan M. Bögels, Cathy M. Van Der Sluis, Michelle G. Craske, Thomas Ollendick

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

    84 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    Functional impairment is a key factor in the clinical importance of mental health problems in children. Yet, the nature of impairment and criteria for defining and assessing impairment in childhood disorders has been surprisingly overlooked in much of the literature. The current article examines the extant literature on the conceptualisation, nature and assessment of impairment in childhood disorders. Relations between diagnostic symptoms and functional impairment are discussed together with the influence of impairment on diagnostic decisions and prevalence rates. Several factors influencing impairment in childhood such as culture, development and gender are considered. This article concludes with a discussion of the utility of separating judgements of impairment from specific diagnoses, which is proposed for consideration in the forthcoming DSM-5.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)454-468
    Number of pages15
    JournalJournal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines
    Volume53
    Issue number5
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - May 2012

    Keywords

    • mental health
    • quality of life

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