Publications [#271552] of Elizabeth J. Costello

Journal Articles

1. Costello, EJ; Edelbrock, CS (1985). Detection of psychiatric disorders in pediatric primary care: a preliminary report.. Journal of the American Academy of Child Psychiatry, 24(6), 771-774. [doi]
   (last updated on 2023/06/01)

   Abstract:
   Pediatricians' awareness of psychiatric disorder in their patients was examined in a feasibility study of the use of a highly structured psychiatric interview with 40 parents and children from a Health Maintenance Organization. Pediatricians identified 4 children (10%) as having psychiatric problems. These four had the highest symptom scores on the NIMH Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children interview with the parent (DISC-P), as well as high symptom scores based on the DISC interview with the child. Three of the four were behaviorlly deviant according to the Child Behavior Checklist, a parent-rated questionnaire. Pediatrician's diagnoses were more consistent with parents' reports than with the children's own reports of symptoms. The study demonstrated the feasibility of using a highly structured psychiatric interview in a community study, and suggests that pediatricians may be more sensitive to parents' reports of severe disorder than to milder or child-reported problems.