Distress and disability in young adults presenting to clinical services with mood disorders

E M Scott; Daniel F Hermens; S L Naismith; A J Guastella; D White; B G Whitwell; Jim Lagopoulos; Jan Scott; I B Hickie

doi:10.1186/2194-7511-1-23

Back

Distress and disability in young adults presenting to clinical services with mood disorders

Journal article

Open access

Peer reviewed

Distress and disability in young adults presenting to clinical services with mood disorders

E M Scott, Daniel F Hermens, S L Naismith, A J Guastella, D White, B G Whitwell, Jim Lagopoulos, Jan Scott and I B Hickie

International Journal of Bipolar Disorders, Vol.1(23)

2013

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/2194-7511-1-23

Files and links (2)

pdf

PDF - Published Version (Open Access)781.06 kBDownload View

Published VersionPDF - Published Version (Open Access)CCBY_V2.0, Open Access

url

https://doi.org/10.1186/2194-7511-1-23View

Published Version

Abstract

Psychology

bipolar

unipolar

youth

alcohol and substance misuse

co-morbidity

Background Distress and/or dysfunction are well established as key reasons for help-seeking. We explore the characteristics of groups defined by high or low distress or disability in young people with unipolar depression (UP) or bipolar disorder (BD). Methods: Individuals aged 12 to 25 years presenting to youth mental health services for the first time with a primary diagnosis of UP or BD were assessed using the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (Kessler-10) and the Work and Social Adjustment Scale (WSAS). Four groups with high or low distress or impairment were defined (according to scores above or below the group medians for the Kessler-10 and WSAS). Multinomial logistic regression (MNLR) was used to examine how cases with high levels of distress and disability (reference group) differed from the other three groups. Results and discussion: The sample comprised 1,746 cases (90% UP, 56% female) with a median age of 17.5 years. Median scores on the Kessler-10 and WSAS were both high (30 and 20, respectively) and were significantly inter-correlated (r = 0.62); the high impairment/distress group was the largest sub-group (39% of cases). The MNLR analysis demonstrated that younger age was associated with lower impairment groups (irrespective of distress level), whilst male gender was associated with lower distress (irrespective of impairment). Compared to the low impairment/distress cases, the high impairment/distress group was significantly more likely to use cannabis and/or alcohol. Age, substance use and possibly gender are probably better predictors of distress/impairment sub-group than mood disorder sub-type in youth.

Details

Title: Distress and disability in young adults presenting to clinical services with mood disorders
Authors: E M Scott (Author) - University of Sydney
Daniel F Hermens (Author) - University of Sydney
S L Naismith (Author) - University of Sydney
A J Guastella (Author) - University of Sydney
D White (Author) - University of Sydney
B G Whitwell (Author) - University of Sydney
Jim Lagopoulos (Author) - University of Sydney
Jan Scott (Author) - Newcastle University, United Kingdom
I B Hickie (Author) - University of Sydney
Publication details: International Journal of Bipolar Disorders, Vol.1(23)
Publisher: SpringerOpen
Date published: 2013
DOI: 10.1186/2194-7511-1-23
ISSN: 2194-7511
Copyright note: Copyright © 2013 Scott et al.; licensee Springer. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Organisation Unit: University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland; Thompson Institute
Language: English
Record Identifier: 99449254302621
Output Type: Journal article

Metrics

68 File views/ downloads

2644 Record Views

14 Times Cited - Web of Science

InCites Highlights

These are selected metrics from InCites Benchmarking & Analytics tool, related to this output

Collaboration types: Domestic collaboration; International collaboration
Web Of Science research areas: Psychiatry

UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

This output has contributed to the advancement of the following goals:

Source: InCites