Table 2.
Percent of Truant Youth Reporting Various Mental Health Issues (n = 299 or 300)
| Mental Health Issue | Affirmative Response |
|---|---|
| Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD): | |
| Do you find that you are the type of person who often gets complaints from parents or teachers that you don’t listen to instructions or direction? | 56% |
| Do you frequently tend to act before thinking? | 70% |
| Do you often have difficulty waiting for your turn during games or when doing things with other people your age? | 32% |
| Do you often fidget and find it difficult to sit still? | 52% |
| Anxiety: | |
| Do you worry a great deal when you are away from home that something bad might happen to your parents? | 40% |
| Do you often refuse to go to school because you are afraid that something bad will happen to your parents or some other important person? | 10% |
| Do you ever worry a lot about how well you are doing as a student or whether you have enough friends? | 41% |
| Do you worry a great deal about how future events will turn out? | 63% |
| Depression: | |
| Has there ever been a continuous 2 week time period during which you felt sad or down most of the time--as if you didn’t care anymore about anything? | 56% |
| Have you ever continuously felt like crying for several days in a row? | 36% |
| Have you ever had any trouble sleeping that lasted for many days? | 43% |
| Have you ever felt so down that you felt like ending your life? | 24% |
| Have you ever actually attempted suicide? | 8% |
| Mania-Like: | |
| Has there ever been a period of time of at least several days, during which time you were not using alcohol or other drugs, when you felt on top of the world -- as though you had special abilities or superhuman talents? | 24% |
| During such a period, when you were not using alcohol or drugs, have you ever felt that you had tremendous energy, like that of a superperson? | 34% |
| During such a period, when you were not using alcohol or drugs, did you ever feel as though your thoughts were racing? | 38% |
| During such a period, when you were not using alcohol or drugs, did you ever feel that you could go for a long time period without sleep? | 32% |