eFigure.

The link between psychiatric disturbances and mental developmental age

The frequency of certain mental illnesses depends, among other things, on mental developmental age. The arrow symbolizes increasing mental developmental age. Certain disorders are more common in persons with a low mental developmental age (e.g., autism) or may occur only in such persons (e.g., pica, rumination, feeding disorders); while, for other disorders, a minimal developmental age appears to be a prerequisite. For example, the development of a socal phobia or of a body-image disorder requires the prior development of mentalizing capacity (theory of mind). Other types of mental illness, e.g., affective disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder, and dementia, can arise independently of mental developmental age and can be found at all stages of development.

ADHD, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder