Table 1.
Characteristics of children with no psychiatric disorder, any anxiety disorder, and any depressive disorder
| No disorder (N = 7213) | Any anxiety disorder (N = 263) | Any depressive disorder (N = 68) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| School absencea: mean (SD) | |||
| Total | 3.8 (5.9) | 8.1 (10.8) | 17.5 (16.2) |
| Authorised | 3.3 (5.1) | 6.7 (9.1) | 10.1 (11.1) |
| Unauthorised | 0.44 (2.4) | 1.5 (6.0) | 7.4 (4.2) |
| Age in years: mean (SD) | 10.5 (3.4) | 11.6 (3.4) | 13.4 (2.5) |
| Gender: n (%) | |||
| Male | 3641 (50.5) | 118 (44.9) | 25 (36.8) |
| Female | 3572 (49.5) | 145 (55.1) | 43 (63.2) |
| Ethnicity: n (%) | |||
| White | 6232 (86.5) | 232 (88.2) | 60 (88.2) |
| Ethnic minority | 977 (13.5) | 31 (11.8) | 8 (11.7) |
| Housing tenure: n (%) | |||
| Own home | 5268 (73.1) | 130 (49.4) | 35 (51.5) |
| Rented | 1940 (26.9) | 133 (50.6) | 33 (48.5) |
| Mother’s highest qualification: n (%) | |||
| Degree or diploma | 1954 (27.8) | 36 (14.2) | 14 (21.2) |
| A-level or good GCSE | 2969 (42.2) | 91 (36.0) | 18 (27.3) |
| Poor GCSE or other | 932 (13.3) | 43 (17.0) | 11 (16.7) |
| None | 1174 (16.6) | 83 (32.8) | 23 (34.8) |
| Learning difficulty: n (%) | |||
| No | 6677 (93.1) | 196 (75.4) | 52 (77.6) |
| Borderline, moderate or severe | 493 (6.9) | 64 (24.6) | 15 (22.4) |
| Stressful life events: mean (SD) | 0.9 (1.1) | 2.0 (1.5) | 2.3 (1.1) |
| Family structure: n (%) | |||
| Traditional | 4770 (66.1) | 111 (42.2) | 26 (38.2) |
| Single parent, reconstituted, or other | 2443 (33.9) | 152 (57.8) | 42 (61.8) |
| Child’s general health: n (%) | |||
| Very good or good | 6762 (93.7) | 212 (80.6) | 45 (66.2) |
| Fair, bad or very bad | 344 (4.8) | 49 (18.6) | 22 (32.4) |
| Parental mental healthb: mean (SD) | 1.4 (2.5) | 4.0 (3.9) | 5.1 (4.2) |
Based on 7977 initial sample; 7213 children had no psychiatric disorder, 263 had an anxiety disorder and 68 had a depressive disorder. Thirty-eight children had both anxiety and depression; hence, these two columns are not mutually exclusive
aAbsence refers to the number of days absent in the previous whole school term, as reported by teachers
bParental mental health was assessed using the General Health Questionnaire, a screening questionnaire for psychiatric disorder in the general population; higher scores reflect more symptoms