Mental disorders in children and adolescents can have different characteristics than disorders in adults. Two important groups of mental disorders in children and adolescents are developmental disorders and intellectual disability.
Here you will find further information on common mental disorders in children as well as selected specialists and centers.
The interpretation of symptoms as a "disorder" also depends on the child's stage of development. For example, occasional nightmares at pre-school age are completely normal. Anxiety and insecurity in early puberty are also not a disorder and usually subside.
A mental disorder is present when the problem goes well beyond what is normal at the corresponding stage of development and leads to suffering.
In child and adolescent psychiatry (KJP), parents and family as well as relevant caregivers (including teachers) are of great importance. They must be taken into account both in the diagnosis and in the treatment of the disorders.
A distinction can be made between various mental disorders in children and adolescents. The most common include the following behavioral and emotional disorders in children and adolescents:
ADHD is characterized by an extreme motor (movement-related) restlessness and compulsiveness. Affected children have a more frequent than normal need to
In addition, those affected show impaired attention in the form of
In addition, impulse control is impaired: the children find it difficult to "pull themselves together" in every respect and have little tolerance for frustration.
The symptoms begin in the first five years of life and persist over time. In around a third of cases, the disorder persists into adulthood. About 3 to 5 percent of all children are affected, boys about 3 to 8 times as often as girls.
The inattention leads to relatively frequent dangers and accidents. In addition, the children affected often have social problems as they get into conflicts with classmates, teachers etc.
In adolescence, the motor restlessness usually decreases. However, the increased impulsivity and reduced attention remain. As a result, those affected have an increased risk of drug use, traffic accidents and delinquency.
The origin of the disorder is not entirely clear. In addition to genetic factors, birth complications and changes in brain metabolism may play a role.
ADHD is a common mental disorder in children © Photographee.eu | AdobeStock
ADHD is treated on the one hand with a consistent parenting style and appropriate educational measures. In addition, methylphenidate (Ritalin®) is often used as a medication.
Case study on ADHD
9-year-old Andreas comes to the pediatric outpatient clinic because of constant disciplinary problems at school. He is in third grade, cannot stay seated and is therefore constantly running around the classroom. He almost never speaks up, often shouts in between and has to be constantly admonished for his chattering. There are always fights during the breaks. Andreas is also extremely exhausting at home, with homework usually taking up the whole afternoon and causing huge arguments. He also has many conflicts with his siblings because he gets on their nerves. In addition, he repeatedly destroys his siblings' things, sometimes accidentally and sometimes on purpose.
This disorder is a persistent pattern of dissocial, aggressive or rebellious behavior. The affected children
It can lead to
may occur.
Social behavior disorder often occurs together with other mental disorders in children and adolescents, such as
Between 2 and 10 percent of all children are affected, predominantly boys. The disorder is often very stable over many years.
Those affected are more likely to commit criminal acts (delinquency). An important aim of therapy is to prevent this and the prison career that often follows.
Individual therapy for the children or family therapy can be carried out. Community measures (e.g. youth work in "problem neighborhoods") also play a role.
The stability of the social behavior disorder is very high. This means that the disorder often persists beyond adolescence. If the children show aggressive abnormalities at a young age, it can be assumed that 40 percent of these primary school children will still show social behavior disorders in adulthood.
In individual cases, medication such as lithium or carbamazepine can be used successfully. They are used, for example, in cases of severe impulsive aggressive behavior.
Psychosocial preventive measures are undoubtedly the decisive criteria for improving the fate of children.
Anxiety is a relatively common phenomenon, especially in childhood. Many children show fear of certain situations or objects (so-called "phobic fears"), e.g.
In 2 to 9 percent of all children, phobic fears are so pronounced that a diagnosis of a mental disorder can be made.
Alongside phobic fears, separation anxiety is the most important anxiety disorder in childhood and adolescence. 3 to 5 percent of all children suffer from it.
The affected children refuse to leave their caregivers. They suffer great anxiety when they do. This usually leads to a refusal to go to school. Children with separation anxiety are often very clingy even in infancy. They do not like going to kindergarten, for example.
Severe separation anxiety is often triggered by
Children with school anxiety may separate from their parents in the morning, but then tend not to go to school. These two anxiety disorders can easily be confused, as in both cases the refusal to go to school may be noticeable at first.
Schizophrenia and other psychoses begin relatively rarely (in around 4 percent of all cases) before the age of 15. Only around 1 percent begin before the age of 10. The younger the age of onset, the more difficult it is to recognize psychoses, as their clinical picture differs greatly from the psychoses of adult patients.
At a younger age, "hebephrenic" forms and prodromes often occur. Prodromes are symptoms that precede many acute psychoses - sometimes for years - and are characterized by problems such as
and social withdrawal. Psychosis is described as "hebephrenic" when the affected person shows less and less emotional participation and little drive. His or her mood becomes increasingly flat and "lame".
Tics are sudden, short, repetitive, involuntary movements or expressions. They have no specific goal or meaning. Those affected can often arbitrarily suppress tics for a short time.
There are simple tics such as
There are also complex tics such as
In the case of a temporary tic disorder, only simple tics usually occur that do not last longer than a year. In chronic tic disorders, several and more complex tics may occur over a longer period of time.
A severe combination of vocal and motor tics over a long period of time is referred to as Gilles de la Tourette syndrome.
Between 4 and 12 percent of children of primary school age suffer from a tic disorder. That is about 10 times as many people affected as in adulthood. Boys are affected much more frequently.
Many tic disorders resolve themselves over time. Chronic and complex tic disorders have a relatively poor prognosis, even with behavioral therapy and medication.
In childhood and adolescence, there are some peculiarities in the symptoms of the various eating disorders.
Obesity (morbid obesity) in children and adolescents is a growing problem in our society. Children from lower social classes are more affected. Obese children usually remain overweight as adults. The consequences of obesity are often
Anorexia nervosa (anorexia nervosa) very often begins in adolescence. Many child and adolescent psychiatric facilities specialize in the treatment of this disorder.
Bulimia (binge eating disorder), on the other hand, often only occurs as a result of anorexia. It is therefore mainly treated in adult psychiatry.
Enuresis means that children over the age of 5 still wet themselves regularly without any organic causes. A distinction can be made between nocturnal enuresis and daytime enuresis. Nocturnal enuresis affects around 11 percent of children, with boys predominating. Daytime enuresis occurs much less frequently and is more common in girls.
Enuresis is probably largely hereditary. However, psychosocial stress also plays a role.
It can be treated with a behavioral therapy program. In the case of nocturnal enuresis, alarm devices are used that ring when enuresis occurs. This teaches children to wake up at the right moment and go to the toilet.
In some cases, the use of a drug that suppresses nocturnal urine production is also indicated.
Encopresis means that a child repeatedly and involuntarily defecates or defecates in places not intended for this. Around 1.5 to 3 percent of 7 to 8-year-old schoolchildren are affected, boys twice as often as girls.
As part of the diagnosis, it is essential to rule out a physical illness as the cause.
Many children with encopresis behave the stool so strongly that it leads to constipation. Laxatives may therefore need to be used first to normalize bowel movements.
Sleep disorders that frequently occur as a psychological disorder in children include
In sleepwalking, which usually occurs at the beginning of the night, the child gets up in their sleep and walks around. It is difficult to wake them up. After waking up, the child remembers nothing.
With pavor nocturnus, the affected person often lets out a panic cry and suddenly sits up in bed awake. He is then completely disoriented and immediately falls asleep again, difficult to wake up. This course of the mental disorder can hardly be influenced by attempts to calm down.
In contrast, those affected by nightmares have vivid memories of them after waking up. They are amenable to attempts at calming down. Nightmares tend to occur in the second half of the night.
The interpretation of symptoms as a "disorder" also depends on the child's stage of development. For example, occasional nightmares at pre-school age are completely normal. Anxiety and insecurity in early puberty are also not a disorder and usually subside.
A mental disorder is present when the problem goes far beyond what is normal at the corresponding stage of development and leads to suffering.
In child and adolescent psychiatry (KJP), parents and family as well as relevant caregivers (including teachers) are of great importance. They must be taken into account both in the diagnosis and in the treatment of the disorders.
A distinction can be made between various mental disorders in children and adolescents. The most common include the following behavioral and emotional disorders in children and adolescents:
ADHD is characterized by an extreme motor (movement-related) restlessness and compulsiveness. Affected children have a more frequent than normal need to
In addition, those affected show impaired attention in the form of
In addition, impulse control is impaired: the children find it difficult to "pull themselves together" in every respect and have little tolerance for frustration.
The symptoms begin in the first five years of life and persist over time. In around a third of cases, the disorder persists into adulthood. About 3 to 5 percent of all children are affected, boys about 3 to 8 times as often as girls.
The inattention leads to relatively frequent dangers and accidents. In addition, the affected children often have social problems, as they get into conflicts with classmates, teachers, etc.
In adolescence, the motor restlessness usually decreases. However, the increased impulsivity and reduced attention remain. As a result, those affected have an increased risk of drug use, traffic accidents and delinquency.
The origin of the disorder is not entirely clear. In addition to genetic factors, birth complications and changes in brain metabolism may play a role.
ADHD is treated on the one hand through a consistent parenting style and appropriate educational measures. In addition, methylphenidate (Ritalin®) is often used as a medication.
Case study on ADHD
9-year-old Andreas comes to the pediatric outpatient clinic because of constant disciplinary problems at school. He is in third grade, cannot stay seated and is therefore constantly running around the classroom. He hardly ever speaks up, often shouts in between and has to be constantly admonished for his chattering. There are always fights during the breaks. Andreas is also extremely exhausting at home, with homework usually taking up the whole afternoon and causing huge arguments. He also has many conflicts with his siblings because he gets on their nerves. In addition, he repeatedly destroys his siblings' things, sometimes accidentally and sometimes on purpose.
This disorder is a persistent pattern of dissocial, aggressive or rebellious behavior. The affected children
It can lead to
may occur.
Social behavior disorder often occurs together with other mental disorders in children and adolescents, such as
Between 2 and 10 percent of all children are affected, predominantly boys. The disorder is often very stable over many years.
Those affected are more likely to commit criminal acts (delinquency). An important aim of therapy is to prevent this and the prison career that often follows.
Individual therapy for the children or family therapy can be carried out. Community measures (e.g. youth work in "problem neighborhoods") also play a role.
The stability of the social behavior disorder is very high. This means that the disorder often persists beyond adolescence. If the children show aggressive abnormalities at a young age, it can be assumed that 40 percent of these primary school children will still show social behavior disorders in adulthood.
In individual cases, medication such as lithium or carbamazepine can be used successfully. They are used, for example, in cases of severe impulsive aggressive behavior.
Psychosocial preventive measures are undoubtedly the decisive criteria for improving the fate of children.
Anxiety is a relatively common phenomenon, especially in childhood. Many children show fear of certain situations or objects (so-called "phobic fears"), e.g.
In 2 to 9 percent of all children, phobic fears are so pronounced that a diagnosis of a mental disorder can be made.
Alongside phobic fears, separation anxiety is the most important anxiety disorder in childhood and adolescence. 3 to 5 percent of all children suffer from it.
The affected children refuse to leave their caregivers. They suffer great anxiety when they do. This usually leads to a refusal to go to school. Children with separation anxiety are often very clingy even in infancy. They do not like going to kindergarten, for example.
Severe separation anxiety is often triggered by
Children with school anxiety may separate from their parents in the morning, but then tend not to go to school. These two anxiety disorders can easily be confused, as in both cases the refusal to go to school may be noticeable at first.
Schizophrenia and other psychoses begin relatively rarely (in around 4 percent of all cases) before the age of 15. Only around 1 percent begin before the age of 10. The younger the age of onset, the more difficult it is to recognize psychoses, as their clinical picture differs greatly from the psychoses of adult patients.
At a younger age, "hebephrenic" forms and prodromes often occur. Prodromes are symptoms that precede many acute psychoses - sometimes for years - and are characterized by problems such as
and social withdrawal. Psychosis is described as "hebephrenic" when the affected person shows less and less emotional participation and little drive. His or her mood becomes increasingly flat and "lame".
Tics are sudden, short, repetitive, involuntary movements or expressions. They have no specific goal or meaning. Those affected can often arbitrarily suppress tics for a short time.
There are simple tics such as
There are also complex tics such as
In the case of a temporary tic disorder, only simple tics usually occur that do not last longer than a year. In chronic tic disorders, several and more complex tics may occur over a longer period of time.
A severe combination of vocal and motor tics over a long period of time is referred to as Gilles de la Tourette syndrome.
Between 4 and 12 percent of children of primary school age suffer from a tic disorder. That is about 10 times as many people affected as in adulthood. Boys are affected much more frequently.
Many tic disorders resolve themselves over time. Chronic and complex tic disorders have a relatively poor prognosis, even with behavioral therapy and medication.
In childhood and adolescence, there are some peculiarities in the symptoms of the various eating disorders.
Obesity (morbid obesity) in children and adolescents is a growing problem in our society. Children from lower social classes are more affected. Obese children usually remain overweight as adults. The consequences of obesity are often
Anorexia nervosa (anorexia nervosa) very often begins in adolescence. Many child and adolescent psychiatric facilities specialize in the treatment of this disorder.
Bulimia (binge eating disorder), on the other hand, often only occurs as a result of anorexia. It is therefore mainly treated in adult psychiatry.
Enuresis means that children over the age of 5 still wet themselves regularly without any organic causes. A distinction can be made between nocturnal enuresis and daytime enuresis. Nocturnal enuresis affects around 11 percent of children, with boys predominating. Daytime enuresis occurs much less frequently and is more common in girls.
Enuresis is probably largely hereditary. However, psychosocial stress also plays a role.
It can be treated with a behavioral therapy program. In the case of nocturnal enuresis, alarm devices are used that ring when enuresis occurs. This teaches children to wake up at the right moment and go to the toilet.
In some cases, the use of a drug that suppresses nocturnal urine production is also indicated.
Encopresis means that a child repeatedly and involuntarily defecates or defecates in places not intended for this. Around 1.5 to 3 percent of 7 to 8-year-old schoolchildren are affected, boys twice as often as girls.
As part of the diagnosis, it is essential to rule out a physical illness as the cause.
Many children with encopresis behave the stool so strongly that it leads to constipation. Laxatives may therefore need to be used first to normalize bowel movements.
Sleep disorders that frequently occur as a psychological disorder in children include
In sleepwalking, which usually occurs at the beginning of the night, the child gets up in their sleep and walks around. It is difficult to wake them up. After waking up, the child remembers nothing.
With pavor nocturnus, the affected person often lets out a panic cry and suddenly sits up in bed awake. He is then completely disoriented and immediately falls asleep again, difficult to wake up. This course of the mental disorder can hardly be influenced by attempts to calm down.
In contrast, those affected by nightmares have vivid memories of them after waking up. They are amenable to attempts at calming down. Nightmares tend to occur in the second half of the night.
