Psychosis in a pediatric mood and anxiety disorders clinic: phenomenology and correlates.

OBJECTIVES

To examine the demographics and phenomenology of psychosis in a sample of children and adolescents referred to a mood and anxiety disorders clinic.

METHOD

Patients (N = 2,031) were assessed with the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-Age Children-Present Episode version and classified as definite, probable, or nonpsychotic. Clinical and demographic characteristics of the groups were compared,and symptoms of psychosis were analyzed using factor analysis.

RESULTS

Definite psychotic symptoms were seen in approximately 90 (4.5%) patients: 80% of these reported hallucinations (mainly auditory), 22% delusions, and 3.3% thought disorder. Of the patients with definite psychotic symptoms, 24% had bipolar disorder, 41% had major depression, 21% had subsyndromal depression, and 14% had schizophrenia spectrum disorders (schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorders). Factor analysis of the definite psychotic symptoms yielded 4 factors: hallucinations, thought disorder, delusions, and manic thought disorder. Psychotic patients had a higher frequency of comorbid disorders and suicidal ideation than nonpsychotic patients.

CONCLUSIONS

Outpatient youngsters with mood disorders frequently present with psychotic symptoms, in particular auditory hallucinations. These patients commonly have comorbid psychiatric disorders and suicidal ideation.