An epidemiological study of minor psychiatric disturbances

A representative epidemiological field study of minor mental disturbances among 19- to 20-year-old persons in Zurich (Switzerland) is reported. Respondents had completed two selfreport inventories; SCL-90R by Derogatis and a Syndrome List concerning psychosomatic and neurotic syndromes. There is a high prevalence rate of such disturbances. Usually, however, they do not lead to treatment-seeking behaviour. Females show higher prevalence figures on nearly all scales and ‘syndromes’. The ‘syndromes’ of anxiety and depression are most prominent among females. Unexpectedly, there are few differences in prevalence rates between different socio-demographic groups. There are, however, three high-risk groups: (1) persons without occupational training; (2) persons without religious affiliation and (3) persons whose parents or siblings had psychiatric problems. Reasons for the lack of clearcut associations between social status and psychiatric ‘syndromes’ are discussed.