Abstract
The purpose of psychiatric evaluation in children, as in adults, is to obtain information both about the nature and severity of the functional impairment and about the more normal aspects of the personality. The majority of adult patients, even when not self-referred, can give an account of their own problems. However, children are usually judged to be in need of a psychiatric assessment by adults such as parents, teachers, or law enforcement agencies. The fact of the referral does not provide convincing evidence that the child is psychiatrically ill, since factors such as ignorance of age-appropriate behavior or exaggeration and misinterpretation of the child’s activities may color the views of those in close association with him. Also, the attitudes and practices of the caretakers may play a significant role in causing the maladaptive behavior for which the psychiatric evaluation is requested. Furthermore, because children’s behavioral repertoires are limited, presenting symptoms are unreliable guides to the nature and severity of the underlying problems. Psychiatric examination of children, therefore, requires both careful collection of information from all the available sources and direct observation and evaluation of the child.
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© 1986 Plenum Press, New York
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Chess, S., Hassibi, M. (1986). Assessment. In: Principles and Practice of Child Psychiatry. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-2145-3_6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-2145-3_6
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