Congratulations Dr. Kate Flory
Internalizing, externalizing, and tic disorders among children and adolescents increase the risk for many negative outcomes. Reports estimate that many youth with these problems are not being identified or receiving treatment. Thus, the objectives of the funded project are threefold: 1) to describe the prevalence/co-occurrence of internalizing, externalizing, and tic disorders among youth in grades K-12 within a defined population, 2) to describe rates of current and previous mental health treatment among members of the defined population previously diagnosed with a mental disorder, and 3) to explore diversion and misuse of psychoactive medications prescribed to treat a mental disorder. We will utilize a two-stage, stratified design for estimating the prevalence of mental health diagnoses and treatment among up to 8,000 children and adolescents in several rural school districts in South Carolina. Findings will be disseminated to school district personnel and the SC Department of Education, along with the scientific community.