RACIAL AND SOCIAL-CLASS PREVALENCE OF PSYCHOPATHOLOGY AMONG SCHOOL-AGE YOUTH IN THE UNITED-STATES

This article assesses the relative base rates of common forms of youth psychopathology among Whites, African Americans, Hispanics, and rarer minorities and across social classes as defined by parent education l evels. A nationwide sample of 1,400 participants aged 5 to 17 years wa s stratified demographically according to the U.S. census. Standardize d teacher observational scales were applied and the most maladjusted y ouths identified in terms of attention-deficit hyperactive, provocativ e-aggressive, impulsive-aggressive, oppositional defiant, diffident, a nd avoidant disorders. Most psychopathology was distributed proportion ately across race and class. Patterns displayed by maladjusted White p articipants were not uniformly common among minorities with racial or ethnic groups manifesting variable propensity for pathology, depending on level of social advantage and specific type of disorder Implicatio ns are explored as they relate to distinct cultural and social context s, to popular contemporary perceptions, and to future research and pol icy development in youth psychopathology.