Health professionals' recognition of co-occurring alcohol and depressive disorders in youth: A survey of Australian general practitioners, psychiatrists, psychologists and mental health nurses using case vignettes

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To examine whether health professionals who commonly deal with mental disorder are able to identify co-occurring alcohol misuse in young people presenting with depression. METHOD: Between September 2006 and January 2007, a survey examining beliefs regarding appropriate interventions for mental disorder in youth was sent to 1,710 psychiatrists, 2,000 general practitioners (GPs), 1,628 mental health nurses, and 2,000 psychologists in Australia. Participants within each professional group were randomly given one of four vignettes describing a young person with a DSM-IV mental disorder. Herein is reported data from the depression and depression with alcohol misuse vignettes. RESULTS: ..