Prevalence and correlates of depersonalization in students aged 12-18 years in Germany.
Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology June 1, 2015 Matthias Michal, Eva Duven, Sebastian Giralt et al.
About one in nine adolescents (11.9%) experiences clinically significant depersonalization—feelings of detachment from oneself or one's surroundings. A survey of 3,809 German pupils aged 12–18 found that affected adolescents were less likely to live with both parents (67.3% vs. 75.7%), more often came from disadvantaged socioeconomic backgrounds, and showed very high levels of global mental distress comparable to psychiatric inpatients. They also smoked and abused cannabis more frequently and reported specific impairments in social security, self-efficacy, and active coping. Depersonalization may signal increased risk for poor academic achievement and long-term mental health problems.