Prevalence and correlates of depersonalization in students aged 12-18 years in Germany.
Matthias Michal, Eva Duven, Sebastian Giralt, Michael Dreier, Kai W Müller, Julia Adler, Manfred E Beutel, Klaus Wölfling
Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology June 1, 2015 DOI: 10.1007/s00127-014-0957-2 via PubMed
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractAbout 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.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Cross-sectional survey Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 3,809 |
| Population | German pupils aged 12–18 in Rhineland-Palatinate |
| Key finding | Clinically significant depersonalization was present in 11.9% of adolescents and was associated with higher mental distress, substance abuse, and lower resilience. |
Abstract
Depersonalization (DP) involves unpleasant experiences of detachment from one's sense of self or unreality in the environment. DP may occur in a broad range of conditions, among healthy persons due to sleep loss, drug induced, secondary to anxiety disorders or primary in depersonalization disorder. Although DP has an early age of onset, little is known about the prevalence and correlates of DP among adolescents. Between January and June 2011, we conducted a questionnaire-based representative survey of pupils aged 12-18 years in the federal state Rhineland-Palatinate of Germany. The final sample comprised 3,809 pupils. We analyzed the prevalence of depersonalization and its correlates regarding sociodemographic characteristics, substance abuse, global mental distress and resilience factors. One-third of the sample showed severe global mental distress, and 11.9 % were in the range of clinically significant depersonalization. Depersonalized students were less often living with both parents (67.3 vs. 75.7 %), came more often from an disadvantaged socioeconomic background, had a very severe level of global mental distress (comparable to psychiatric inpatients), were more often smoking and abusing cannabis and they suffered from specific impairments regarding social insecurity, global self-efficacy and active coping abilities. Experiences of depersonalization were very common among adolescents and may indicate an increased risk for poor academic achievement and mental health in the long term. Prospective studies are needed to investigate the course and clinical relevance of depersonalization for the development of the adolescents.