[Psychic symptoms and mental health service utilisation--an epidemiologic study in the city of Stuttgart].

A newly developed questionnaire has been administered to the children and their parents during the medical examination of the school doctors of the local board of public health. The 40-item questionnaire asks for sociodemographic data (age, gender, nationality, brothers and sisters), height, weight, psychic symptoms for the prevalence period of the last seven days and the last month, alcohol, nicotine and drug abuse, medication, eating behavior and delinquency. The questionnaire for parents additionally asks if the child has been in psychotherapy during the last twelve months and if parents think that there are enough treatment facilities that are easily available. As it takes only about five to eight minutes to answer the questionnaire the acceptance has been very good. 481 pupils from eleven primary schools in ten sections of the city of Stuttgart (Germany) could be included. Answering the questionnaire could quite easily be integrated in the medical examinations of the school doctors of the local board of public health. The most common complaints of the pupils for the last seven days were feelings of inner restlessness (24.0%), difficulties in falling asleep (22.5%), headaches (20.8%), stomachaches or cramps (19.6%) and nervousness (18.5%). Alcohol and nicotine abuse were not relevant in this age group. The treatment rate during the last 12 months has been 4.4% and the utilisation of mental health services has been considered by 4.2% of the parents during this period. Only 25.8% of non-German parents think that the care provision is sufficient. The substantial unfulfilled mental health needs of the pupils should have consequences for service planning.