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The Prevalence of Mental Health Disorders and Symptoms in Children and Adolescents with Cerebral Palsy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Open accessAbstract
AIM: Mental health conditions and problems are often reported in children and adolescents with cerebral palsy (CP). A systematic review was undertaken to describe their prevalence. METHOD: MEDLINE and PsycINFO databases from 1996 to 2016 were searched and reference lists of selected studies were reviewed. Studies were included if they reported point prevalence of mental health diagnoses or symptoms in a general population of children and/or adolescents with CP. Pooled prevalence for mental health symptoms was determined using a random effects meta-analysis. RESULTS: Of the 3158 studies identified, eight met the inclusion criteria. Mental health disorders were diagnosed by psychiatric interview in one study, giving a prevalence of 57% (32 out of 56 children). The remaining seven studies (n=1715 children) used parent-report mental health screening tools. The pooled prevalence for mental health symptoms using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (n=5 studies) was 35% (95% confidence interval [CI] 20-61) and using the Child Behavior Checklist (n=2 studies) was 28% (95% CI 22-36). Evidence was characterized by a moderate level of bias. INTERPRETATION: More studies are needed to ascertain the prevalence of mental health disorders. Mental health symptoms are common and mental health evaluations should be incorporated into multidisciplinary assessments for these children. WHAT THIS PAPER ADDS: Children with cerebral palsy and intellectual disability have a higher risk of mental health symptoms. The prevalence of mental health symptoms for age and severity groups is unclear.
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“the presence of ID in this population is associated with an increased risk of psychiatric symptoms [3]”
From The Mental Health of Children with Cerebral Palsy: A Review of the Last Five Years of Research (2025) · cites this paper as [3]
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“The last review on this subject that we are aware of focused only on the prevalence of mental health concerns, included only eight studies, and did not focus on ADHD or ASD as mental health disorders [3]”
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“A 2018 systematic review and meta-analysis highlighted the widespread but under-recognized prevalence of mental health symptoms in this population, with a pooled prevalence of mental health symptoms being found to be 35% and 28% in children with CP based on results of two parent-reported mental health screening tools”
From The Mental Health of Children with Cerebral Palsy: A Review of the Last Five Years of Research (2025) · cites this paper as [3]
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“This may deter them from actively engaging with society.(6) Similarly, parents of these children also face difficulties when helping their children with their daily struggles.”
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“Improving affective outcomes through participation, namely anxiety and inadequacy, is an important finding given the growing evidence on the co-occurrence of mental health issues, especially anxiety and depression among adolescents with physical disabilities, with prevalence rates of up to 57%.(32) Affective aspects,…”
Background
Metadata
- Authors
- Downs, J., Blackmore, A. M., Epstein, A., Skoss, R., Langdon, K., Jacoby, P., Whitehouse, A. J. O., Leonard, H., Rowe, P. W., Glasson, E. J., & The Cerebral Palsy Mental Health Group
- Affiliations
- The Kids Research Institute Australia (AU)
- Therapy and Health Services, Ability Centre Mount Lawley WA Australia
- Princess Margaret Hospital for Children (AU)
- Corresponding author
- Downs, Jenny
- ORCID
- Venue
- Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2017-09-15
- Volume
- 60
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 30-38
- ISSN
- 0012-1622 (ISSN-L)
- 1469-8749
- OpenAlex
- W2756091964
- Cited by
- 148
- References
- 39
- Citations by year
- 2026: 15 · 2025: 26 · 2024: 17 · 2023: 20 · 2022: 19 · 2021: 14 · 2020: 14 · 2019: 11 · 2018: 12
- FWCI
- 1.54
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- UWA Profiles and Research Repository (UWA) (submittedVersion)
- eSpace (Curtin University) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Rehabilitation › Cerebral Palsy and Movement Disorders
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Family and Disability Support Research
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development
- Keywords
- cerebral palsy, mental illness, psychiatric symptoms, children, adolescents, prevalence, Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, Child Behavior Checklist, intellectual disability, mental health screening
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Mental Disorders, Cerebral Palsy, Child, Humans, Intellectual Disability, Comorbidity
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