The Italian preadolescent mental health project (PrISMA--Progetto Italiano Salute
Mentale Adolescenti) is the first Italian study designed to estimate the
prevalence of mental disorders in preadolescents (10-14 years old) living in
urban areas, and to analyse the demographic and biological correlates of
emotional and behavioural problems. This paper describes the rationale, methods
and the analysis plan of the project. The design of the study used a two-stage
sampling procedure, one screening stage of emotional and behavioural problems in
a large sample of subjects attending public and private schools and a second
stage of diagnostic assessment in a sample including all high scorers and a
proportion of low scorers. In the screening stage, parents of preadolescents were
asked to fill in the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL), whereas in the second stage
preadolescents and their parents were administered the Development and Well Being
Assessment for the assessment of mental disorders together with the Strengths and
Difficulties Questionnaire and two scales (C-GAS and HoNOSCA) designed to
evaluate the functioning of the preadolescent in different areas. Genetic samples
were collected during the screening stage, after parents gave their informed
written consent. The findings of this study are expected to allow an adequate
planning of interventions for the prevention and the treatment of mental
disorders in preadolescence as well as efficient health services