Psychiatric epidemiology methods

Psychiatric disorders represent a substantial burden on the health and wellbeing of individuals and their societies. Quantifying this burden and searching for its causes are the primary aims of psychiatric epidemiology. This chapter is a resource for clinical psychologists interested in the methods applied by epidemiologists searching for the causes of psychiatric conditions. The chapter starts out by introducing the types of study designs used in epidemiology, then describes the measurement and analysis of risk factors for psychiatric disorders. The chapter subsequently defines a cause and considers the properties necessary for the analysis of risk factors, previously estimated, to be considered a causal effect. The chapter concludes with considerations for clinical psychologists using epidemiologic methods.