Background and Objective: Identification of disorders frequency in adolescence stage has implications for child and adolescence psychiatry. This study was carried out to determine the prevalence of DSM-IV behavioral disorders among 12-17 years pupiles of Golestan province during 2010-11.

Materials and Methods: In a cross-sectional descriptive study, 1500 pupiles (715 boys and 785 girls) from schools of Golestan State were selected through stratified random sampling method. Demographical questionnaire and DSM-IV based behavioral disorders of Achenbach youth self-report scale (YSR) were recorded. Data were analyzed through descriptive statistic and nonparametric test of Chi-Square and calculation of Odd Ratio and 95%CI with PASW software.

Results: Prevalence of behavioral disorders among the sample population 12-14 years, 15-17 years and as total were 5.47%, 5.05% and 5.27%, respectively. Prevalence of somatic disorders and anxiety were 5.8% and 4.7%, respectively. Moreover, the difference between prevalence of conduct and ADHD disorders in males and females were significant (P<0.05). Odd ratio for both genders in prediction of conduct disorder and ADHD and for the scholastic grade in prediction of affective and anxious disorders was significant (P<0.05).

Conclusion: Total prevalence of behavioral disorders among the pupiles of Golestan province in Iran was 5.27%, which is approximately similar to the other studies in Iran.