The National Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing: the child and adolescent component.

Objective: This paper describes the Child and Adolescent Component of the National Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing.
Method: The aims of the study, critical decisions in planning for the study, progress to date and key issues which influenced the course of the study are described.
Results: The Child and Adolescent Component of the National Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing is the largest study of child and adolescent mental health conducted in Australia and one of the few national studies to be conducted in the world. Results from the study will provide the first national picture of child and adolescent mental health in Australia.
Conclusions: Large-scale epidemiological studies have the potential to provide considerable information about the mental health of children and adolescents. However, having a clear set of aims, ensuring that the scope of the study remains within manageable proportions and paying careful attention to the details of fieldwork are essential to ensure that high-quality data is obtained in such studies.