No abstract

The distorting influence of maternal depression on the ratings of child behaviour is known as the depression-distortion hypothesis. This study investigated the depression-distortion hypothesis in a clinical sample of child psychiatric preschool children and extended the depression-distortion-hypothesis to maternal psychopathology-distortion-hypothesis in general. Subjects were 124 children, who were referred for treatment in a Child Psychiatric Family Day Hospital for preschool children, and their parents. Children were rated on the CBCL/1.5-5 and the C-TRF/1.5-5 by their mothers, kindergarten teachers and therapists.

The level of psychopathology in preschool children was already as high as levels seen elsewhere in school children. The predominant role of INT was unexpected, particularly for boys. The attention of child mental health services need to focus on preschool children as on school children and on INT as much as on EXT, especially in boys.

No abstract

In a four-year longitudinal study, changes in and continuity of behavioral and emotional problems were examined in 814 subjects from kindergarten to primary school. Mental health problems were assessed by means of the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). The distribution of the CBCL broadband groups revealed a high level of continuity of internalizing symptoms over the four-year period and a shift from externalizing symptoms at baseline towards a combination of internalizing and externalizing symptoms at follow-up. The presence of mental health problems at follow-up was correlated with gender (higher amongst boys), pre-existing mental health problems at baseline, and separation or divorce of the parents, but not with single-family status or the age and educational level of the mother. The increasing number of children with a combination of internalizing and externalizing symptoms demonstrates the increasing complexity of child mental health problems in the developmental span from preschool age to school age.