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Persistence and change in behavioural problems during early childhood.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND:Behavioural problems and psychopathology can present from as early as the preschool period. However there is evidence that behavioural difficulties may not be stable over this period. Therefore, the current study was interested in evaluating the persistence and change in clinically relevant behavioural problems during early childhood in a population-based New Zealand birth cohort. METHODS:Behaviour was assessed in 5896 children when they were aged 2 and 4.5?years using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). Correlations and mean differences in subscale and total difficulties scores were examined. Scores were then dichotomised into normal/borderline and abnormal ranges to evaluate the persistence and change in significant behavioural problems. Chi-square analyses and ANOVAs were used to determine the association between sociodemographic and birth variables, and preschool behavioural stability. RESULTS:Raw scores at ages 2 and 4.5?years were moderately correlated, with most measures showing a small but significant decrease in mean scores over time. The majority of children who showed abnormal behaviour at 2?years improved at 4.5?years (57.9% for total difficulties). However, a notable proportion persisted in their difficulties from 2 to 4.5?years (42.1% for total difficulties). There was a small percentage of children who were categorised as abnormal only at 4.5?years. Children with difficulties at one or both time points had a greater proportion who were the result of an unplanned pregnancy, lived in highly deprived urban areas, and had mothers who were younger, of M?ori and Pacific ethnicity and were less educated. CONCLUSIONS:Not all children who show early behavioural difficulties persist in these difficulties. Those whose difficulties persist were more likely to experience risk factors for vulnerability relative to children with no difficulties. Results suggest that repeated screening for early childhood behavioural difficulties is important.

SUBMITTER: D'Souza S

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6659228 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Persistence and change in behavioural problems during early childhood.

D'Souza Stephanie S Underwood Lisa L Peterson Elizabeth R ER Morton Susan M B SMB Waldie Karen E KE

BMC pediatrics 20190726 1

<h4>Background</h4>Behavioural problems and psychopathology can present from as early as the preschool period. However there is evidence that behavioural difficulties may not be stable over this period. Therefore, the current study was interested in evaluating the persistence and change in clinically relevant behavioural problems during early childhood in a population-based New Zealand birth cohort.<h4>Methods</h4>Behaviour was assessed in 5896 children when they were aged 2 and 4.5 years using ...[more]

PMID: 31349812

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Project description:BackgroundMaternal abnormal glucose tolerance during pregnancy may adversely affect offspring cognition and behaviour, but few prospective studies investigated this association at multiple points throughout childhood.ObjectivesWe hypothesised that maternal abnormal glucose tolerance is associated with child cognitive and behavioural outcomes in early and mid-childhood.MethodsWe examined the associations of maternal abnormal glucose tolerance at 26-28 weeks of pregnancy with offspring cognitive and behavioural scores in 1421 children in the Project Viva pre-birth cohort. In early (mean 3.3 years) and mid-childhood (mean 7.9 years), we measured child cognition using validated instruments, the Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test, Wide Range Assessment of Memory and Learning, and the Wide Range Assessment of Visual Motor Abilities (WRAVMA); we assessed parent- and teacher-rated behavioural outcomes with the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire and the Behavioural Rating Inventory of Executive Function. We used linear regression models adjusted for potential confounders (maternal race/ethnicity, pre-pregnancy BMI, intelligence, age, parity, smoking status, education, and household income at enrolment, in addition to child's sex and age at assessment).ResultsOf 1421 mothers, 69 (4.9%) had gestational diabetes mellitus, 43 (3.0%) impaired glucose tolerance, 122 (8.6%) isolated hyperglycaemia, and 1187 (83.5%) normal glucose tolerance. Offspring born to women with gestational diabetes mellitus had lower total WRAVMA scores (-3.09 points; 95% CI -6.12, -0.05) in early childhood compared with offspring of women with normal glucose tolerance. None of the abnormal glucose tolerance categories during pregnancy were associated with any of the cognitive outcomes (verbal, non-verbal, and visual motor scores) or behavioural measures in mid-childhood.ConclusionsChildren born to mothers who had gestational diabetes mellitus had slightly lower scores on one cognitive test in early childhood. We found no evidence to support that maternal abnormal glucose tolerance was associated with cognitive or behavioural development in mid-childhood.

Project description:BackgroundAn individual's overall burden of behavioural and emotional problems across childhood is associated with increased likelihood of later mental health conditions. However, the relative extent of behavioural versus emotional problems - that is, the extent to which the domains are differentiated from one another - may provide additional information about who is at risk of developing a mental health condition. Here, we seek to validate differentiation as an independent predictor of later mental health conditions, and to explore its aetiology.MethodsWe analysed data from ~79,000 children in the population-based Norwegian Mother, Father, and Child Cohort Study, and linked health-care registries. In preregistered analyses, we modelled the extent and rate of differentiation of behavioural and emotional problems between ages 1.5-5 years, and estimated associations with later symptoms (age 8) and diagnoses (after age 8). We also explored the aetiology of differentiation by estimating associations with early life exposures and, in a subset of 23,945 full siblings, assessing the impact of accounting for unobserved familial confounding.ResultsDifferentiation of behavioural and emotional problems was associated with later symptoms and diagnoses of mental health conditions, independent of total problems. Maternal at-risk drinking (β = 0.04 [0.02, 0.06]) and parental relationship problems (β = 0.04 [0.02, 0.05]) were associated with higher behavioural relative to emotional problems at age 5. Maternal prenatal distress (|β| = 0.04 [0.03, 0.06]), concurrent distress (|β| = 0.04 [0.02, 0.06]) and parental education (|β| = 0.05 [0.04, 0.07]) predicted higher emotional relative to behavioural problems at age 5. Estimates for maternal prenatal distress and at-risk drinking were consistent across both unadjusted and adjusted analyses accounting for unobserved familial risk.ConclusionsDifferentiation of behavioural and emotional problems in early childhood represents a valid source of inter-individual variability linked to the later emergence of psychopathology and may be relevant for early detection and prevention strategies for mental health.

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Persistence and change in behavioural problems during early childhood.

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Persistence and change in behavioural problems during early childhood.

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