NCJ Number
204731
Journal
Child & Adolescent Psychiatry Volume: 43 Issue: 3 Dated: March 2004 Pages: 307-315
Date Published
March 2004
Length
9 pages
Annotation
This study examined whether childhood behavioral problems at ages 10 and 11 predicted young-adult depression, social phobia, and violence at age 21.
Abstract
Data were obtained from the Seattle Social Development Project, a longitudinal study of 808 elementary school students from high-crime neighborhoods in Seattle (Washington). Information on childhood behavioral problems was obtained from parents and children in the fall of 1985 and from teachers in the spring of 1986. Parents provided assessments of their child's social problems, shyness, attention problems, oppositional defiant behaviors, and conduct problems (e.g., attacks people and destroys things). Fifth-grade teachers provided assessments of child emotional and behavioral problems and depressive symptoms (e.g., feels worthless, depressed, and lonely) and anxious symptoms (e.g., worrying and nervous). Data were collected 11 years later (mean age of 21.3 years) through the administration of a modified version of the Diagnostic Interview Schedule. Chi-square analyses were used to examine gender, socioeconomic status, and ethnic differences in the past-year prevalences of depressive episode, social phobia, and violence at age 21 years. The testing of the young adults found that past-year prevalences of depressive episodes and social phobia were 20 percent and 17 percent, respectively. Twenty-one percent of the respondents reported two or more violent acts in the past year. Several measures of childhood behavioral problems as reported by parents, teachers, and children predicted violence (e.g., conduct problems, oppositional defiance). The strongest positive predictor of young-adult violent behavior was self-reported conduct problems; self-reported shyness inhibited young-adult violence. Relatively few child behavioral problems predicted social phobia. Children who reported higher levels of conduct problems were nearly four times more likely to experience a depressive episode in early adulthood than children who reported lower levels of conduct problems. The findings suggest that intervention to reduce childhood conduct problems can possibly prevent violence and depression in young adulthood. 2 figures, 1 table, and 35 references