PSYKISK-Psykisk helse

1.Young children have psychiatric disorders and they endure. The rate of psychiatric disorders in early childhood is between 9% and 21%, which is comparable with rates at other ages. Moreover, there is a strong continuity of disorders and symptoms from ye arly childhood into later childhood and adolescence. 2.The prevalence of psychiatric disorders in preschoolers is unknown. As of today there is no representative study of the prevalence of the full spectrum of psychiatric disorders in preschoolers. Only one medium sized study has utilized a developed standardized diagnostic interview, and no one has used a community sample. 3.Early identification is necessary for prevention and intervention. Without detection the child?s problems and interactions may de teriorate and become more resistant to change. Unfortunately, young children?s problems are detected to a far lesser extent than older children?s problems. Effective screens and procedures for early detection are thus needed. 4.Models tapping resilience f actors and resilience processes need to be integrated. The child?s problems must be understood in its social context, and more complex ecological models need to be tested in order to identify risk increasing and resilience processes. Method All children and their parents in the City of Trondheim meeting at the regular 4-year old health check will be asked to participate. After screening a stratified sample 440 families will be invited to further study. Reexaminations will take place every 2nd year. Instr uments Child: psychiatric disorders, CBCL, competencies, temperament, attachment Parent: major life events, daily hassles, chronic strain, distress, SES Parent-child interaction: Mutuality, coercive processes, ineffective discipline Day care: social skill s, CBCL Archival data: data from the child?s medical files, parental income, education, social welfare benefits, prescriptive drug use, criminal records, and household data will be asked for