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Heterogeneity and heterotypic continuity of emotional and behavioural profiles across development

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Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

To identify emotional and behavioural symptoms profiles from early childhood to adolescence, their stability across development and associated factors.

Methods

Our sample included 17,216 children assessed at ages 3, 5, 7, 11 and 14 years from the UK Millennium Cohort Study. We used latent profile and latent transition analysis to study their emotional and behavioural profiles from early childhood to adolescence. We included sociodemographic, family and parenting variables to study the effect on latent profile membership and transitions.

Results

The number and specific profiles of emotional and behavioural symptoms changed with the developmental stage. We found a higher number of profiles for ages 3, 5, and 14, suggesting greater heterogeneity in the presentation of emotional and behavioural symptoms in early childhood and adolescence compared to late childhood. There was greater heterotypic continuity between ages 3 and 5, particularly in transitions from higher to lower severity profiles. Children exposed to socioeconomic disadvantages were more likely to belong or transition to any moderate or high emotional and behavioural symptoms profiles. Maternal psychological distress and harsh parenting were associated with internalizing and externalizing profiles, respectively. Higher levels of internalizing and externalizing symptoms across development were associated with lower mental wellbeing and higher rates of self-harm and substance use in adolescence.

Conclusion

Emotional and behavioural symptoms develop early in life, with levels of heterogeneity and heterotypic stability that change throughout development. These results call for interventions to prevent and treat paediatric mental illness that consider the heterogeneity and stability of symptoms across development.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to the Centre for Longitudinal Studies (CLS), UCL Institute of Education, for the use of these data and to the UK Data Service for making them available. However, neither CLS nor the UK Data Service bear any responsibility for the analysis or interpretation of these data.

Funding

The authors have no funding to report.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Hospital Pediátrico, Centro Hospitalar e Universitário de Coimbra, Coimbra, 3000-602, Portugal

    João Picoito

  2. Escola Nacional de Saúde Pública, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal

    João Picoito, Constança Santos & Carla Nunes

  3. Public Health Research Center, Escola Nacional de Saúde Pública, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal

    João Picoito, Constança Santos & Carla Nunes

  4. Department of Pediatrics, Centro Hospitalar Universitário Cova da Beira, Covilhã, Portugal

    Constança Santos

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  1. João Picoito
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Correspondence to João Picoito.

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Picoito, J., Santos, C. & Nunes, C. Heterogeneity and heterotypic continuity of emotional and behavioural profiles across development. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol 56, 807–819 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-020-01903-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-020-01903-y

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