Emotional and behavioral problems in infants and preschool children: prevalence and sociodemographic risk factors

Abstract

Objectives: To determine the prevalence of behavioral disorders and the relationship between sociodemographic, environmental and family factors among infants and preschool children applied to psychiatry clinic.

Methods: The sample comprised 355 children between 20-59 months of age and showing normal developmental pattern. After psychiatric assessments, the patients were referred to the child development unit for developmental assessment, support and psychoeducation. Ankara Developmental Screening Inventory (ADSI) was applied to all participants.

Results: The mean age was significantly higher among the children applied to the clinic due to limit setting problems (LSP) than that of the children applied due to the other problems. The children with speech delay were the group applied to the clinic at the earliest age. Speech delay rates were higher among boys compared with girls. Sibling jealousy was more common among girls than boys. In the group with LSP, fathers’ education levels were lower than that of the group without LSP. There was no difference between children in terms of the number of siblings, birth order and family size.

Conclusion: The findings indicate that limit setting was by far the most common problem among children applied to our clinic. Consequently, the utility of results to raise intervention strategies within limit setting should be developed and intervened earlier. 

Keywords

• Infant,preschool children,limit-setting,emotional problems,behavioral problems

References

1. [1] Bagner D, Rodríguez G, Blake C, Linares D, Carter A. Assessment of behavioural and emotional problems in infancy: a systematic review. Clin Child Fam Psychol Rev 2012;15:113-28.
2. [2] National Research Council and Institute of Medicine. Preventing mental, emotional, and behavioural disorders among young people: progress and possibilities, The National Academic Press: Washington, 2009.
3. [3] Evans G, Kim P. Childhood poverty, chronic stress, self-regulation, and coping. Child Dev Perspect 2013;7:43-8.
4. [4] Santos LMD, Queirós FC, Barreto ML, Santos DND. Prevalence of behaviour problems and associated factors in preschool children from the city of Salvador, state of Bahia, Brazil. Rev Bras Psiquiatr 2016;38:46-52.
5. [5] Wamboldt M, Cordaro A, Clarke D. Parent-child relational problem: field trial results, changes in DSM-5, and proposed changes for ICD-11. Fam Process 2015;54:33-47.
6. [6] Bernet W, Wamboldt M, Narrow W. Child affected by parental relationship distress. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 2016;55:571-9.
7. [7] Coley R, Hernandez D. Predictors of paternal involvement for resident and nonresident low-income fathers. Dev Psychol 2006;42:1041-56.
8. [8] Ellajosyula R, Narayanan J. Sociodemographic factors, clinical features and course in frontotemporal dementia: a large cohort study from South India. Neurology 2017;88 (16 Suplement):P4.188.

9. [9] Matijasevich A, Murray E, Stein A, Anselmi L, Menezes AM, Santos IS, et al. Increase in child behaviour problems among urban Brazilian 4-year olds: 1993 and 2004 Pelotas birth cohorts. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 2014;55:1125-34.
10. [10] Vitolo YL, Fleitlich-Bilyk B, Goodman R, Bordin IA. Parental beliefs and child-rearing attitudes and mental health problems among school children. Rev Saude Publica 2005;39:716-24.
11. [11] Moren-Cross JL, Wright DR, LaGory M, Lanzi RG. Perceived neighborhood characteristics and problem behaviour among disadvantaged children. Child Psychiatry Hum Dev 2005;36:273-94.
12. [12] Roberts R, Attkisson C, Rosenblatt A. Prevalence of psychopathology among children and adolescents. Am J Psychiatry1998;155:715-25.
13. [13] Brauner C, Stephens B. Estimating the prevalence of early childhood serious emotional/behavioural disorders: challenges and recommendations. Public Health Rep 2006;121:303-10.
14. [14] Savaşır I, Sezgin N, Erol N. [Handbook of Ankara Developmental Screening Test]. Ankara, Turkey: Ankara University School of Medicine; 1994. [Book in Turkish]
15. [15] Petersen M, Kube D, Whitaker T, Graff J, Palmer F. Prevalence of developmental and behavioural disorders in a pediatric hospital. Pediatrics 2009;123:e490-5.
16. [16] Calhoun SL, Fernandez-Mendoza J, Vgontzas AN, Liao D, Bixler EO. Prevalence of insomnia symptoms in a general population sample of young children and preadolescents: gender effects. Sleep Med 2014;15:91-5.
17. [17] Fricke-Oerkermann L, Plück J, Schredl M, Heinz K, Mitschke A, Wiater A, et al. Prevalence and course of sleep problems in childhood. Sleep 2007;30:1371-7.
18. [18] Mindell JA, Moline ML, Zendell SM, Brown LM, Fry JM. Pediatricians and sleep disorders: training and practice. Pediatrics 1994;94:194-200.
19. [19] Chou Y. Survey of sleep in infants and young children in northern Taiwan. Sleep Biol Rhythms 2007;5:40-9.
20. [20] Catto-Smith A. Constipation and toileting issues in children. Med J Aust 2005;182:242-6.
21. [21] Xinias I, Mavroudi A. Constipation in childhood. An update on evaluation and management. Hippokratia 2015;19:11-9.
22. [22] Bryant BK, Crockenberg SB. Correlates and dimensions of prosocial behaviour: A study of female siblings with their mothers. Child Dev 1980:529-44.
23. [23] Stipek D, RecchiaS, McClintic S. Self-evaluation in young children. Monogr Soc Res Child Dev 1992;57:1-98.
24. [24] Tucker C, Finkelhor D, Shattuck N, Turner H. Prevalence and correlates of sibling victimization types. Child Abuse Negl 2013;37:213-23.
25. [25] Shaw DS, Keenan K, Vondra JI. Developmental precursors of externalizing behaviour; Ages 1 to 3. Dev Psychol 1994;30:355-64.
26. [26] Zahn-Waxler C, Shirtcliff EA, Marceau K. Disorders of childhood and adolescence: Gender and psychopathology. Annu Rev Clin Psychol 2008;4:275-303.
27. [27] Wallace IF, Berkman ND, Watson LR, Coyne-Beasley T, Wood CT, Cullen K, et al. Screening for speech and language delay in children 5 years old and younger: a systematic review. Pediatrics 2015;136:e448-62.
28. [28] Hadley PA, Rispoli M, Fitzgerald C, Bahnsen A. Predictors of morphosyntactic growth in typically developing toddlers: contributions of parent input and child sex. J Speech Lang Hear Res 2011;54:549-66.
29. [29] Simonsen H, Kristoffersen K, Bleses D, Wehberg S, Jergensen R. The Norwegian Communicative Development Inventories: Reliability, main developmental trends and gender differences. First Language 2014;34:3-23.
30. [30]Westerlund M, Lagerberg D. Expressive vocabulary in 18-month-old children in relation to demographic factors, mother and child characteristics, communication style and shared reading. Child Care Health Dev 2008;34:257-66.
31. [31] Nelson K. The nominal shift in semantic-syntactic development. Cogn Psychol 1975;7:461-79.
32. [32] Tearne J. Older maternal age and child behavioural and cognitive outcomes: a review of the literature. Fertil Steril 2015;103:1381-91.
33. [33] Ryan RM, Claessens A, Markowitz AJ. Associations between family structure change and child behaviour problems: The moderating effect of family income. Child Dev 2015;86:112-27.
34. [34] Biedel DC, Turner SM. At risk for anxiety: I. Psychopathology in the offsprings of anxious parents. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 1997;36:918-24.
35. [35] Taanila A, Ebeling H, Kotimaa A, Moilanen I, Järvelin MR. Is a large family a protective factor against behavioural and emotional problems at the age of 8 years?.Acta Paediatr 2004;93:508-17.
36. [36] Carlson M, Corcoran M. Family structure and children’sbBehavioural andcCognitive outcomes. J Marriage Fam 2001;63:779-92.
37. [37] Lawson D, Mace R. Siblings and childhood mental health: evidence for a later-born advantage. Soc Sci Med 2010;70:2061-9.
38. [38] McLanahan S, Sandefur G. Growing Up with a Single Parent. What Hurts, What Helps. Harvard University Press: Cambridge, 1997.
39. [39] Campbell S, Shaw D, Gilliom M. Early externalizing behaviour problems: toddlers and preschoolers at risk for later maladjustment. Dev Psychopathol 2000;12:467-88.
40. [40] Tremblay R, Nagin D, Seguin J, Zoccolillo M, Zelazo P, Boivin M, et al. Physical aggression during early childhood: trajectories and predictors. Pediatrics 2004;114:e43-50.
41. [41] Cote S, Vaillancourt T, LeBlanc J, Nagin D, Tremblay E. The development of physical aggression from toddlerhood to pre-adolescence: a nationwide longitudinal study of Canadian children. J Abnorm Child Psychol 2006;34:71-85.