Biomedical subjects

F C Verhulst

Publications and source records attributed to F C Verhulst.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

PubMed2003

Detecting psychosocial problems among 5-6-year-old children in preventive Child Health Care: the validity of a short questionnaire used in an assessment procedure for detecting psychosocial problems among children.

BACKGROUND: An extended re-assessment of the psychometric properties of the LSPPK, an instrument aimed at identifying children with emotional and behavioural problems. METHODS: Data came from a national sample in The Netherlands of parents of 1248 children (aged 5-6 years) interviewed by child health professionals (CHP). Data were obtained regarding psychosocial problems, treatment status and scores on the LSPPK (Parent and CHP Index), and on the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). The scale structure, reliability, criterion and content validity and added value of the LSPPK were assessed using the CBCL and treatment status as criteria. RESULTS: The scale structure corresponded with that found originally; the LSPPK improved the prediction of problems according to the CBCL, compared to predictions using readily available risk indicators alone. Reliability varied between 0.55 and 0.69. For the LSPPK Parent Index, sensitivity varied between 0.42 and 0.50. For the CHP Index sensitivity varied between 0.60 and 0.96, but specificity varied between 0.76 and 0.79. Both indices were very sensitive for attention and social problems, but less so for other problems. CONCLUSION: The LSPPK Parent Index cannot distinguish sufficiently between children with or without serious problems. Either too many children with problems remain unnoticed or too many children without problems are labelled as a case. The LSPPK CHP Index, reflecting the CHP's interpretation of the Parent Index after interviewing the parents does not compensate adequately for the weaknesses of the Parent Index. Better assessment procedures and strategies need to be developed.

Child↗

PubMed2003

Neighbourhood socioeconomic disadvantage and behavioural problems from late childhood into early adolescence.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: This study investigates whether neighbourhood socioeconomic disadvantage may contribute to child behavioural and emotional problems, beyond the effects of parental socioeconomic status. It also examines the influence of neighbourhood disadvantage on changes in the frequency of behavioural problems from late childhood into early adolescence. DESIGN AND SETTING: The study was conducted in a large community sample in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. An index of neighbourhood socioeconomic disadvantage was calculated for each of the city's 74 neighbourhoods. Multilevel regression analysis estimated effects of neighbourhood disadvantage and individual variables (parental socioeconomic status, child's gender, and age) on behavioural problems reported by children (Youth Self-Report) and parents (Child Behavior Checklist) and on changes in these scores over a two year follow up. PARTICIPANTS: A cohort of all children born in 1978 and living in Rotterdam. Of those eligible, 73% (n=2587) participated in the first measurement (T1), at 10-12 years; 71% of the T1 respondents participated again two years later (T2), at 12-14 years. MAIN RESULTS: Neighbourhood disadvantage was associated with higher Total, Internalising, and Externalising Problems, as assessed with both the Child Behavior Checklist and the Youth Self-Report, even after controlling for parental socioeconomic status. Neighbourhood disadvantage also seemed to contribute to increases in Total Problems over the follow up. CONCLUSIONS: Living in a disadvantaged neighbourhood is associated with greater behavioural problems and may lead to an exacerbation of problems as children move from childhood into adolescence. Public health interventions to improve child mental health must take the neighbourhood environment into account.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2002

Family factors and life events as risk factors for behavioural and emotional problems in children.

The aim of this study was to identify groups of children at increased risk of behavioural or emotional problems on the basis of socio-demographic characteristics, family characteristics, and recent life events with a focus on unemployment and divorce or separation. We obtained data on the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) from a community-based national sample of 4480 parents of school-aged children and interviewed them about their demographic and family characteristics and about the child's recent life events. Results showed that family characteristics and recent life events were more strongly associated with children's risks of behavioural and emotional problems as measured by the CBCL than other demographic characteristics. Risks were somewhat higher for children who had experienced parental unemployment and divorce or separation recently, as compared to those who had experienced these events in the more distant past. We conclude that children with recent experience of parental unemployment or parental divorce or separation are at a relatively high risk of behavioural and emotional problems as reported by parents. Although relatively high, the risks that were found do not justify restriction of screening for behavioural and emotional problems to these children.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2001

Identification and management of psychosocial problems by preventive child health care.

OBJECTIVES: To assess the degree to which physicians and nurses working in preventive child health care (child health professionals [CHPs]) identify and manage psychosocial problems in children, and to determine its association with parent-reported behavioral and emotional problems, sociodemographic factors, and general and mental health history of children. DESIGN: The CHPs examined the child and interviewed parents and child during their routine health assessments. The parents completed the Child Behavior Checklist. SETTING: Nineteen child health care services across the Netherlands, serving nearly all school-aged children routinely. SUBJECTS: Of 4970 children aged 5 through 15 years, eligible for a routine health assessment, 4480 (90.1%) participated. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Identification and management of psychosocial problems by CHPs. RESULTS: In 25% of all children, CHPs identified 1 or more psychosocial problems. One in 5 identified children were referred for further diagnosis and treatment. Identification of psychosocial problems and subsequent referral were 6 times more likely in children with serious parent-reported problem behavior according to the Child Behavior Checklist total problem score (8% of total sample). However, CHPs identified no psychosocial problems in 43% of these children and therefore undertook no action. Other child factors associated with CHPs' identification and referral were past treatment for psychosocial problems, life events, and academic problems. After adjustment for these, sociodemographic characteristics did not predict referral. CONCLUSIONS: The CHPs identify psychosocial problems in school-aged children frequently and undertake actions for most of them. Screening for psychosocial problems may be a promising option to reduce these problems, but accurate identification should be enhanced.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2001

Cognitive, and behavioural and emotional functioning of young children awaiting elective cardiac surgery or catheter intervention.

AIMS: To assess the cognitive, and behavioural and emotional functioning of children aged 3 months to 7 years shortly before elective cardiac surgery or elective interventional catheterisation. METHODS: We used the Bayley Scales of Infant Development, and the McCarthy Scales of Children's Abilities, to measure cognitive functioning. The Child Behavior Checklist was used to assess behavioural and emotional problems. RESULTS: We found no significant differences in mean cognitive scores for children scheduled for cardiac surgery or interventional catheterisation when compared with reference groups. This was also the case for children awaiting cardiac surgery as opposed to those awaiting interventional catheterisation, and for those below as compared to those above the age of 2.5 years. Overall, our results regarding behavioural and emotional functioning were comparable to those of normative reference groups. The only difference found was that the children scheduled for cardiac surgery and aged from 2 to 3 years had significantly higher scores on the Child Behavior Checklist than did peers from normative groups. CONCLUSION: Cognitive, and behavioural and emotional functioning, both for young children awaiting elective cardiac surgery and interventional catheterisation, can be considered as quite favourable.

Age Factors↗

PubMed2001

Psychopathology in adolescence predicts substance use in young adulthood.

AIMS: To investigate prospective associations between psychopathology in adolescence and tobacco, alcohol and drug use in young adulthood. DESIGN: A sample of 787 10-14-year-olds from the Dutch general population was prospectively followed-up across an 8-year interval. The Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) was administered at initial assessment, and at 2- and 4-year follow-ups. Substance abuse was assessed with the Young Adult Self-Report (YASR) at 8-year follow-up. FINDINGS: The Thought Problems scale of the CBCL was the strongest predictor of alcohol use, while smoking was predicted by the Thought Problems and Delinquent Behavior scales. The strongest association with drug use in young adulthood was for the CBCL Delinquent Behavior scale. Predictive value of predictors in early adolescence was as important as in late adolescence. CONCLUSION: To investigate pathways towards substance use in young adulthood, studies assessing a broad range of possible predictors, including Thought Problems, at different developmental stages of adolescence, are needed.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2001

Prevalence of psychopathology in children of a bipolar parent.

OBJECTIVE: To determine psychopathology in adolescent children of a bipolar parent living in the Netherlands, using multiple sources of information (self-, parent, and teacher reports). METHOD: Problem behavior in 140 offspring (aged 12-21 years) of 86 bipolar parents was assessed with the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL), the Teacher's Report Form (TRF), and the Youth Self-Report (YSR) between 1997 and 1999. All adolescents, bipolar parents, and their available spouses were interviewed with the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-Age Children-Present and Lifetime Version (K-SADS-PL). RESULTS: Higher problem scores were found for 8 of the 11 CBCL scales for girls and 4 of the 11 CBCL scales for boys, compared with a Dutch normative sample, and 1 Young Adult Self-Report (YASR) scale for girls compared with an American normative sample. Lower problem scores were found on 4 YSR and 4 YASR scales for boys, 1 TRF scale for girls, and 1 TRF scale for boys. The prevalence of current DSM-IV diagnoses in the offspring was 29% and of life-time DSM-IV diagnoses, 44%. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of problem behavior and DSM-IV diagnoses found in our sample did not support the notion that the level of psychopathology in children aged 12 to 21 years of bipolar parents is highly elevated. This study, similar to prior studies, suffers from lack of information on the representativeness of the sample and a rather low response rate.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2001

Using parental ratings to study the etiology of 3-year-old twins' problem behaviors: different views or rater bias?

Child Behavior Checklist questionnaires (Achenbach, 1992), filled in separately by mothers and fathers, were collected for an effective sample of 3,501 Dutch 3-year-old twin pairs. To disentangle the child's phenotype from that of the rater, two contrasting models were fitted to the data. One model, called a Rater Bias model, is based on the assumption that both parents assess exactly the same behaviors in the child. A weaker alternative of this model, called a Psychometric model, assumes that apart from these common behavioral views, each parent also assesses a unique aspect of the child's behavior. A Psychometric model fitted the data of both Internalizing and Externalizing scales significantly better than a Rater Bias model. This implied that each parent provided unique information from his or her own perspective, apart from the common behavioral view. Using this best fitting model, the etiology of both the Internalizing and Externalizing scales was studied. Common factors (influencing behaviors similarly assessed by both parents) were more important than unique factors (influencing behaviors uniquely assessed by one parent). Common genetic factors explained about 50% of the variance of both scales, indicating a possible inborn vulnerability to childhood psychopathology. Common environmental factors not shared between twins (free of unreliability and error) explained around 14% of both scales, suggesting the importance of pure idiosyncratic experiences even for children as young as 3 years. Common environmental factors shared between twins (unconfounded by rater bias) were only found for the Externalizing scale, explaining 18% of the variance. Rater bias and unreliability, if present in the data, were included in the estimates of the unique factors. Unique genetic, shared, and nonshared environmental factors each explained around 8% of the variance for both scales. These small effects could be detected because of the large sample of twin pairs used.

Adult↗

PubMed2001

Adolescents' self-reported problems as predictors of psychopathology in adulthood: 10-year follow-up study.

BACKGROUND: Knowledge of the course of psychopathology from adolescence into adulthood is needed to answer questions concerning origins and prognosis of psychopathology across a wide age range. AIMS: To investigate the 10-year course and predictive value of self-reported problems in adolescence in relation to psychopathology in adulthood. METHOD: Subjects from the general population, aged 11-19 years, were assessed with the Youth Self-Report (YSR) at initial assessment, and with the Young Adult Self-Report (YASR), the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI) and three sections of the Diagnostic Interview Schedule (DIS) 10 years later. RESULTS: Of the subjects with deviant YSR total problem scores, 23% (males) and 22% (females) had deviant YASR total problem scores at follow-up. Subjects with initial deviant YSR total problem, internalising and externalising scores had higher prevalences of DSM-IV diagnoses at follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: Adolescent problems tended to persist into adulthood to a moderate degree. High rates of problems during adolescence are risk factors for psychiatric disorders in adulthood.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2001

Body image, psychosocial functioning, and personality: how different are adolescents and young adults applying for plastic surgery?

This study addressed three questions: (1) Do adolescents undergoing plastic surgery have a realistic view of their body? (2) How urgent is the psychosocial need of adolescents to undergo plastic surgery? (3) Which relations exist between bodily attitudes and psychosocial functioning and personality? From 1995 to 1997, 184 plastic surgical patients aged 12 to 22, and a comparison group of 684 adolescents and young adults from the general population aged 12 to 22 years, and their parents, were interviewed and completed questionnaires and standardised rating scales. Adolescents accepted for plastic surgery had realistic appearance attitudes and were psychologically healthy overall. Patients were equally satisfied with their overall appearance as the comparison group, but more dissatisfied with the specific body parts concerned for operation, especially when undergoing corrective operations. Patients had measurable appearance-related psychosocial problems. Patient boys reported less self-confidence on social areas than all other groups. There were very few patient-comparison group differences in correlations between bodily and psychosocial variables, indicating that bodily attitudes and satisfaction are not differentially related to psychosocial functioning and self-perception in patients than in peers. We concluded that adolescents accepted for plastic surgery have considerable appearance-related psychosocial problems, patients in the corrective group reporting more so than in the reconstructive group. Plastic surgeons may assume that these adolescents in general have a realistic attitude towards their appearance. are psychologically healthy, and are mainly dissatisfied about the body parts concerned for operation. corrective patients more so than reconstructive patients. Introverted patients may need more attention from plastic surgeons during the psychosocial assessment.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed2000

Factors associated with problem behaviors in Turkish immigrant children in The Netherlands.

BACKGROUND: The objective of this study was to examine the relationship between child, parent, family/support, and stress variables and problem behaviors in Turkish immigrant children in the Netherlands. METHODS: Parents of 833 children were interviewed and administered a Turkish version of the Child Behavior Checklist for ages 4 through 18 and a Turkish immigrant assessment questionnaire. RESULTS: Increased integration (i.e., children belonging to a second generation of immigrants, older children) generally reduced the risk for problem behaviors, while frequent arguments, divorce, psychological problems, and convictions/incarcerations increased the risk for problem behaviors. CONCLUSIONS: Results indicate that problem behaviors are associated with the high level of separation faced by Turkish immigrant families and that more integration leads to lower levels of problem behavior. Additionally, migration history alone does not contribute to problem behavior. Factors in the family (e.g., quarrels, divorce, conviction) associated with problem behaviors in Turkish immigrants are similar to those found in Dutch and American populations. Future studies could examine predictors of problem behaviors in other culturally separated immigrant groups in the Netherlands, and in Turkish immigrant groups in other countries.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2000

Psychological distress and styles of coping in parents of children awaiting elective cardiac surgery.

AIMS: We sought to assess the level of psychological distress, and the styles of coping of, parents of children with congenital heart disease. The study was based on questionnaires, which were completed, on average, four weeks, with a range from 0.1 to 22.1 weeks, prior to elective cardiac surgery or elective catheter intervention. METHODS: We used the General Health Questionnaire, and the Utrecht Coping List, to compare scores from parents of those undergoing surgery, with scores of reference groups, and with scores of the parents of those undergoing intervention. RESULTS: Overall, in comparison with our reference groups, the parents of the 75 children undergoing surgery showed elevated levels of psychological distress, manifested as anxiety, sleeplessness, and social dysfunctioning. They also demonstrated less adequate styles of coping, being, for example, less active in solving problems. With only one exception, no differences were demonstrated in parental reactions to whether cardiac surgery or catheter intervention had been planned. The mothers of the 68 patients who were to undergo cardiac surgery, however, reported greater psychological distress and manifested greater problems with coping than did the fathers. CONCLUSION: Elevated levels of psychological distress, and less adequate styles of coping, were found in the parents of patients about to undergo cardiac surgery, especially the mothers, when compared to reference groups. Future research should investigate whether these difficulties persist, and whether this will influence the emotional development of their children with congenital cardiac malformations.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed2000

Teacher-reported problem behaviour in Turkish immigrant and Dutch children: a cross-cultural comparison.

OBJECTIVE: To compare problem behaviour in Turkish immigrant children living in the Netherlands versus problem behaviour in Dutch children from the general population as reported by teachers. METHOD: Teacher's Report Forms (TRF) were filled out by Dutch teachers, and for a subsample also by Turkish immigrant teachers, concerning 524 Turkish immigrant children selected randomly from the immigrant population in two large cities in the Netherlands. TRFs completed for Turkish immigrant children were compared with TRFs filled out for 1625 children selected randomly from the Dutch general population. RESULTS: No significant differences were revealed between children from both cultures on the TRF total problems, internalizing, externalizing and specific syndrome scales. Turkish immigrant teachers, however, reported higher total problems, internalizing and anxious/depressed scores for immigrant children than did Dutch teachers for the same immigrant children. CONCLUSION: No significant differences were found in the levels of behavioural and emotional problems reported by Dutch teachers for Turkish immigrant versus Dutch children. However, Turkish immigrant teachers reported high levels of anxiety and depression in immigrant children which go largely undetected by their Dutch teachers.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2000

Assessing adolescents and young girls for plastic surgical intervention: pre-surgical appearance ratings and appearance-related burdens as reported by adolescents and young adults, parents and surgeons.

Currently available research on psychological aspects of plastic surgery offers little basis for clinical decision making in the plastic surgeon's assessment of adolescents and young adults applying for surgery. Therefore, the research aims were to study: first, how these adolescents and young adults estimate their appearance as compared to their parents and plastic surgeons to determine the reality of their own appearance perception; second, what appearance-related burdens they experience to determine the urgency of their request for surgery; and third, the surgeons' considerations for the operation. Data were obtained from 184 plastic surgical patients aged 12-22 years (71.2% girls), 172 of their parents and 37 surgeons from 16 hospitals in The Netherlands, using appearance rating scales and to surgeons and parents, and reported substantial appearance-related suffering. There was a moderate to large overlap between the adolescent- and parent-reported burdens. In their assessment, surgeons took psychological and social impediments into consideration. In conclusion, plastic surgeons may rightfully assume that adolescents and young adults have a realistic view of their appearance and that they suffer from significant appearance-related burdens. Parents prove to be an important additional source of information.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2000

Continuity and change of psychopathology from childhood into adulthood: a 14-year follow-up study.

OBJECTIVE: To test the 14-year continuity and change of behavioral and emotional problems from childhood into adulthood. METHOD: For 1,615 children and adolescents aged 4 to 16 years from the general population, parents completed the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) at initial assessment. At follow-up 14 years later, subjects completed the Young Adult Self-Report (YASR), and their parents completed the Young Adult Behavior Checklist (YABCL). RESULTS: Of the subjects who were initially classified as deviant, 14 years later 41% were classified as deviant according to their YABCL Total Problem score, and 29% according to their YASR Total Problem score. Intrainformant (CBCL/YABCL) Withdrawn, Social Problems, Delinquent Behavior, and Aggressive Behavior scores, and cross-informant (CBCL/YASR) Anxious/Depressed, Thought Problems, and Delinquent Behavior scores were independent predictors of general levels of problem behavior. CONCLUSIONS: Childhood and adolescent problems persisted to a considerable degree into adulthood, although the majority of children who were deviant at initial assessment could not be regarded as deviant 14 years later. Children who were adolescents at initial assessment (12-16 years) showed higher stability of problem behaviors than subjects who were children at initial assessment (4-11 years).

Adolescent↗

PubMed2000

Predictors of psychopathology in young adults referred to mental health services in childhood or adolescence.

BACKGROUND: For children referred to mental health services future functioning may be hampered. AIMS: To examine stability and prediction of behavioural and emotional problems from childhood into adulthood. METHOD: A referred sample (n = 789) aged 4-18 years was followed up after a mean of 10.5 years. Scores derived from the Child Behavior Checklist, Youth Self-Report and Teacher Report Form were related to equivalent scores for young adults from the Young Adult Self-Report and Young Adult Behavior Checklist. RESULTS: Correlations between first contact (T1) and follow-up (T2) scores were 0.12-0.53. Young adult psychopathology was predicted by corresponding T1 problem scores. Social problems and anxious/depressed scores were predictors of general problem behaviour. CONCLUSIONS: Problem behaviour of children and adolescents referred to outpatient mental health services is highly predictive of similar problem behaviour at young adulthood. Stability is higher for externalizing than for internalizing behaviour and for intra-informant than for inter-informant information. Stabilities are similar across gender. To obtain a comprehensive picture of the young adult's functioning, information from related adults may prove valuable.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1999

Associations between behavioural and emotional problems in adolescence and maladjustment in young adulthood.

This study was designed to investigate associations between emotional and behavioural problems in adolescence and psychopathology in young adulthood. Seven hundred and six 11- to 16-year-olds from the Dutch general population were followed across a period of 8 years and 8 months. Subjects were initially assessed using the Child Behaviour Checklist (CBCL). At follow-up, a subsample of 131 subjects were assessed for DSM-III-R Axis 1 diagnoses with the SCAN (a semi-structured interview), while the Global Assessment of Functioning scale and the Groningen Social Disabilities Schedule were used to assess functioning in daily life. Scores on the CBCL scales Withdrawn, Anxious/Depressed, Somatic Complaints, Social Problems and Thought Problems in adolescence were associated with DSM-III-R symptomatology or dysfunctioning in young adulthood.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed1999

The role of pubertal progress in the development of depression in early adolescence.

BACKGROUND: Lack of longitudinal studies on the relationship between pubertal progress and changes in depression during adolescence. METHODS: Changes in the Anxious/Depressed scores of the Child Behavior Checklist and Youth Self-Report were predicted from pubertal progress. Subjects were young adolescents from the Dutch general population, aged 10-12 years at T1 and 12-14 years at T2. From the 1327 parent reports, 207 showed a change that exceeded the cut-off for inclusion in the analyses. From the 1414 self-reports, 476 exceeded the cut-off. RESULTS: Apart from increase, decrease in depression was common. Pubertal progress was inversely related to the parent reports of boys' depression only. CONCLUSION: Self-perceptions of depressive symptoms change independently from pubertal progress, whereas changes observable to parents are inversely related to it in boys. LIMITATIONS: Progress was not measured across the whole pubertal development. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: One can expect parents to observe a decrease in boys' depression in the period when most pubertal progress is made. More attention should be paid to decreases in depressive symptomatology.

Adolescent↗