3-112 - Trends in child mental health

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Integrative Statement

Child mental health problems are common and have long-lasting functional impacts. Accurate understanding of trends in childhood psychiatric problems is therefore a priority. Rates of clinical diagnosis and treatment have increased, but may be explained by increased help-seeking and recognition. Cross-cohort epidemiological comparisons comparing ‘like-with-like’ are required to test underlying changes in the prevalence of child mental health symptoms, their impact on functioning, and possible explanations of trends over time.

The symposium aims are to test trends in child mental health symptoms and service use in two European countries, understand impact of changes in antenatal ‘risk factors’, and to assess changes in the impact of child mental health problems on later functioning. These aims are achieved through a complementary array of representative UK and Finnish cohorts assessed over a period of more than 50 years.

Study one compared three longitudinal UK-based representative samples (1965-2008) to assess changes in the prevalence of child mental health symptoms and their impact on later educational and social outcomes. Study two examined four cross-sectional representative samples of Finnish children (1989-2013) to study differences in children’s psychiatric symptoms and mental health service use. Study three used data on parent-reported symptoms and diagnosis in two UK population-based cohorts of 7-year-old children to examine whether increased rates of Autism Spectrum Disorder diagnosis are underpinned by change in autism-type behaviours. Study four examined the 1958 and 2000 UK birth cohorts to examine implications of changes in antenatal conditions for child mental health.

Sub Unit

• Methods, History, Theory

Chair

• Stephan Collishaw, Cardiff University

Individual Presentations

• Examining whether the impact of child mental health problems on future functioning has changed using cross-cohort comparisons - Presenting Author: Ruth Sellers, Cambridge Univ; Barbara Maughan, King's College London; Andrew Pickles, King's College London; Anita Thapar, Child & Adolescent Psychiatry Section, Institute of Psychological Medicine & Clinical Neurosciences, MRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics & Genomics, School of Medicine, Cardiff University, Cardiff; Stephan Collishaw, Cardiff University

• Time-trend changes of 8-year old children’s mental health problems and service use during 24 years - Presenting Author: Andre Sourander, Turku University

• Time trends in symptoms and diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder - Presenting Author: Ginny Russell, Univ of Exeter; Stephan Collishaw, Cardiff University; Jean Golding, Centre for Child & Adolescent Health, School of Social & Community Medicine, University of Bristol; Tamsin Ford, Exeter University

• A cross-cohort comparison of antenatal risk factors for child mental health problems - Presenting Author: Stephan Collishaw, Cardiff University; Ruth Sellers, Cambridge Univ; Anita Thapar, Child & Adolescent Psychiatry Section, Institute of Psychological Medicine & Clinical Neurosciences, MRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics & Genomics, School of Medicine, Cardiff University, Cardiff; Barbara Maughan, King's College London