J. van der Ende

Diagnostic outcome of self-reported hallucinations in a community sample of adolescents

OBJECTIVEnWe aimed to assess the diagnostic outcome of self-reported hallucinations in adolescents from the general population.nnnMETHODnThe sample consisted of 914 adolescents between ages 11-18 participating in an ongoing longitudinal study. The participation rate from the original sample was 70%. Responses on the Youth Self-Report questionnaire were used to ascertain hallucinations in adolescents. Eight years later, Axis 1 DSM-IV diagnoses were assessed using the 12-month version Composite International Diagnostic Interview in 783 (86%) of 914 study subjects. No subjects were diagnosed with schizophreniform disorders or schizophrenia.nnnRESULTSnHallucinations were reported by 6% of adolescents and 3% of young adults. Self-reported hallucinations were associated with concurrent non-psychotic psychiatric problems in both age groups. Adolescents who reported auditory, but not visual, hallucinations, had higher rates of depressive disorders and substance use disorders, but not psychotic disorders, at follow-up, compared to controls.nnnCONCLUSIONSnSelf-reported auditory hallucinations in adolescents are markers of concurrent and future psychiatric impairment due to non-psychotic Axis 1 disorders and possibly Axis 2 disorders. It cannot be excluded that there was selective attrition of children and adolescents who developed Schizophrenic or other psychotic disorders later in life.

Understanding childhood (problem) behaviors from a cultural perspective: comparison of problem behaviors and competencies in Turkish immigrant, Turkish and Dutch children.

Parents reports of problem behaviors in 2,081 Dutch children, 3,127 Turkish children in Ankara and 833 Turkish immigrant children living in The Netherlands, aged 4–18 years, were compared. Dutch and Turkish versions of the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) were used. Immigrant children were scored higher than Dutch children on 6 of the 11 CBCL scales, most markedly on the Anxious/Depressed scale. Immigrant children were scored higher than Ankara children on five CBCL scales. However, these differences were much smaller than those found between immigrant and Dutch children. Furthermore, immigrant childrens Total Problem scores did not differ from those for Ankara children. Turkish immigrant children have very similar patterns of parent-reported problem behaviors to children living in Turkey, although both groups of Turkish children showed higher levels of parent-reported problem behaviors than Dutch children. The higher scores for Turkish children on the Anxious/Depressed scale compared with their Dutch peers may be explained by cultural differences in parental perception of childrens problem behaviors, as well as the threshold for reporting them, or by cultural differences in the prevalence of problems, for instance as the result of cross-cultural differences in child-rearing practice. More research is needed to test the degree to which Turkish immigrant parents tend to preserve their cultural characteristics and child-rearing practices in Dutch society.

Twenty‐year trends in emotional and behavioral problems in Dutch children in a changing society

Objective:u2002 Research into changes in the prevalence of children’s psychiatric diagnoses has indicated an increase in recent decades. However, methodological problems may have influenced results. This study compared children’s emotional and behavioral problem levels across three population samples from different time points across 20u2003years, assessed with identical methodologies.

Detecting psychopathology in young adults: the Young Adult Self Report, the General Health Questionnaire and the Symptom Checklist as screening instruments

This study compares the screening capacity of an age‐adjusted child‐oriented questionnaire, the Young Adult Self Report (YASR) with two adult‐oriented questionnaires, the General Health Questionnaire‐28 (GHQ‐28) and Symptom Checklist‐90 (SCL‐90) in a sample of young adults (18–25 years). The YASR performed just as well as the SCL‐90 and both performed better than the GHQ‐28. The relatively poor performance of the GHQ‐28 compared with the YASR and SCL‐90 could not be attributed to instrument characteristics or to the use of referral status as indicator of psychopathology. In assessing psychopathology in young adults an age‐adjusted child‐oriented instrument might be a good alternative to the existing adult‐oriented instruments, especially when one takes into account the problem of data comparability over time in longitudinal studies in which children are followed into adulthood.

Child to adult continuities of psychopathology: a 24‐year follow‐up

Objective:u2002 To determine continuities of mental health problems of children across a 24‐year follow‐up period.

Predicting young adult social functioning from developmental trajectories of externalizing behaviour

BACKGROUNDnThe long-term consequences of child and adolescent externalizing problems often involve a wide spectrum of social maladaptation in adult life. The purpose of this study was to describe the predictive link of child and adolescent externalizing developmental trajectories to social functioning in adulthood.nnnMETHODnSocial functioning was predicted from developmental trajectories of parent-reported aggression, opposition, property violations and status violations that were defined in a longitudinal multiple birth cohort study of 2,076 males and females aged 4-18 years. Social functioning was assessed using self-reports by young adults aged 18-30 years. Linear and logistic regression analyses were used to describe the extent to which developmental trajectories are prospectively related to social functioning.nnnRESULTSnChildren with high-level trajectories of opposition and status violations reported more impaired social functioning as young adults than children with high-level trajectories of aggression and property violations. Young adults who showed onset of problems in adolescence reported overall less impaired social functioning than individuals with high-level externalizing problems starting in childhood. Overall, males reported more impaired social functioning in adulthood than females. However, females with persistent high-level externalizing behaviour reported more impairment in relationships than males with persistent high-level externalizing behaviour.nnnCONCLUSIONnThe long-term consequences of high levels of opposition and status violations in childhood to serious social problems during adulthood are much stronger than for individuals who show only high levels of aggressive antisocial behaviours.

Associations between ethnicity and self-reported hallucinations in a population sample of young adults in The Netherlands.

BACKGROUNDnPsychotic disorders are more common in people from ethnic minorities. If psychosis exists as a continuous phenotype, ethnic disparities in psychotic disorder will be accompanied by similar ethnic disparities in the rate of psychotic symptoms. This study examined ethnic disparities in self-reported hallucinations in a population sample of young adults. MethodA cross-sectional population survey (n=2258) was carried out in the south-west Netherlands. Seven ethnic groups were delineated: Dutch natives, Turks, Moroccans, Surinamese/Antilleans, Indonesians, other non-Western immigrants (mostly from Africa or Asia) and Western immigrants (mostly from Western Europe). Self-reported auditory and visual hallucinations were assessed with the Adult Self-Report (ASR). Indicators of social adversity included social difficulties and a significant drop in financial resources.nnnRESULTSnCompared to Dutch natives, Turkish females [odds ratio (OR) 13.48, 95% confidence interval (CI) 5.97-30.42], Moroccan males (OR 8.36, 95% CI 3.29-21.22), Surinamese/Antilleans (OR 2.19, 95% CI 1.05-4.58), Indonesians (OR 4.15, 95% CI 1.69-10.19) and other non-Western immigrants (OR 3.57, 95% CI 1.62-7.85) were more likely to report hallucinations, whereas Western immigrants, Turkish males and Moroccan females did not differ from their Dutch counterparts. When adjusting for social adversity, the ORs for self-reported hallucinations among the non-Western immigrant groups showed considerable reductions of 28% to 52%.nnnCONCLUSIONSnIn a general population sample, several non-Western immigrant groups reported hallucinations more often than Dutch natives, which is consistent with the higher incidence of psychotic disorders in most of these groups. The associations between ethnicity and hallucinations diminished after adjustment for social adversity, which supports the view that adverse social experiences contribute to the higher rate of psychosis among migrants.

Parent-teacher disagreement regarding psychopathology in children : a risk factor for adverse outcome?

Objective:u2002 To investigate if parent–teacher discrepancies in reports of behavioral/emotional problems in children predict poor outcome.

Agoraphobic, animal, death-injury-illness and social stimuli clusters as major elements in a four-dimensional taxonomy of self-rated fears: First-order level confirmatory evidence from an australian sample of anxiety disorder patients

In a recent review article, Arrindell, Pickersgill, Merckelbach, Ardon, and Cornet (1991) (Advances in Behaviour Research and Therapy, 13, 73-130) proposed an a priori four-dimensional categorization system for the description of self-rated fears on the basis of suggestions from previous reviews and research. The categories were described as: (I) Interpersonal events or situations, (II) Death, injuries, illness, blood and surgical procedures, (III) Animals, and (IV) Agoraphobia. While it has proven to be feasible to categorize fear factors/components derived in different empirical studies reliably into each of these categories, no confirmatory evidence is as yet available to support the factorial validity of the relevant dimensional system. Using the multiple-group method, clear evidence was found at the primary level for such in a sample of 398 anxiety disorder patients. In addition, the corresponding component scales were demonstrated to be highly consistent internally and to be moderately to highly intercorrelated, with none of the intercorrelations exceeding or even approaching the internal consistencies in magnitude - thus clearly indicating that a reliable distinction can be made between the four fear dimensions. The findings are discussed in relation to other classes of fear reactions described in the clinical-theoretical literature and to Endlers interactional model of personality. Following the line of research from the area of personality testing, it is, among other things, suggested that psychobiological, developmental, and behavioral-social studies should, in the future, be organized around the now well-established dimensions of fear described above.

Cross-national transferability of the two-factor model of parental rearing behaviour: A contrast of data from Canada, the Fed. Rep. Germany, Hungary, Japan, Singapore and Venezuela with Dutch target ratings on the EMBU

In order to contribute to the cross-cultural study of child-rearing practices and psychopathology, this pilot study sought to examine the cross-national generalizability of parental rearing constructs by analyzing self-report data on the EMBU, an instrument designed to assess memories of parental rearing behaviour. Of the four primary factors identified originally with Dutch individuals, namely Rejection, Emotional Warmth, Overprotection and Favouring Subject, the first three were replicated in a similar form in convenience samples comprising healthy research volunteers from Canada, the Fed. Rep. Germany, Hungary, Japan, Singapore and Venezuela. Scale-level factor analyses of the constructs evidencing cross-national constancy produced identical two-factor compositions (CARE and PROTECTION) across national samples. Basic analysis of item-bias showed such an influence in the Japanese sample only which necessitated a very minor modification in two EMBU subscales. Among other things, it was concluded that the EMBU dimensional framework can be as useful for scientific purposes in the different national groups as it has proved to be in the Netherlands.