Middle childhood profiles of social-emotional competencies and difficulties differentiate risk of health service presentations with adolescent mental disorders.
The dual-factor model of mental health postulates a role for positive mental health, alongside mental illness, in determining mental health care needs. Informed by this model, the present study delineated profiles of social-emotional competencies and difficulties during middle childhood in a population-based sample of girls and boys and determined their association with adolescent mental disorder diagnoses.
Latent profile analyses were conducted across five indices of social-emotional competency and four indices of psychopathology that were measured by questionnaire self-report among 13,349 girls and 13,488 boys at age ~11 years. The association of the profiles with adolescent presentations to hospital or ambulatory services (ages ~12-17 years) were determined using logistic regression.
Analyses yielded five profiles in each sex: complete mental health (44% girls; 42% boys), average mental health (30%; 33%), internalising symptoms with poor relationship skills (9%; 7%), externalising symptoms with poor self-management (12%; 9%) and low mental health (5%; 10%). Profiles associated differentially with adolescent presentations with any mental disorder, externalising disorders, internalising disorders and self-harm/suicidal ideation, identified in linked health records. Greater odds of any and specific mental disorder diagnoses were characteristic of all profiles relative to average mental health (adjusted odds ratios [aOR]: 1.7-3.3) except complete mental health (aOR: 0.7-0.9), with different strengths of association according to profile.
Combining information on social-emotional competencies and psychopathology in middle childhood may help refine the provision of mental health promotion and early intervention to alleviate adolescent mental disorder.
Latent profile analyses were conducted across five indices of social-emotional competency and four indices of psychopathology that were measured by questionnaire self-report among 13,349 girls and 13,488 boys at age ~11 years. The association of the profiles with adolescent presentations to hospital or ambulatory services (ages ~12-17 years) were determined using logistic regression.
Analyses yielded five profiles in each sex: complete mental health (44% girls; 42% boys), average mental health (30%; 33%), internalising symptoms with poor relationship skills (9%; 7%), externalising symptoms with poor self-management (12%; 9%) and low mental health (5%; 10%). Profiles associated differentially with adolescent presentations with any mental disorder, externalising disorders, internalising disorders and self-harm/suicidal ideation, identified in linked health records. Greater odds of any and specific mental disorder diagnoses were characteristic of all profiles relative to average mental health (adjusted odds ratios [aOR]: 1.7-3.3) except complete mental health (aOR: 0.7-0.9), with different strengths of association according to profile.
Combining information on social-emotional competencies and psychopathology in middle childhood may help refine the provision of mental health promotion and early intervention to alleviate adolescent mental disorder.
Authors
Carpendale Carpendale, Green Green, Watkeys Watkeys, Tzoumakis Tzoumakis, Carr Carr, Laurens Laurens
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