Early Childhood to Adolescence: Developmental Trajectories and Predictors of Behaviors Associated with Later Mental Health

Background. Emotional and behavioural difficulties have been shown to be precursors of later mental health issues. The objectives of the current study were to: 1) identify developmental trajectories of emotional and behavioural difficulties, from preschool to adolescence, for the five Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) scales; 2) identify for each scale the variables that contributed to the likelihood of a child being in a high problem trajectory; and 3) examine the trends and relative risk of belonging to a specific trajectory group over time by analyzing variables that were repeated over multiple waves. Methods. The study utilized data from an Australian longitudinal cohort of 1,910 children recruited at age 8 months. Parent-reported SDQ data were collected across seven waves from ages 4 to 13 years, with additional child, environmental, and parental concern variables. Person-centred group-based trajectory models were employed to identify developmental trajectories for each of the five SDQ subscales. Results. Depending on the scale, four or five development trajectories were identified. Quality of Life was identified as a protective factor, while global temperament (where a child is perceived to be more difficult by a parent), specific child temperament traits, maternal distress, socio-economic disadvantage, early parental concern, and maternal education level were predictors of being in a high problem trajectory. Notably, these predictors varied across different scales. Additionally, two variables introduced in later data collection waves - number of social activities and a health concern report from a health professional - were significant predictors. Conclusions. The findings underscore the importance of capturing parental perspectives of their child’s early behaviors, alongside other measures of child, family and environmental factors. Specifically, asking parents about perceived difficulty of their child (the global temperament question) could help identify children at risk of emotional and behavioral problems in the early years, thereby facilitating timely intervention.