title: Longitudinal research in child and adolescent psychiatry.
abstract: An indispensable approach to the study of variations in individual development and of causal mechanisms and processes underlying the course of psychopathology is the longitudinal method. In this introductory review, the strengths and weaknesses of longitudinal research are discussed, and factors hampering progress in this field are outlined. The many advantages of this approach warrant continuing efforts to develop strategies that minimize its drawbacks.
authors.affiliation: Sophia Children's Hospital, Erasmus University, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: F C
authors.initials: FC
authors.lastname: Verhulst
authors.forename: H M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Koot
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000296:Adolescent Psychiatry; D002648:Child; D002657:Child Development; D002665:Child Psychiatry; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D012107:Research Design