title: [Predictability of psychological development of children in the preschool age based on familial risk factors].
abstract: The study was designed to identify children at risk for abnormal social and emotional development via home visits during the first 6 months of life. A total of 196 families were selected statistically from families seen at 8 counseling facilities in Helsinki. The study was part of a larger project on the prevention of psychiatric disorders in children through family counseling and involved both counseling and control groups. Each family was visited at home 3 to 6 times during the child's first 6 months to obtain an overview of the psychosocial situation. Each family was visited again when the child was 5 years old, a thorough assessment of both child and family being made at this time. When a child became 6 months old the chief investigators in the project assigned the family to one of 4 groups using the information in the home visit reports. This classification was based on factors of probable relevance for the child's emotional development, and 17% of the families were classified as "high-risk" families. The emotional development of the 5-year-olds was assessed by an outside psychiatrist and a psychologist. Both raters found a higher percentage of psychiatric disorders in the children in high-risk families than in the other children, and the difference was statistically significant. The question is discussed of how high-risk families can best be identified and how they can be helped.
mesh_terms: D000342:Affective Symptoms / Q000235:genetics; D002657:Child Development; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005190:Family; D005196:Family Therapy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000235:genetics* / Q000517:prevention & control; D012306:Risk; D012917:Social Adjustment; D012931:Social Environment
vernacular_title: Die Voraussagbarkeit der psychischen Entwicklung von Kindern im Vorschulalter anhand der familiären Risikofaktoren.