Behaviour of Finnish 3-year-old children. I: Effects of sociodemographic factors, mother's health, and pregnancy outcome.
The aim of this prospective follow-up study was to assess the effects of pre- and perinatal factors on children's behaviour at the age of 3 years. Nulliparous women who attended a maternity health care clinic were invited to participate: 1443 women were included. Data were obtained from the mother, father, and clinic nurse. A Finnish translation of Achenbach's Child Behavior Checklist for Ages 2-3 was completed by 1086 families at the child's 3-year visit to the well-baby clinic. The results were analysed using Pearson's chi2, multivariate regression analysis, and coefficient of determination (100 x r2). A good basic education (i.e. >9 years) of the mother and age over 25 years were associated with low syndrome-scale scores, indicating fewer behavioural problems. Poor health of the mother, a high number of pregnancy-related symptoms, and low Apgar scores for the newborn infant were associated with high syndrome-scale scores. In this population sample, the mother's health during pregnancy together with level of education, and marital status are more important in explaining the variation in a child's behaviour than biological risks during pregnancy.
Health Centre of Luoteis-Satakunta, Noormarku, Finland.
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D000328:Adult; D002652:Child Behavior / Q000502:physiology*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D005387:Finland; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D009035:Mothers; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011247:Pregnancy; D011256:Pregnancy Outcome; D011581:Psychological Tests; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires