[Precursors of hyperactive disorders: potential early diagnosis in infants?].
OBJECTIVE
Are there any differences (organic, psychosocial, psychopathological, cognitive or educational, respectively differences in the motor or neurological development) between infants who later on at the age of 8 years suffer from a hyperactive disorder and those who later on at the same age are undisturbed? Are there specific harbingers for hyperactive disorders in the group concerned?


METHODS
With regard to their developmental risk load at the age of 3 months, 26 primary school children with hyperactive disorders were compared with 241 healthy children, 25 children with emotional disturbances, and 30 children with socially disruptive behaviour, all of the same age.


RESULTS
Identified as the most important predictors for the onset of hyperactive disorders were a reduced birth weight, the mother's origin from a shattered family, early contact impairments on the part of the child, and the mother's neglect of the infant.


CONCLUSIONS
Altogether, however, the prediction of later hyperactivity in primary school children on the basis of salient features in the infant children remains unsatisfactory and unspecific.
Esser
Günter
G
Institut für Psychologie, Universität Potsdam. gesser@uni-potsdam.de
Fischer
Sascha
S
Wyschkon
Anne
A
Laucht
Manfred
M
Schmidt
Martin H
MH
D000342:Affective Symptoms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D019958:Attention Deficit and Disruptive Behavior Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D002648:Child; D002649:Child Abuse / Q000523:psychology; D002675:Child, Preschool; D019955:Conduct Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D042241:Early Diagnosis; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007230:Infant, Low Birth Weight; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D009034:Mother-Child Relations; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011610:Psychosocial Deprivation; D012307:Risk Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors