title: Time Trends in Psychopathology. A 21-year comparison from Germany.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Time-trend studies are required to learn about children's mental health status in changing societies. Some international studies have already analyzed secular trends over periods of 10 to 25 years, but the results are inconsistent. Our study aims to detect German time trends of psychopathology in children aged 8-11, from the first large Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL)-based study in Marburg/Germany 1987 until the present day (2008).
  
  
  METHODS
  Parents filled in the CBCL to report psychopathological symptoms in their children. The school-based samples from the years 1987 and 2008 were matched for sex, age, and socioeconomic status. The matched samples each consists of 212 girls and boys (girls: 50.5 %, boys: 49.5 %). MANCOVAs and ANCOVAs were used to test differences in mean CBCL scale scores.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Somatic symptoms showed a significant increase from 1987 to 2008. Similar trends were found for other internalizing symptoms, but did not reach significance. Externalizing symptoms showed no significant increase. Boys showed more aggressive or delinquent behavior and attention problems than girls. The children with the lowest socioeconomic status showed the highest symptom levels in both assessment years.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The increase in somatic problems might be an effect of changes in expected school performance and economic aspects. The overall high rate of psychopathology in children highlights the necessity of effective prevention and intervention programs, particularly regarding families with lower socioeconomic status.
authors.affiliation: Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Philipps University Marburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Sylvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Eimecke
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Pauschardt
authors.forename: Helmut
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Remschmidt
authors.forename: Reinhard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Walter
authors.forename: Fritz
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Mattejat
mesh_terms: D000374:Aggression / Q000523:psychology; D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000453:epidemiology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany; D006801:Humans; D007389:Internal-External Control; D007604:Juvenile Delinquency / Q000639:trends; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D010552:Personality Assessment / Q000592:standards; D011594:Psychometrics; D011599:Psychopathology / Q000639:trends; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors; D012922:Social Change; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013001:Somatoform Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology