title: Speech concerns at 5 years and adult educational and mental health outcomes.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine if parent-reported speech concerns at 5 years predict poorer educational and mental health outcomes at 21 years independent of social context and child's receptive language, behaviour and motor concerns at 5 years. To determine if these adult outcomes are mediated by school performance at 14 years.
  
  
  METHODS
  Information on speech concerns at 5- and 21-year outcomes was available for 3193 participants from a birth cohort of 7223 infants. At 5, child behaviour was measured using a behavioural checklist, and at 21 years, it was measured by the Young Adult Self-Report. Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Revised at 5 years was not available for all children. Maternal mental health and social information at 5 years and educational outcomes at 14 years and 21 years were collected prospectively by questionnaire. Potential confounding and mediating factors were analysed using logistic regression.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Children with speech concerns were less likely to have completed secondary school (P < 0.01) or gained better overall position (OP) scores (P < 0.001). OP scores rank students in Queensland applying for tertiary entrance. There was no association with mental health outcomes. Findings were independent of maternal and social factors, and motor concerns, though attenuated by behaviour and Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Revised scores. In the model adjusted for these factors, any concerns predicted OP score 1-11 (odds ratio 0.58; 95% confidence interval 0.42, 0.79), though if academic functioning at 14 was included, no associations were significant.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Maternal-reported speech concerns at 5 years predict poorer educational though not adult mental health outcomes.
authors.affiliation: Child Development and Rehabilitation Services, Mater Children's Hospital, Mater Health Services, South Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: Colette
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Muir
authors.forename: Michael J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: O'Callaghan
authors.forename: William
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Bor
authors.forename: Jake M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Najman
authors.forename: Gail M
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Williams
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002653:Child Behavior Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015986:Confounding Factors, Epidemiologic; D004522:Educational Status; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013064:Speech Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult