title: Positive attributes in children and reduced risk of future psychopathology.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  There is little research on children's positive attributes and their association with psychiatric outcomes.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To examine the hypothesis that children's positive attributes are associated with a reduced risk of developing psychopathology in future.
  
  
  METHODS
  Positive attributes, measured with the Youth Strengths Inventory (YSI) and psychiatric outcomes were assessed on two occasions over 3 years in a large epidemiological sample of British children and adolescents (n = 5325).
  
  
  RESULTS
  The YSI showed high to moderate cross-informant correlations and longitudinal stability. Children scoring high on positive attributes at baseline had fewer psychiatric symptoms and disorders at follow-up, adjusting for symptoms at baseline, disorder at baseline and child and family factors. Analyses with propensity score matching also suggested that positive attributes decrease the likelihood of psychiatric morbidity.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Children's positive attributes are associated with significantly less psychopathology across time and may be a target for intervention.
authors.affiliation: Pablo Vidal-Ribas, MSc, Robert Goodman, PhD, FRCPsych, Argyris Stringaris, MD, PhD, MRCPsych, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, King's College London, Institute of Psychiatry, London, UK.
authors.forename: Pablo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Vidal-Ribas
authors.affiliation: Pablo Vidal-Ribas, MSc, Robert Goodman, PhD, FRCPsych, Argyris Stringaris, MD, PhD, MRCPsych, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, King's College London, Institute of Psychiatry, London, UK.
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Goodman
authors.affiliation: Pablo Vidal-Ribas, MSc, Robert Goodman, PhD, FRCPsych, Argyris Stringaris, MD, PhD, MRCPsych, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, King's College London, Institute of Psychiatry, London, UK.
authors.forename: Argyris
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Stringaris
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D006801:Humans; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D010551:Personality; D010552:Personality Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D040242:Risk Reduction Behavior; D006113:United Kingdom / Q000453:epidemiology