Association of Childhood Social-Emotional Functioning Profiles at School Entry With Early-Onset Mental Health Conditions
Thomson KC, Richardson CG, Gadermann AM, Emerson SD, Shoveller J, Guhn M. Association of Childhood Social-Emotional Functioning Profiles at School Entry With Early-Onset Mental Health Conditions. JAMA Netw Open. 2019;2(1):e186694. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2018.6694
Social-emotional functioning profiles (and population prevalence):
1. overall high socialemotional functioning (58.4%)
2. inhibited-adaptive (8.3%)
3. uninhibited-adaptive (16.4%)
4. inhibited-disengaged (6.2%)
5. uninhibited-aggressive and hyperactive (7.8%)
6. overall low social-emotional functioning (2.8%).
< Question >
What can population patterns of early childhood social-emotional functioning tell us about the emergence of mental health conditions?
< Findings >
In this cohort study that included 34 323 children in Canada, 6 latent social-emotional functioning profiles based on children’s relative strengths and vulnerabilities in social competence, internalizing, and externalizing symptoms at age 5 years were associated with the onset of subsequent mental health conditions between ages 6 and 14 years.
< Meaning >
This examination of early childhood social-emotional functioning profiles identified social disparities in profile membership and an association between profiles and the emergence of mental health conditions.
