0
Article   |    
THE RELATION OF CHILDHOOD BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS TO ADULT PSYCHIATRIC STATUS: A 30-YEAR FOLLOW-UP STUDY OF 150 SUBJECTS
PATRICIA O'NEAL; LEE N. ROBINS
Am J Psychiatry 1958;114:961-969.
View Article Information
The Department of Psychiatry and Neurology, Washington Univ. School of Med., St. Louis, Mo.
text A A A
PDF of the full text article.
Abstract
1. A preliminary report of the first 150 interviewed subjects in a long-term (30-year) follow-up study has been presented. This report emphasizes the adult psychiatric diagnoses and their relation to childhood problems.2. Patients referred to a child guidance clinic 30 years ago were found to have a high rate of psychiatric disease as adults as compared with a matched group of normal controls. They differed little from the normal controls in their rate of neurotic reactions but presented many cases of sociopathic personalities, psychotic reactions, and alcoholism.3. The patients who contributed primarily to the diagnosis of sociopathic personality were those who had been juvenile delinquents as children. Many of those who were psychotic as adults had a history of anti-social behavior in childhood without court hearings. Patients who were psychiatrically well as adults came mainly from the group with neurotic problems as children. The relations between the specific presenting problem and the adult psychiatric disease show that the well group was characterized by problems such as fighting, sex problems, tantrums, and the classic neurotic traits of childhood.4. While children with neurotic problems came from families of better socio-economic background than children with anti-social problems and delinquency, class background was not found to account for the greater proportion of psychiatrically well as adults among the subjects who had had neurotic problems in childhood.5. While patients had a higher rate of broken homes than controls, broken homes were not found to be related to the continuance of psychiatric problems into adult life.6. Although the rate of psychiatric disease is very high in the patient group, very few of them have sought any psychiatric help.Abstract Teaser
Figures in this Article

    Your Session has timed out. Please sign back in to continue.
    Sign In Your Session has timed out. Please sign back in to continue.
    Sign In to Access Full Content
     
    Username
    Password
    Sign in via Athens (What is this?)
    Athens is a service for single sign-on which enables access to all of an institution's subscriptions on- or off-site.
    Not a subscriber?

    Subscribe Now/Learn More

    PsychiatryOnline subscription options offer access to the DSM-IV-TR® library, books, journals, CME, and patient resources. This all-in-one virtual library provides psychiatrists and mental health professionals with key resources for diagnosis, treatment, research, and professional development.

    Need more help? PsychiatryOnline Customer Service may be reached by emailing PsychiatryOnline@psych.org or by calling 800-368-5777 (in the U.S.) or 703-907-7322 (outside the U.S.).

    +
    +
    +

    CME Activity

    There is currently no quiz available for this resource. Please click here to go to the CME page to find another.
    Submit a Comments
    Please read the other comments before you post yours. Contributors must reveal any conflict of interest.
    Comments are moderated and will appear on the site at the discertion of JBJS editorial staff.

    * = Required Field
    (if multiple authors, separate names by comma)
    Example: John Doe



    Related Content
    Articles
    Books
    Gabbard's Treatments of Psychiatric Disorders, 4th Edition > Chapter 45.  >
    What Your Patients Need to Know About Psychiatric Medications, 2nd Edition > Chapter 63.  >
    APA Practice Guidelines > Chapter 12.  >
    APA Practice Guidelines > Chapter 0.  >
    The American Psychiatric Publishing Textbook of Substance Abuse Treatment, 4th Edition > Chapter 36.  >
    Topic Collections
    Psychiatric News
    APA Guidelines
    PubMed Articles