Am J Psychiatry 1976; 133:539-542
Copyright © 1976 by American Psychiatric Association
Evolution of behavior disorders into adolescence
A Thomas and S Chess
The New York longitudinal study has followed the development of 136
subjects from infancy into adolescence. The authors report the distribution
of diagnoses and outcome of 43 children who developed behavior problems
before the adolescent period and the characteristics of 5 new cases
diagnosed in adolescence and discuss issues of prediction. The analysis of
the longitudinal data for subjects with and without behavior disorders
permits discussion of two of the general issues in the literature: the
significance of adolescent turmoil and the distinctness of adolescence as a
developmental stage.
