The DOI matches its Crossref record; 39 of the 39 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Trends in adolescent emotional problems in England: a comparison of two national cohorts twenty years apart
Abstract
Background: Evidence about trends in adolescent emotional problems (depression and anxiety) is inconclusive, because few studies have used comparable measures and samples at different points in time. We compared rates of adolescent emotional problems in two nationally representative English samples of youth 20 years apart using identical symptom screens in each survey. Methods: Nationally representative community samples of 16–17‐year‐olds living in England in 1986 and 2006 were compared. In 1986, 4524 adolescents and 7120 parents of young people participated in the age‐16‐year follow‐up of the 1970 British Cohort Study. In 2006, 719 adolescents and 734 parents participated in a follow‐up of children sampled from the 2002/2003 Health Surveys for England. Adolescents completed the Malaise Inventory and 12‐item General Health Questionnaire. Parents completed the Rutter‐A scale. Individual symptoms of depression and anxiety were coded combining across relevant questionnaire items. Young people also reported frequency of feeling anxious or depressed. Results: Youth‐ and parent‐reported emotional problems were more prevalent in 2006 for girls, and rates of parent‐reported problems increased for boys. Twice as many young people reported frequent feelings of depression or anxiety in 2006 as in 1986. Some symptoms showed marked change in prevalence over time (e.g., worry, irritability, fatigue), whereas others showed no change (e.g., loss of enjoyment, worthlessness). There was no evidence of differential trends in emotional problems for young people from socially advantaged and disadvantaged or intact and non‐intact families. Changes in family structure and ethnic composition did not account for trends in youth emotional problems. Conclusions: The study provides evidence for a substantial increase in adolescent emotional problems in England over recent decades, especially among girls.
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“many studies from Sweden and other developed countries have shown increasing long-term trends in self-reported depressive and anxiety symptoms, particularly among young people [5, 6, 12–16]”
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Metadata
- Authors
- Collishaw, S., Maughan, B., Natarajan, L., & Pickles, A.
- Affiliations
- Cardiff University (GB)
- King's College London (GB)
- Royal Town Planning Institute (GB)
- University of Manchester (GB)
- Venue
- Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2010-07-09
- Volume
- 51
- Issue
- 8
- Pages
- 885-894
- ISSN
- 0021-9630 (ISSN-L)
- 1469-7610
- OpenAlex
- W1622684137
- Cited by
- 267
- References
- 39
- Citations by year
- 2026: 6 · 2025: 12 · 2024: 20 · 2023: 16 · 2022: 13 · 2021: 16 · 2020: 22 · 2019: 21 · 2018: 21 · 2017: 19 · 2016: 21 · 2015: 20 · 2014: 19 · 2013: 13 · 2012: 15
- FWCI
- 14.09
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- UCL Discovery (University College London) (submittedVersion)
- Research Portal (King's College London) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Mental Health Treatment and Access
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychology and Mental Health
- Keywords
- adolescent emotional problems, adolescent depression, adolescent anxiety, temporal trends, prevalence, sex differences, family structure, family disadvantage, ethnic composition, British Cohort Study, General Health Questionnaire, worry, irritability, fatigue
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Anxiety Disorders, Cross-Sectional Studies, Cross-Cultural Comparison, Depressive Disorder, England, Female, Health Surveys, Humans, Longitudinal Studies, Male, Personality Assessment, Personality Inventory, Psychometrics, Sex Factors, Cohort Studies
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