Background: Clinic and community-based epidemiological studies have shown an association between child psychopathology and language impairment. The demands on language for social and academic adjustment shift dramatically during adolescence and the ability to understand the nonliteral meaning in language represented by higher order language…

Background: Suicide is a leading cause of death among adolescents in Europe. Self-harm thoughts and behaviours are documented precursors of completed suicide. It is therefore of great importance to investigate the prevalence of suicide thoughts and attempts and their correlates, with the aim of preventing this major life-threatening public health…

Background: Depression is often characterized as a disorder of affect regulation. However, research focused on delineating the key dimensions of affective experience (other than valence) that are abnormal in depressive disorder has been scarce, especially in child and adolescent samples. As definitions of affect regulation center around processes…

Background: Little is known about the prevalence of partner violence among adolescents, nor of the factors with which it is associated. The objectives of this study were to document prevalence rates for partner violence among high school students in Cape Town, and to explore factors that are associated with such violence. Method: The sample…

Background: Literacy difficulties show high levels of comorbidity with both disruptive and emotional disorders, but questions remain over the nature and specificity of these links. Method: Relationships between specific literacy difficulties and psychiatric disorder were investigated in a large-scale national sample of children aged 9 to 15 years.…

Background: In an earlier series of studies, we documented the effects of feeding practices and postnatal maternal mood on the growth and development of 226 Barbadian children during the first few months of life. In this report, we extend our earlier studies by examining predictive relationships between infant size, feeding practices and…

Background: This study examined whether adolescents who were at various stages of the help-seeking process differed on demographic characteristics, use of informal helpers, and markers of emotional and behavioral adjustment. Method: Youths (N = 644; Grades 7-12) living in three rural communities completed a survey at school. Three comparisons were…