Background: Quantifying diagnostic transitions across development is needed to estimate the long-term burden of mental illness. This study estimated patterns of diagnostic transitions from childhood to adolescence and from adolescence to early adulthood. Methods: Patterns of diagnostic transitions were estimated using data from three prospective,…

Background: The extent to which abortion has harmful consequences for mental health remains controversial. We aimed to examine the linkages between having an abortion and mental health outcomes over the interval from age 15-25 years. Methods: Data were gathered as part of the Christchurch Health and Development Study, a 25-year longitudinal study…

Objective: To study whether behavioral and emotional problems during childhood predicted early sexual debut, risky sex at age 21 years, and sexually transmitted infections up to age 21 years. Some possible mediational pathways were also explored. Method: Participants were enrolled in the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study (n =…

Background: There has been ongoing interest in the role of intelligence in longer-term educational and occupational achievement and social adjustment. The aims of this study were to examine the extent to which IQ in middle childhood (8-9 years) was prognostic of future outcomes when due allowance was made for confounding personal and social…

Background: The aim of the study was to examine the association between anxious/withdrawn behaviours at age 8 and the development of internalising disorders in adolescence and young adulthood (ages 16-21). Methods: Data were gathered over the course of a 21-year longitudinal study of a birth cohort of over 1,000 New-Zealand-born young people. Over…