Three-year course of behavioral/emotional problems in a national sample of 4- to 16-year-olds: II. Predictors of syndromes.

This study examined relations between parents' ratings of children's behavioral/emotional problems, family variables, and stressful experiences as predictors of 3-year outcomes in a nationally representative sample of American children. Outcomes were measured by time 2 parent, teacher, and self ratings on eight empirically derived cross-informant syndromes. Path analyses indicated that parent ratings of each time 1 syndrome predicted parent ratings of the same time 2 syndrome. Family variables and intervening stressful experiences predicted parent and self ratings, but not teacher ratings of syndromes. The number of family members receiving mental health services was the family variable that predicted the most time 2 syndromes. Parent reports of stress predicted parent ratings of time 2 syndromes, whereas child reports of stress predicted self-ratings of time 2 syndromes.