BEHAVIORAL AND EMOTIONAL-PROBLEMS IN CHIL DREN AND ADOLESCENTS IN GERMANY - RESULTS OF A REPRESENTATIVE STUDY - AGE, GENDER AND RATER EFFECTS

Behavioral and emotional problems in children and adolescents in Germa ny Results of a representative study: Age, gender and rater effects. M ethod: A study on behavioral and emotional problems and competence in children and adolescents in Germany (PAK-KID study) is described. It i s the first nationwide representative survey of this kind of children and adolescents aged 4 to 18 years in Germany. For children aged 4 to 10 years the parents completed the German version of Achenbach's Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL 4-18) developed by the Arbeitsgruppe Deutsch e Child Behavior Checklist. Children and adolescents aged 11 years and older filled out the German version of the Youth Self-Report that is part of Achenbach's CBCL in addition to the parents completing the Ger man version of the CBCL. A total of 2856 parent questionnaires and 179 8 self-report questionnaires completed by children and adolescents wer e analyzed. Results: The sample was representative with respect to the main sociodemographic variables. On all problem scales children and a dolescents aged 11 to 18 years reported significantly more problems th an their parents did. The frequency of internalizing problems (social withdrawal, somatic complaints, anxiety/depression) and delinquent beh avior of children and adolescents reported by parents increased with t he children's age, whereas aggressive behavior and attention problems decreased with age. Girls reported significantly more problems than bo ys on all internalizing scales of the Youth Self-Report. The effect wa s not totally replicated in the parent reports. In the parent reports, boys had more attention problems and more aggressive and delinquent b ehavior than girls.