Finnish Child and Adolescent Mental Health and Service Use Time-trend Study
To obtain reliable information about time trend changes of child and adolescent mental health problems indicators for psychiatric problems should be measured repeatedly with directly comparable measures and sampling designs including information about multiple sources and informants.
The Finnish Timetrend Study consists of 4 subprojects addressing changes of mental health problems, service use and perceived difficulties using both repeated cross-sectional surveys and registry data. Cross-sectional surveys include validated and age appropriate instruments for assessing psychiatric problems (e.g. Rutter Scales, SDQ, CDI, Beck, Achenbach instruments).
- Changes in 8-year old children’s psychiatric symptoms and child mental health service use have been studied at three time points: 1989, 1999, and 2005 including information from parents, teachers and child self-reports, identical designs, sampling (about 1 100 children at each time point) and methods at three time points. The participation rate was 86 %-94 %. New cross-sectional surveys will be conducted in future.
- Changes in 13-15 year old preadolescent mental health problems has been studied using two identical cross-sectional study surveys in 1999 and 2009 (about 2 000 adolescents participated at both time points, attrition rate <10%).
- Changes in 18-19 year olds male mental health, substance use, well-being and service use has been studied at the military call-up in 1999 and in 2009. The study included about 3 000 males in 1999 and about 5 000 males in 2009.
- Changes in psychiatric medication use among children and adolescents since 1996 is based on national Prescription Register containing data on reimbursed medication purchases. The reimbursement system covers all permanent residents living in the country and the Register covers about 98% of the prescribed medication sold at Finnish pharmacies (including the ATC code of the dispensed medicine, date of dispensing, and the unique identifier of the prescribed doctor).