Children's use of psychosocial care in a population-based longitudinal study: less likely for girls, children with a non-Western background and children with a high quality of life.

Knowledge on determinants of children's psychosocial care use is important to improve their access to care. This study examined the independent contributions of need and predisposing factors to psychosocial care use in 9-year-old children, guided by the Gateway Provider Model. Data of the Generation R Study, a prospective cohort of children born in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, were analysed using multivariable logistic regression (n = 4714). Need (quality of life, presence and type of emotional/behavioural problems) and predisposing factors (sex, ethnic background and maternal educational level) were measured using parent questionnaires at multiple time points between ages 1.5 and 9 years. Psychosocial care use was parent-reported at 9 years old (9.6% among children with Western background, 7.3% among children with non-Western background). Having emotional/behavioural problems at 5 and 9 years old was associated with more care use, while having a higher quality of life, being a girl and having a Moroccan/Turkish or other non-Western background were associated with less care use. Externalising and internalising problems, as well as several types of problems, at 5 and 9 years old were associated with psychosocial care use. Stratified analyses revealed that, in children with non-Western backgrounds, only a poorer psychosocial quality of life was associated with psychosocial care use. To conclude, girls with a Western background and children with a non-Western background were less likely to receive care compared to their peers. Children with parent-reported emotional/behavioural problems at 5 and 9 years old and decreased quality of life at 5 years old were more likely to receive psychosocial care use at 9 years old. Our findings hold relevance for preventive policies.

Differences in measured and self-reported height and weight in Dutch adolescents.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Monitoring overweight prevalence and its trends in Dutch youth is frequently based on self-reported data. The validity of self-reported data especially in young adolescents is not sufficiently known. The purpose of this study is to study the validity of self-reported height and weight in 12- to 13-year-olds, to identify sociodemographic correlates and to explore whether correction factors can be developed to estimate the prevalence of overweight in youth. METHODS: 5,525 12- to 13-year-old pupils in the Rotterdam area filled in a confidential questionnaire on health topics, including their height and weight. In a sub-sample of 499 pupils both self-reported and measured height and weight were available. RESULTS: Self-reported data led to a considerable underestimation of Body Mass Index and consequently the prevalence of overweight. Underestimation was higher in pupils who regarded themselves as more fat, were of non-Dutch origin and in lower education levels. CONCLUSION: Self-reported height and weight appeared to be inappropriate to estimate the overweight prevalence in 12- to 13-year-olds, unless the figures were adjusted. Using adjusted self-reported BMI on an individual level is questionable. Actual measurements of height and weight are necessary to draw up valid correction formulas in new samples.