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A cluster analysis of the behavioural items in the pre-school child1

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 July 2009

S. N. Wolkind  and
B. Everitt
S. N. Wolkind*
Affiliation:
Family Research Unit, London Hospital Medical College, and the Institute of Psychiatry, De Crespigny Park, London
B. Everitt
Affiliation:
Family Research Unit, London Hospital Medical College, and the Institute of Psychiatry, De Crespigny Park, London
*
2Address for correspondent: Dr. S. N. Wolkind, Family Research Unit, London Hospital Medical College, Turner Street, London E.1.
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Sysnopsis

The difficulties of developing a classification of the non-psychotic disorders of early childhood are discussed. A cluster analysis technique is described for determining whether the pattern of behavioural items in 3 year olds could be used as a basis for such a classification. Among the clusters found were two suggesting conduct and neurotic disorders. Two pieces of evidence suggest that the clusters produced are clinically meaningful and have prognostic significance: (1) a group of children with a high risk for later psychiatrie disorder (children in local authority care) are over-represented in the ‘pathological’ clusters, and (2) the mothers of the children in these latter ‘clusters’ have significantly higher scores than mothers of children in the remaining clusters on an index of mental health one year later. It is suggested that evidence for the psychiatrie syndromes of early life is sufficiently strong to warrant further investigation.

Type
Research Article
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 4 , Issue 4 , November 1974 , pp. 422 - 427
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1974

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Footnotes

1

The work was supported in part by a grant from the Medical Research Council.

References

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