Ten-Year Time Trends in Emotional and Behavioral Problems of Dutch Children Referred for Youth Care

Abstract

Emotional and behavioral problems assessed with the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) were analyzed from 2,739 Dutch children referred to Families First (FF) or Intensive Family Treatment (IFT) from 1999 to 2008, to examine time trends. From the year 2004 onward, six of the eight CBCL-syndrome scales yielded significant decreases from the reference year, 1999. Analyses of statistical interactions indicated that on some scales in later years, younger children and boys scored lower than in 1999, and children referred to FF showed more delinquent behaviors in later years compared with in 1999; whereas, children referred to IFT showed less delinquent behavior than in 1999. These results might be explained by structural changes in the Dutch youth care system, by a huge growth of the number of treated children, by an incident in Dutch youth care, and also by the introduction of new methods of home-based treatment for delinquent youth. An implication of the current results is to consider home-based services more seriously as an alternative for out-of-home placement.