Predictors of emotional and behavioral difficulties in adolescence: a longitudinal study

Abstract Objectives: to investigate predictors of emotional and behavioral difficulties in a sample of adolescents from São Leopoldo/RS. Methods: longitudinal study that followed children from birth to 13 years of age. Sociodemographic, maternal and perinatal variables were obtained at six months and from 12 to 16 months, anthropometric variables and screen time at four and eight years. At age 13, 174 adolescents completed the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). Results: In the total SDQ assessment, 14.4% presented emotional and behavioral difficulties. In the subscales, we observed: increased changes in conduct among children of mothers with <8 years of schooling (p=0.028); adolescents born to mothers <20 years old showed an increase in emotional changes (p=0.043); greater difficulties in prosocial behavior in male adolescents (p=0.019), white (p=0.049), exclusively breastfed for <4 months (p=0.036), families with monthly income <3 minimum wages (p=0.005) and had a higher mean BMI z-score at four years of age (p=0.003). Conclusion: Shorter breastfeeding time, excess child weight, young age and low maternal schooling and low socioeconomic conditions were predictors of the outcome, which reinforces the importance of multidisciplinary prevention actions in child and adolescent mental health.