TY - JOUR
T1 - A cross-country comparison of temporal change in adolescent mental health problems in the UK and Brazil
AU - Armitage, Jessica M
AU - Viegas da Silva, E
AU - Tseliou, Foteini
AU - Riglin, Lucy
AU - Hammerton, Gemma L
AU - Collishaw, Stephan
AU - Santos, Iná S
AU - Tovo-Rodrigues, Luciana
AU - Menezes, Ana M B
AU - Wehrmeister, Fernando Cesar
AU - Gonçalves, Helen
AU - Matijasevich, Alicia
AU - Murray, Joseph
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s), 2025.
PY - 2025/3/12
Y1 - 2025/3/12
N2 - AimsEpidemiological
evidence shows a concerning rise in youth mental health difficulties
over the past three decades. Most evidence, however, comes from
countries in Europe or North America, with far less known about changes
in other global regions. This study aimed to compare adolescent mental
health across two population-based cohorts in the UK, and two
population-based cohorts in Pelotas, Brazil.MethodsFour
population-based cohorts with identical mental health measures were
compared. In Brazil, these included the 1993 Pelotas Birth Cohort and
the 2004 Pelotas Birth Cohort. In the UK, cohorts included the Avon
Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children, and the Millennium Cohort
Study. Mental health was measured in all cohorts using identical,
parent-rated scores from the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire
(SDQ). This was assessed in both countries over approximately the same
time periods, when adolescents were aged 11 (2004 vs 2015 in Brazil, and
2003 vs 2012 in the UK), with follow-up analyses focused on outcomes in
later adolescence.ResultsMental
health problems were higher in the UK for adolescents born in the early
2000s compared to those born in the early 1990s. In Pelotas, the
opposite was found, whereby problems were lower for adolescents born in
the early 2000s compared to those born in the early 1990s. Despite these
promising reductions in mental health problems in Pelotas over time,
SDQ scores remained higher in Pelotas compared to the UK.ConclusionsOur
study represents the first to compare two population-based cohorts in
the UK, and two population-based cohorts in Pelotas, Brazil, to
understand how mental health problems have changed over time across the
two settings. Our findings provide the most up-to-date insight into
population-level rates of youth mental health problems in Pelotas, and
shed novel insight into how these have changed over the last two decades
in comparison to the UK. In doing so, our study provides a tentative
first step towards understanding youth mental health over time at a more
global scale, and presents a valuable opportunity to examine putative
contributors to differences across time.
AB - AimsEpidemiological
evidence shows a concerning rise in youth mental health difficulties
over the past three decades. Most evidence, however, comes from
countries in Europe or North America, with far less known about changes
in other global regions. This study aimed to compare adolescent mental
health across two population-based cohorts in the UK, and two
population-based cohorts in Pelotas, Brazil.MethodsFour
population-based cohorts with identical mental health measures were
compared. In Brazil, these included the 1993 Pelotas Birth Cohort and
the 2004 Pelotas Birth Cohort. In the UK, cohorts included the Avon
Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children, and the Millennium Cohort
Study. Mental health was measured in all cohorts using identical,
parent-rated scores from the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire
(SDQ). This was assessed in both countries over approximately the same
time periods, when adolescents were aged 11 (2004 vs 2015 in Brazil, and
2003 vs 2012 in the UK), with follow-up analyses focused on outcomes in
later adolescence.ResultsMental
health problems were higher in the UK for adolescents born in the early
2000s compared to those born in the early 1990s. In Pelotas, the
opposite was found, whereby problems were lower for adolescents born in
the early 2000s compared to those born in the early 1990s. Despite these
promising reductions in mental health problems in Pelotas over time,
SDQ scores remained higher in Pelotas compared to the UK.ConclusionsOur
study represents the first to compare two population-based cohorts in
the UK, and two population-based cohorts in Pelotas, Brazil, to
understand how mental health problems have changed over time across the
two settings. Our findings provide the most up-to-date insight into
population-level rates of youth mental health problems in Pelotas, and
shed novel insight into how these have changed over the last two decades
in comparison to the UK. In doing so, our study provides a tentative
first step towards understanding youth mental health over time at a more
global scale, and presents a valuable opportunity to examine putative
contributors to differences across time.
U2 - 10.1017/S2045796025000137
DO - 10.1017/S2045796025000137
M3 - Article (Academic Journal)
C2 - 40071338
SN - 2045-7960
VL - 34
JO - Epidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences
JF - Epidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences
M1 - e17
ER -
