Developmental Course of Peer Problems and Co-occurring Behavioural Problems During Childhood and Adolescence (Age 5–17)

Abstract

Purpose: Peer relationships are crucial to psychosocial development, and peer difficulties in childhood predict behavioural difficulties later in life. Yet, there is a lack of literature on the developmental trajectory of peer problems. I aim to identify common peer problem profiles and map their longitudinal transitions across childhood and adolescence.

Method: Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire data from the population-representative Millennial Cohort Study was analysed with factor analysis, followed by a data-driven clustering approach to extract subgroups of peer and co-occurring problems from ages 5 to 17. I then mapped the transitions between profiles and identified risk factors predicting significant transitions.

Results: Peer problems often co-occurred with other behavioural problems. As children developed from 5 to 7, the peer problem clusters gradually became broader, encompassing emotional difficulties and hyperactivity. From 7 to 11 the profile became refined, returning to mainly peer problems; then from 11 to 14 the peer problem phenotype expanded again to include emotion and hyperactivity issues. Longitudinal and concurrent risk factors at ages 5, 7, and 11 were identified to predict these negative transitions.

Conclusion: Peer problems show a non-linear trajectory of change when tracked longitudinally through childhood and adolescence. Whilst they generally increase with time, they are associated with different co-occurring difficulties and form complex profiles throughout development. These transitions are, to some extent, predictable on the basis of risk factors such as child longstanding illness, time spent on sports and exercise, and parental mental health.