Professional identification of psychosocial problems among children from ethnic minority groups: room for improvement

Abstract

Objective: To assess the effectiveness of child health care professionals (CHP) in identifying psychosocial problems among children originating from industrialized and nonindustrialized countries and to assess whether parental concerns enhance CHP problem-identification.

Study design: During routine well-child visits data were collected from a sample of children aged 5 to 12 years of Dutch, Moroccan, Turkish, Surinam, and Antillean origin (response: 82%). CHP reported on psychosocial problems that they identified in children. Parents completed the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) and a questionnaire on concerns regarding their child's psychosocial development. Interpreter services were used to support parents in filling out questionnaires.

Results: Elevated CBCL total and internalizing problem scores were more prevalent among children from nonindustrialized countries (10% and 17%, respectively) than among children from industrialized countries (3% and 5%, respectively). About 30% of the Turkish and Moroccan children with an elevated CBCL score were identified by CHPs compared with 60% of the children from industrialized countries. Parental concerns on their child's psychosocial well-being were related to elevated CBCL scores. Concerns were not related to CHP problem-identification.

Conclusions: Better methods to support parents in disclosure of their concerns regarding the psychosocial development of their children may enhance CHP-identification of problems, especially among groups from nonindustrialized countries.