Risicoregistratie in Tilburg

Abstract

Objective This current study examines whether risk factors in early childhood correlate with problems in child development. Whether it is possible to predict the amount of problems with the knowledge of the amount of risk factors is as well investigated. In addition is explored whether the risk factors and problems are related with the neighborhoods the children live in, or is related with their ethnicity. Method Youth Healthcare registers risk factors and problems in child development. The registrations of 868 children in the age of two and three years old are collected in four different neighborhoods. Results The results suggest that there is a linear relation between the amount of risk factors and the amount of problems. The accumulation of risk factors correlates stronger with problems in child development compared to the individual risk factors. Categories of risk factors which correlate the strongest with problems in child development are contextual risk factors and parental risk factors. Within the group of children who live in a neighborhood marked as a ´Impulse neighborhood`, or who have a immigrant background, more risk factors and problems are found. Conclusions The results support the theory that accumulation of risk factors correlate stronger with negative developmental outcomes then individual risk factors do. This study also suggests that children with an immigrant background and children that live in ´Impulse neighborhoods´ have more risk factors and problems in their development. At last this study suggests that Youth Healthcare registrations are useful for the analyses of groups but need improvement to predict problems in an individual case.