Childhood development and behavioural and emotional problems as perceived by Bangladeshi parents in East London

The study reported here began as an attempt to answer a practical question. In 1990, clinicians at the Child and Family Consultation Service (Department of Child Psychiatry) of the Royal London Hospital wished to understand the reason for the apparently low consultation rates of Bangladeshi children. As the only available child psychiatric service within the London borough of Tower Hamlets in East London it was surprising that although 45 per cent of the children in the borough under 14 were described as being of the Bangladeshi ethnic minority they comprised about 7 per cent of referrals.