ABSTRACT
Implicit in any treatment programme is the question, ‘What will happen to this child if nothing is done?’ If the clinician does not ask that question most likely the child’s parents will. There are two aspects to outcome. First, will the child’s condition improve, and second, does the childhood disorder, untreated or treated, have any implication for adult mental health? With the enormous cost of adult mental health services more attention is being turned to prevention and early intervention. Psychiatric disorder in adulthood is often not preceded by childhood disturbance and much of the research there-fore focuses on childhood environmental factors. However, depending on the population, up to 15 per cent of children will show significant disturbance (Rutter et al., 1970; Rutter, 1973) and it is essential to have some idea as to the long-term outcome in terms of risk for adult morbidity.
