Transition from childhood to adulthood is a vulnerable period where the incidence of long-lasting psychiatric disorders has its life-time peak. In many cases the first symptoms of these disorders can be traced backed to childhood and adolescence. To be able to intervene at the earliest time in development the results from longitudinal studies are crucial where early signs of later mental problems can be detected.
In the first three contributions of this symposium we will present data from two longitudinal studies: first the US-American MTA-Study that has followed up treatment effects in ADHD children over a period of 16 years after diagnosis, and second the Swiss MAZ-study that has followed up children, adolescents and young adults from residential care institutions who have shown delinquent behaviour before the first assessment point and who are characterized by a high load of traumatic experiences in their history. In the fourth contribution these results will be discussed from the perspective of adult psychiatry.