Data from a prospective longitudinal study on the development of children born at biological and psychosocial risk were utilised to examine language and learning abilities of 320 children at ages 4.5 and 8 years. Following the research criteria of the ICD-10, specific developmental disorders of speech and language and specific developmental disorders of scholastic skills were diagnosed. Data were also provided for a clinical and general low achievement group according to less stringent criteria. Frequencies in the risk population were low for specific disorders (ICD-10) (0.6%-3.7% depending on age and type of disorder). Higher frequencies were found when a clinical definition (0.6%-13.6%) or overall low achievement score (0.6%-18.6%) was chosen. The impact of well-documented organic and psychosocial risks was analysed. Organic risk affected language abilities at 4.5 years of age but neither language nor learning abilities at 8 years of age. Psychosocial aspects of a child's environment proved to be associated with both specific language and learning abilities. Stability of language disorders, association between language and reading/spelling disorders as well as gender effects were investigated.

The language abilities of 324 children of an at‐risk population were investigated at age 2 and 4.5 y. Modified research criteria of the ICD‐10 for specific developmental disorders of speech and language were applied. Frequencies between 4% and 7%, depending on age and type of disorder, were diagnosed among children whose performance on the language measure was only 1 instead of ICD‐10′s 2 SD below group mean, but the discrepancy measure of 1 SD between non‐verbal language score and language measure was retained. Psychosocial aspects of a child's environment proved to be better predictors of later language disorders than obstetric complications. Stability of specific language disorders was on the whole fairly low, but children who perform below age level on language measures remained at risk. Gender differences are almost compensated by the age 4.5 y.

Effectiveness of an outpatient treatment of children and adolescents with conduct disorders can be increased by training of parents, home treatment or pharmacotherapy.

Übergewicht und Adipositas haben sich weltweit zu einem bedeutsamen Gesundheitsproblem entwickelt. Die Weltgesundheitsorganisation WHO [25] spricht in diesem Zusammenhang von einer epidemischen Entwicklung mit einem Anstieg der Prä-valenz um bis zu 50% in den letzten 20 Jahren [16, 23]. Auch im Kindesund Jugendalter haben Übergewicht und Adipositas dramatisch zugenommen [2, 5, 9, 20]. Übergewicht wird als Body-Mass-Index (BMI: Quotient aus Körpergewicht in kg und Körper-größe in m 2 ) über der 90. alters-und gewichtsspezifischen Perzentile definiert. Bei einem BMI über der 97. Perzentile wird von Adipositas gesprochen. Nach der Arbeitsgemeinschaft Adipositas im Kindes-und Jugendalter muss davon ausgegangen werden, dass etwa 10-18% der Jugendlichen in Deutschland übergewichtig und etwa 4-8% adipös sind [1]. Schon bei der Einschulung sind ca. 10% der Kinder adipös. Ein Anstieg ist seit den 1980er Jahren insbesondere in den oberen BMI-Bereichen zu verzeichnen [6, 22].