Home > Authors > Adriana Maldonado Martinez > Structure and risk of Internalizing Problems in preschool boys and girls in São Paulo, Brazil
Structure and risk of Internalizing Problems in preschool boys and girls in São Paulo, Brazil
(1) Problem: Research on internalizing problems in young children is scarce despite evidence that children can have problematic internalizing symptoms as early as preschool years 1-3. In preschoolers, it is difficult to observe internalizing problems directly. While they are not overtly socially disruptive behaviors4, they have negative consequences in their daily lives, can continue in adolescence, and potentially develop into disorders in later years 5-7. Studying internalizing problems in preschoolers is of particular importance in Low- and Middle- Income Countries (LIMC) since there may be a higher prevalence of common risk factors (such as parental psychopathology, violence, and neglect) than in High-Income Countries. According to the World Health Organization, in 2015, Brazil (a LMIC) ranked first in the past-year prevalence of anxiety (9.3%) and fifth in the prevalence of...