Short-term trends in Dutch children's attention problems

Changes in the prevalence of attention problems in Dutch children were examined by a comparison of prevalence rates in 1988 and 1993. On both occasions a representative sample of fourth-grade children from 82 regular elementary schools participated in the study. Both teacher reports and scores on an attention test indicated a small decrease in attention problems. We also found that the prevalence of other behavioral/emotional and reading problems had decreased or had remained unchanged. Subject to the limitations of the study, we concluded that the attention problems of fourth-grade Dutch children are not worsening.