The iBerry study *Interventions for Behavioral and Emotional Risk Reduction in Youth*
Phase 2: Baseline datacollection on determinants of the transition from subclinical symptomatology to psychiatric disorders

Psychiatric disorders are among the most burdensome of all classes of disease,
because of their high prevalence, their chronicity and their resulting serious
impairment in individuals, families and society as a whole. The vast majority
of psychiatric morbidity which manifests during adult life emerges for the
first time before the age of 25 years, either evolving from childhood emotional
and behavioral disorder, or appearing de novo from early adolescence through
the mid-twenties. Next to these early ages of onset, disorders are often
preceded by non-specific symptomatology with, albeit frequently mild,
functional impairments in school performance, peer relationships and family
relations. There is a high need of knowledge concerning individual biological,
psychological and social factors that predict vulnerability and resilience to
develop more effective preventive interventions.

The iBerry Study, phase 2, has two related main study objectives:
1) Describing the long-term prognosis of sub-threshold symptoms in terms of
course (transition to several full-blown psychiatric disorders, chronicity,
recurrence, comorbidity) and public health consequences (disability, costs)
2) Examining genetic, biological, and psychosocial determinants of the
transition from sub-threshold symptoms to full-blown psychiatric disorders

The iBerry Study is designed as a prospective cohort study including
adolescents with (non-)specific symptomatology screened in the community, in
whom psychosocial and biological risk and vulnerability factors are repeatedly
measured. Central outcomes including all possible psychiatric disorders are
measured in detail at baseline and after two, four, six, eight and ten years of
follow-up in a cohort of 1,000 high-risk and 350 low-risk adolescents.

Assessments in participating youngsters encomprise questionnaires (maximum
twice a year, maximum 30 minutes per questionnaire), an interview (maximum 35
minutes), cognitive and behavioral assessment (maximum 50 minutes including
resting period), global physical examination (maximum 10 minutes), venapuncture
and collection of hair. Measurements are child friendly and supervised by
behavioral specialists (psychologists, psychiatrists).
Assessments in parents encomprise questionnaires (maximum twice a year, maximum
30 minutes per questionnaire), an interview (maximum 60 minutes), cognitive
assessment (maximum 30 minutes), global physical examination (maximum 10
minutes) and venapuncture.
Participating minors and their parents do not directly benefit from
participation, although they will receive some presents at the end of the
assessments at the research center. Participation may lead to early detection
of a serious psychiatric condition, for which effective treatment is available.
Once one of the participations is diagnosed with a serious psychiatric disorder
with possible danger for oneselves or others, they and their parents will be
informed and advised to be referred (by the GP) to mental health care
institutions.
This type of research cannot be restricted to participants above 18 years of
age, since many psychiatric disorders have their onset in adolescence.