Simplified explanation
The researchers looked at five kinds of mental health or behavior difficulties one at a time to see whether they were linked to GD at a later check-in.
- Depression, social problems, and anxiety: Higher levels at the 3-year check-in were linked with slightly higher levels of GD at the 4-year check-in.
- ADHD symptoms: Higher levels at the 2-year check-in were linked with slightly higher GD at the 3-year check-in. The link was not statistically clear between the 3-year and 4-year check-ins.
- Conduct disorder: The researchers did not find a statistically meaningful link with GD.
The study also found no statistically meaningful evidence that GD predicted higher levels of these difficulties one year later.
What the numbers mean
The β numbers describe the direction and size of each link. The positive values reported here mean that higher symptom levels went along with slightly higher GD scores later. The values are small, so the links were modest. The confidence intervals (CIs) show a range of estimates that fits the data, while the P values help researchers judge whether a result might be due to chance. A result is often called statistically significant when its P value is below .05.
Important: These results show associations, not proof that one difficulty causes another. Also, the ADHD confidence interval is printed as “0.3 to 0.08,” which appears inconsistent with the reported β value; it may be a typo in the source.