Children's symptoms and items of behaviour. An epidemiological study of sociocultural aetiology.

The aim of this article is to present the results from a point-prevalence study of symptoms and items of behaviour among children and adolescents in the western part of Norway. Empirical manifestations of personality traits and psychopathology in the ordinary population are factor-analysed. The prevalences in different types of local communities are calculated, and the variations are discussed using the concept of socialization, especially development and internalization of values, norms and behaviour in cultures with different rates of change.