The School Children Mental Health in Europe project (SCMHE, EU 2006336) investigated from 2008 to 2011 the mental health of primary school children in seven European countries. The aim of this multi-informant survey was to build up a set of indicators across different countries in the European Union in order to be able to collect and monitor data on children’s mental health and its major risk factors in an efficient methodology. Information on children’s mental health was collected in regard to externalizing and internalizing symptoms. Teachers, parents and children were used as informants. We will report the reliability, validity and usability of the choosen indicators, compare them among the seven participating countries and ask in how far the instruments are suitable for monitoring children's mental health in the European Union.

As a main innovation, the project employed a multi-informant perspective including children’s self reports of mental health problems: "Child mental health assessment requires input from several informants. In general, parents and teachers tend to notice children’s externalizing behavior problems, while children themselves tend to be better at identifying their internalizing disorders such as depression, anxiety, phobia, and so forth ..." (Kovess et al., 2002). In previous studies, children administered instruments were mainly used with children aged eleven years and older but not with primary school children.

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