Studies concerning the links between child and adult psychopathology are important because it is argued that the origins of some adult forms of psychopathology can be found in childhood, and to determine the need for intervention and prevention. The goal is to see whether early problem behavior will lead to problem behavior later in life, and whether later problems resemble or differ from the type of earlier problems. This study was part of an ongoing, longitudinal, general population study, which started in 1983 in the Dutch province of Zuid-Holland. All subjects living in the Netherlands and not mentally handicapped were contacted again and when they consented, visited by an interviewer. The focus was on the 1,578 subjects who provided DSM-IV information at follow-up and who comprised 79 percent of the 2,076 subjects at initial assessment in 1983. Results showed that children with high levels of parent-reported problems were more likely to meet criteria for DSM-IV diagnoses in adulthood than children who could be considered normal. Females showed more diverse and less focused developmental pathways, whereas males showed more specific child-adult links involving some kind of externalizing problem. The findings also indicated a strong developmental link between rule-breaking behavior and adult disruptive behaviors. The Attention Problems syndrome scale did not predict any form of adult psychopathology. In terms of long-term outcome, it is more important to focus on associated psychopathology than on attention problems per se. Results suggest the importance of distinguishing between depression in adult males, which seems to have its roots in childhood problems, versus depression in females, which is not linked with childhood problem behaviors and which seems to emerge at a later stage in life. 2 figures, 3 tables, 37 references