1. Objectifs

Intentions :
«The objective of this population-based cohort study is to describe the continuity and discontinuity in toddlers’ opposition-defiance statuses during toddlerhood.» (p. 609)

2. Méthode

Échantillon/Matériau :
L’étude est basée sur les données de l’Étude longitudinale du développement des enfants du Québec.

Instruments :
Questionnaire

Type de traitement :
Analyse statistique

3. Résumé

«The second year of life may not only mark the onset of opposition-defiance in children, but also exert a lasting influence on its development later in life. Toddlers who experience a significant opposition-defiance problem before 2 years of age may continue to experience significant conflicts with their caregivers during late toddlerhood.» (p. 613) À la lumière de leur recherche, les auteurs concluent que «these results contradict the view that early disruptive behavior problems are normative (the hallmark of the ‘terrible twos’), with toddlers simply growing out of them over time. Instead, the second year of life may represent a ‘critical’ period for the development of opposition-defiance, with the processes sustaining opposition-defiance over time being established very early in life. Toddlers who experience a significant opposition-defiance problem before 2 years of age find it difficult to maintain ‘connectedness’ with others in their quest for greater autonomy. In turn, they may experience considerable difficulties forming goal-corrected partnerships with caregivers later in life. The establishment of coercive cycles of parent–child interaction may be 1 process contributing to the continuity of opposition-defiance over time.» (p. 614)