1. Objectifs

Intentions :
«The overall aim of this research was to investigate patterns of sequential comorbidity in a community-based sample of children, followed longitudinally from age 3 to age 16.» (p. iii) This thesis contains two articles. «Study 1 examined longitudinal patterns of internalizing and externalizing problems, [and study 2] examined patterns of sequential comorbidity within the diagnostic class of internalizing disorders (i.e., anxiety and depression).» (p. iii)

Questions/Hypothèses :
«First, it was anticipated that the results would support previous findings linking early childhood symptoms to increases in those symptoms across development. Second, it was anticipated that early symptomatology would predict increases in symptoms in other domains over time, but also that these associations would be reduced once common risk factors (e.g., temperament, parenting) and methodological factors were accounted for.» (p. 15)

2. Méthode

Échantillon/Matériau :
«Data for [both articles] were drawn from the Concordia Longitudinal Risk Project, a project initiated between 1976-1978 that involved over 4000 children in schools sampled from neighborhoods in working class areas of Montreal, Québec.» (p. 13)

Type de traitement des données :
Analyse statistique

3. Résumé

Overall, «both studies revealed significant interactions between child characteristics (gender and temperament) and parenting in the prediction of children’s internalizing and externalizing problems. The present studies build on previous work linking temperament and parenting practices to the development of specific childhood psychopathologies. Findings of common temperamental styles predicting the co-development of internalizing and externalizing problems across time, however, are novel. More broadly, these findings suggest that temperamental styles explain a large portion of the co-variation in symptomatology, both within and across diagnostic classes. Additionally, other temperamental styles and parenting practices, both separately and in combination, predict the differentiation of problems. These findings highlight the need for future studies to consider both concurrent and longitudinal patterns of comorbidity, as well as multiple potential pathways to comorbidity.» (p. iv)