1. Objectifs

Intentions :
«The aim [of this study] was to identify childhood (up to and including age 12) predictors of psychopathic traits at age 33.» (p. 56)

2. Méthode

Échantillon/Matériau :
«Participants were males drawn from two cohorts: the Montreal Longitudinal and Experimental Study (MLES) […] and the Quebec Longitudinal Study of Kindergarten Children (QLSKC) […].» (p. 56) The sample includes «311 participants, 130 (42%) from the MLES and 181 (58%) from the QLSKC. One-third of the participants had been charged with at least one criminal offence from age 18 to 24 years.» (p. 57)

Instruments :
Questionnaires

Type de traitement des données :
Analyse statistique

3. Résumé

«Parent characteristics and classroom teachers’ ratings predicted PCL-R [Psychopathy Checklist-Revised] scores in adulthood, and explained 22% of the variance in these scores, but perhaps more importantly they identified children presenting behaviour problems that could be addressed by treatment. The second important finding from the present study was that parents’ characteristics were associated with participants’ PCL-R scores in adulthood. Specifically, both father’s and mother’s criminal record, mother’s age at participant’s birth, and mother’s low level of education were associated with psychopathy scores even in models that included ratings of participants’ behaviour. […] Father’s and mother’s criminal histories may be associated with their sons’ psychopathy scores because offenders and antisocial adults provide non-optimal parenting to their offspring […].» (p. 61) «[Another] important finding was the identification of predictors of affective facet scores. In the final model, father’s violent criminal convictions, mother’s age at participant’s birth and her criminal record, and age 12 reactive aggression were independently, and significantly, associated with [affective] facet […] scores.» (p. 62) «The results of the present study indicate that the development of psychopathic traits begins in childhood and that children at-risk for elevated levels of psychopathic traits may be identified by characteristics of their parents and by their behaviours.» (p. 63)