1. Objectifs

Intentions :
«The first objective [of this article] was to examine the heterogeneity in developmental trajectories of combined physical, indirect, proactive, and reactive aggression across childhood and into adolescence. […] The second objective was to better understand which antecedent characteristics, at the child, maternal, and family level, were associated with group membership.» (p. 828)

Questions/Hypothèses :
The authors «expected that a majority of children would follow moderate to low decreasing physical aggression trajectories with variation in stable to increasing indirect aggression over time. [They] also predicted that these same children would likely decrease in reactive aggression over time, with potentially increasing proactive aggression in children who were following increasing trajectories of indirect aggression. [They also] expected to find a small group of children who engaged in high and chronic forms and functions of aggression over time. Finally, [the authors] expected to see a group of children who did not engage in either forms or functions or aggression over time. [However, they] made no predictions regarding the specific antecedent characteristics that would distinguish between differing trajectories given that this is the first study to examine multi-trajectories of both forms and functions of aggression across childhood and into adolescence.» (p. 828)

2. Méthode

Échantillon/Matériau :
«This study uses data collected from children enrolled in the Quebec Longitudinal Study of Child Development (QLSCD). […] The initial sample was comprised of 2223 children and their families. Inclusion criterion in the current study was having a minimum of three assessments for each subtype of aggression, thus resulting in a final sample of 787 children.» (p. 828)

Instruments :
Questionnaire

Type de traitement des données :
Analyse statistique

3. Résumé

The authors identified that «lower maternal IQ [intelligence quotient] was a risk factor associated with membership in both the high-desisting and high-chronic groups in particular. [Furthermore,] coercive parenting was associated with higher probabilities of membership in the high-chronic group as compared to the moderate-engagers, which would be expected. Coercive parenting, has repeatedly been implicated in children’s aggressive behaviour, which is likely attributable to both genetic transmission of risk and negative early child-rearing environments […]. Thus, the implication of coercive parenting for membership in the moderate-engagers and high chronic trajectories would suggest that in adequate parenting skills are a good target for early prevention efforts. [Also, maternal] depression has previously been implicated in children’s aggressive behaviour […], and is likely implicated via similar pathways as that of coercive parenting, particularly regarding early poor-quality dyadic interaction […]. [Moreover, this study shows that] not being breastfed appeared to increase the risk for membership in the moderate-engagers trajectory group. This finding provides some support to the growing body of work examining the association between breastfeeding and externalising problems. […] Taken together, these findings would suggest that early intervention efforts really ought to be tailored dependent on group membership, as risk factors, and the combination of risk factors, are not uniform across concomitant trajectories of form and function of aggression engagement.» (p. 834-835)