1. Objectifs

Intentions :
This article aims to «describe the developmental trajectories of peer victimization from 6 to 17 years of age and [to] identify the early childhood behavior and family characteristics associated with the identified trajectories of peer victimization.» (p. 2)

2. Méthode

Échantillon/Matériau :
«This study is based on the QLSCD [Quebec Longitudinal Study of Child Development], a population-based birth cohort that tracks the development of 2120 children born in the Canadian province of Quebec in 1997–1998 and followed-up until 2015. […] The person most knowledgeable about the child (the mother in 98% of the cases) provided data about the child, family, and broader social context at 5 months, 1½, 2½, 3½, 4½, and 5 years after birth through home interviews. […] The analytical sample in this study consists of 1760 children followed-up from 5 months to 17 years of age who reported their peer victimization experience at least once between 6 and 17 years: 862 boys (49.0%) and 898 girls (51.0%).» (p. 2)

Instruments :
- Guide d’entretien semi-directif
- Questionnaires

Type de traitement des données :
Analyse de contenu
Analyse statistique

3. Résumé

The authors «identified 4 distinct peer victimization trajectories: low, moderate-emerging, childhood-limited, and high-chronic. Although the majority of children reported some level of peer victimization at school entry, all groups except the moderate-emerging group reported declining levels in middle childhood.» (p. 5) Additionally, results «showed that paternal history of antisocial behavior was associated with persistent peer victimization (ie, high-chronic and moderate-emerging trajectories) when controlling for children’s sex, behavior, maternal factors, parenting, socioeconomic disadvantage, and family structure. […] Furthermore, [results] showed that living in a nonintact family was associated with high levels of peer victimization at school entry (ie, high-chronic and childhood-limited trajectories). The father’s antisocial behavior distinguished between children in these 2 trajectories. That is, children who escaped high levels of peer victimization in the first years of primary school (ie, childhood-limited trajectory) had a father with better mental health than those who continued to be highly victimized during adolescence (ie, high-chronic trajectory).» (p. 5) Finally, the authors «found that high externalizing behavior problems during the preschool years were important factors for the development of peer victimization. Children who exhibited the highest levels of externalizing behavior during early childhood endured the highest levels of peer victimization from 6 to 17 years of age.» (p. 7)