1. Objectifs

Intentions :
This chapter presents Richard E. Tremblay’s research contributions about violent behavior development and prevention. More specifically, he «participated in the creation of numerous longitudinal and experimental studies to unravel the early development of chronic physical aggression and to identify effective early preventive interventions.» (p. 241)

2. Méthode

Échantillon/Matériau :
Données documentaires diverses

Type de traitement des données :
Réflexion critique

3. Résumé

This chapter informs us among other things, that «‘[s]ocial learning’ of aggression was the dominant hypothesis when Tremblay initiated his first longitudinal and experimental study of children’s development in 1984. The aim was to document the social learning hypothesis with annual assessments of 1,037 kindergarten boys from schools in poor areas of Montreal (Canada). One of the most important results […] showed that the boys’ frequency of physical aggressions from kindergarten to adolescence decreased, rather than increased with age, as would be expected from a social learning perspective.» (p. 241-242) Another famous study this author has participated in the Quebec Newborn Twin Study who «included 667 pairs of twins from the Montreal region and started in 1995 […]. [Authors] showed that the frequency of physical aggressions at 20 months was much more strongly determined by genetic factors than it was by the development of language […].» (p. 260-261) His latest research is the Quebec Newborn Monozygotic Twin Study initiated in 2014, which aims «to describe the differences in development between the two types of twin pairs by measuring not only their behavior and mental health but also their DNA [deoxyribonucleic acid] methylation and brain development. These studies of identical twins should help us understand environmental mechanisms that have impacts on brain development and on behavior through different mechanisms, including the epigenetic process […].» (p. 263)