1. Objectifs

Intentions :
L’objectif général de cette thèse par articles est de mettre «l’accent sur les mensonges spontanés des enfants [afin d’explorer] comment leur mensonge change de la petite enfance au début de l’adolescence par rapport aux facteurs sociaux et cognitifs.» (p. iii) La présente fiche se concentre sur le deuxième article, au sein duquel deux études sont présentées. «This study explored the relation between children’s problem behaviours and their lie-telling in two studies. The first examined whether children would tell an antisocial lie to an unfamiliar adult to conceal cheating behaviour. The second analyzed the relation between children’s problem behaviours, parenting styles, and the frequency of lies reported by parents over two weeks at home.» (p. 64)

Questions/Hypothèses :
For the first study, the author expects «that children with higher levels of behaviour problems would be more likely to tell an antisocial lie to the researcher, based on findings that suggest that children with behaviour problems may rely on lie-telling to conceal their transgressions […].» (p. 68) For the second study, the author expects «that children with higher levels of behaviour problems would have a higher frequency of lies reported [and also expects] that parenting would be directly associated with the relation between children’s behaviour problems and the frequency of lies reported. [Finally, the authors anticipates that,] in contexts of strict and harsh parenting approaches, there would be a positive association between lie-telling and behaviour problems […].» (p. 77)

2. Méthode

Échantillon/Matériau :
L’échantillon de la première étude est composé de 63 enfants (54% garçons). L’échantillon de la deuxième étude est composé de 80 enfants (52% filles). La ville de provenance des participants n’est pas mentionnée, mais la recherche a été conduite par une équipe de l’université McGill (Montréal, QC).

Instruments :
- Questionnaires
- Grille d’observation
- Journal de bord

Type de traitement des données :
Analyse statistique
Analyse de contenu

3. Résumé

«Together, the results of Studies 1 and 2 suggests that children with higher levels of behaviour problems may use lie-telling more frequently, with both unfamiliar (researchers) and familiar (parents) individuals. Overall, children’s lies were crafted to achieve a specific aim that was self-motivated, such as to obtain a material benefit of to avoid a task.» (p. 86) «The results of [the second study] suggests that children’s behaviour problems are associated with the frequency of parent-reported lies over two weeks at home, and that parenting approaches may moderate this effect. Parenting approaches also predicted children’s frequency of parent-reported lies, such that parents who used more authoritative styles and non-violent discipline in conflict situations reported more frequent lie-telling at home. [The authors also found] that there was a stronger association between child behaviour problems and frequency of lying reported at low and average levels of psychological aggression and neglect […]. However, it is possible that parents who use authoritative parenting and non-violent discipline in conflict resolution may be more likely to address lying as a misbehaviour.» (p. 84)