1. Objectifs

Intentions :
« The objectives of the present study were: 1) to test whether harsh parenting and temperamental irritability assessed during toddlerhood predict reactive, but not proactive aggression at school entry, and 2) to test whether these differential predictions are additive or interactive. » (pp. 686-687)

2. Méthode

Échantillon/Matériau :
« 1516 boys and girls followed longitudinally from the age of 17 months through the age of 72 months. » (p. 685)

Instruments :
- « Negative emotionality was assessed through the use of six items from the Fussy/difficult scale of the Infant Characteristic Questionnaire (Bates, Freeland, & Lounsbury, 1979) »
- « Mother and teacher reports of reactive and proactive aggression were collected when the children were 72 months old [...] based on an adaptation of Dodge and Coie’s (1987) questionnaire. »

Type de traitement des données :
Analyse statistique

3. Résumé

« The goal of this study was to examine the links between difficult temperament (i.e., negative emotionality) and harsh parental discipline during toddlerhood, and reactive and proactive aggression in kindergarten. [...] Two possible models were tested to examine the interplay between negative emotionality and harsh parenting in predicting later reactive aggression compared to proactive aggression. The first was an additive model where both aspects make unique contributions in predicting later reactive aggression. The second model was an interactive model where harsh parenting exacerbates the link between negative emotionality and reactive aggression. Results showed a specific contribution of negative emotionality to reactive aggression. The results relative to harsh parenting are more mixed but nonetheless in line with developmental models stressing different pathways to reactive and proactive aggression. » (p. 685)