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Background: Attachment to parents during adolescence has been identified as an important indicator of psychosocial adaptation. However, the relative importance of the adolescents’ behavior problems and the larger relational context likely to influence the quality of these relationships remains relatively underexplored. The present study aims to identify the factors associated with the quality of parent–adolescent attachment relationships and to establish their relative contributions. This study also tested, as a complementary objective, the invariance of the models according to sex. Method: 706 (46.9% girls) early adolescents participated in the study at time 1 and then again, two years later. The individual (e.g., behavior problems or temperament) and contextual (e.g., parents’ behaviors, history of abuse or environment stability) associated factors were measured at time 1, while the quality of the parent–adolescent attachment relationship was measured at time 2. Results: The results showed that a history of emotional abuse, inconsistent discipline, externalized behavior problems and the adolescent’s age were negatively associated with the global attachment security score, while internalized behavior problems and peer attachment were positively associated. These variables explained 15.7% of variance. The results also demonstrated that these variables were also associated with the specific dimensions of attachment (trust, communication, alienation). Discussion: The study demonstrates the importance of several relational variables in the development of the parent–adolescent attachment relationship.

COVID-19 underscores the importance of understanding variation in adherence to rules concerning health behaviors. Children with conduct problems have difficulty with rule adherence, and linking early conduct problems with later adherence to COVID-19 guidelines can provide new insight into public health. The current study employed a sample (N = 744) designed to examine the longitudinal consequences of childhood conduct problems (Mean age at study entry = 8.39). The first objective was to link early conduct problems with later adherence to both general and specific COVID-19 guidelines during emerging adulthood (M age = 19.07). The second objective was to prospectively examine how interactional (i.e., callous unemotional traits, impulsivity) and cumulative (i.e., educational attainment, work status, substance use) continuity factors mediated this association. The third objective was to examine differences in sex assigned at birth in these models. Direct associations were observed between childhood conduct problems and lower general, but not specific COVID-19 guideline adherence. Conduct problems were indirectly associated with both general and specific adherence via higher levels of callous unemotional traits, and with specific adherence via higher problematic substance use. No differences in the models were observed across sex assigned at birth. Findings provide insight into both how developmental psychopathology constructs are useful for understanding COVID-19 guideline adherence, and the ways in which conduct problems may shape health outcomes.

Le CBQ-SF (Children’s Behavior Questionnaire - Short Form, Putnam, Rothbart, 2006) permet d’evaluer le temperament des enfants. L’objectif de cette etude est de valider une version canadienne francophone du CBQSF. L’echantillon compte 318 enfants âges de 6 a 9 ans. Le temperament a ete evalue a deux reprises sur une periode d’un an. Les problemes de comportement des enfants ont aussi ete mesures afin d’examiner la validite concomitante de la version canadienne francophone. Les analyses confirment la structure factorielle etablie dans la version originale de l’instrument et montrent que la fidelite et la validite de la version canadienne francophone du CBQ-SF sont adequates.

The Dual Failure Model suggests that peer victimization (social failure) and academic difficulties (academic failure) mediate the association between externalizing and later internalizing problems. The present study sought to better understand why children with externalizing problems develop later internalizing problems by testing the Dual Failure Model using a sample of 744 children (aged 6 to 10 at Time 1 [T1]), of whom 434 (44.7% girls) presented with high levels of conduct problems at study inception. Both parent and teacher ratings of externalizing and internalizing problems support the social failure pathway, but not the academic failure pathway. Children with externalizing behaviors at T1 who developed internalizing problems 2 years later did so via their experiences of peer victimization. These results apply for both boys and girls and do not vary according to child age at T1 or the level of conduct problems at study inception. These findings underscore the importance of early screening and intervention for externalizing behavioral problems in order to reduce subsequent peer victimization and internalizing problems. Findings regarding the consequences of internalizing are also discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Plusieurs etudes montrent une relation entre l’insecurite d’attachement et les comportements exteriorises dee enfants et adolescents (Fearon, Bakermans-Kranenburg, van IJzendoorn, Lapsley & Roisman, 2010 ; Madigan, Brumariu, Villani, Atkinson & Lyons-Ruth, 2016). Cependant, moins d’etudes ont porte, au cours des dernieres annees, sur la relation entre la qualite de l’attachement et les problemes de comportement qui atteignent le seuil clinique, soit les troubles du comportement (TC) (DeKlyen & Speltz, 2001 ; Theule, Germain, Cheung, Hurl & Markel, 2016). Par ailleurs, peu d’etudes ont considere le fait que cette relation pourrait varier en fonction du sexe de l’enfant (Constantino et al., 2006) et de la relation d’attachement etudiee, plus precisement du fait que l’on s’interesse a l’attachement aux parents ou a l’attachement aux pairs. L’objectif de l’etude est d’examiner si la presence d’un trouble du comportement cliniquement significatif durant l’enfance est associee a la qualite des relations d’attachement aux parents et aux pairs a l’adolescence en fonction du sexe de l’adolescent. Afin d’atteindre l’objectif, quatre groupes d’adolescents sont compares sur la base de leurs scores moyens d’attachement aux parents et aux pairs (garcons et filles avec et sans TC a l’entree dans l’etude). Cinq cents jeunes adolescents (238 filles) ont ete recrutes dans les ecoles, incluant des eleves reguliers et des eleves qui recoivent des services pour TC. L’attachement (score global, confiance, communication, alienation) a ete mesure par l’Inventaire d’attachement aux parents et aux pairs (IPPA ; Armsden & Greenberg, 1987). La presence d’un TC a l’entree dans l’etude a ete etablie a partir du seuil clinique aux echelles inspirees des criteres du DSM-IV-TR (American Psychiatric Association, 2000) pour le probleme des conduites et le probleme d’opposition avec provocation (ASEBA, Achenbach & Rescorla, 2001) completees par le parent, generalement la mere, et l’enseignant. Les resultats montrent que les filles avec TC obtiennent des scores d’attachement aux parents significativement inferieurs par rapport aux trois autres groupes alors que les garcons avec TC rapportent des relations d’attachement plus difficiles avec leurs pairs, toujours en comparaison avec les trois autres groupes. Les resultats supportent l’hypothese d’une relation significative entre la qualite des relations d’attachement et l’historique de TC, variant selon le sexe de l’adolescent et de la relation d’attachement examinee (parents vs pairs).

Child temperament plays a key role in the development of psychopathology, notably through transactions with the family environment. In particular, temperamental negative emotionality is a documented antecedent of child aggressive behavior, with parenting stress sometimes proposed to play a mediating role in this association. However, research has mostly addressed bivariate associations and seldom considered the full chain linking child negative emotionality to aggression through parenting stress. In addition, most relevant studies have focused on mothers; therefore, possible combined contributions of maternal and paternal stress, such as interactive effects, are under-investigated. Addressing these gaps, this longitudinal multi-informant study aimed to examine the mediating role of maternal parenting stress, paternal parenting stress, and their interaction in the association between infant negative emotionality and child aggression. Among 186 mostly White middle-class families (98 boys), infant negative emotionality was reported by mothers and fathers at 15 months, both parents reported on their own parenting stress at 3 years, and child aggression was assessed by teachers in the first grade of elementary school. The results revealed a moderated mediated pathway, such that there was a significant indirect effect of child negative emotionality on aggression through paternal stress, however only when maternal stress was also high. These findings suggest that the risk of negative emotionality translating to aggressive behavior is magnified when both parents experience high levels of stress in their parenting role. The results also underscore that both parents play significant yet different roles in the process linking early negative emotionality to subsequent aggression.

Although the comorbidity between conduct problems (CP) and depressive symptoms (DS) is associated with a host of negative outcomes, the factors, such as temperament, that might explain this comorbidity in school-aged boys and girls are poorly understood. This study compared elementary school children presenting co-occurring CP and DS to children with DS only, CP only, and those with low-level symptoms on temperament dimensions, and explored the moderating role of child sex in the associations. Participants are 487 children (M = 8.38 years, SD = 0.92, 52.2% girls) divided into four groups (CP + DS, DS only, CP only, control). Findings suggest that boys with CP and DS presented a lower level of fear than boys with DS and boys from the control group. They also presented higher levels of activity than boys with DS. Girls with CP and DS presented lower levels of fear than girls with DS, lower levels of approach and activity than girls with CP, and higher levels of shyness than girls from the control group. These findings suggest that temperament may discriminate children with comorbid CP and DS from those presenting only CP or DS.

This study investigated the role of temperamental anger in toddlerhood in the prediction of child socio-emotional functioning at school entry and the moderating function of mother–child interactions in these predictive associations. The sample included 86 children. To assess child temperamental anger, mothers and fathers completed the Anger proneness scale of the Toddler Behavior Assessment Questionnaire when children were aged 2 years. The quality of mother–child interactions was also assessed when children were 2 years old with the Mutually Responsive Orientation scale. Child internalizing, externalizing and prosocial behaviors were reported by parents in kindergarten and first grade with the Child Behavior Checklist and the Socio-Affective Profile. The results indicated that anger proneness predicted higher internalizing and externalizing behavior, and lower prosocial behavior. In the case of internalizing behavior, the effect of anger was qualified by an interaction with the quality of mother–child interaction: anger proneness predicted higher internalizing behavior only among children who had higher-quality interactions with their mothers. These findings suggest that simultaneous consideration of temperament and parent–child relationships early on in development may help identify children at risk for experiencing adjustment difficulties at school entry, allowing for prompt intervention before difficulties crystallize.

Interest in studying the relative contributions of verbal (e.g., maternal mind-mindedness [MM]) and non-verbal dimensions (i.e., parental embodied mentalizing [PEM]) of parental mentalization to child socio-emotional development is relatively recent. To date, only one study has addressed this issue in relation to child attachment security, suggesting a complementary and unique contribution of each one. The purpose of the present study was to further examine the specific contribution of PEM to infant attachment security by considering MM. In addition, this study aimed to explore the mediating role of maternal sensitivity linking PEM, MM to infant attachment security within 110 mother-infant dyads at moderate psychosocial risk. The two dimensions of parental mentalization (PEM and MM) were assessed on the basis of observations made during a videorecorded sequence of mother-child interactions in a context of free play with and without toys when the infants were 8 months old. The Maternal Behavior Q-Sort was used to measure the mothers' sensitivity in a natural setting based on observations of daily mother-child interactions, also when the infants were about 8 months old. Attachment security was measured using The Strange Situation Procedure at infant age 16 months. The results showed positive correlations between maternal sensitivity and both verbal and non-verbal measures of parental mentalization. The mediation analyses first revealed that PEM had a significant indirect effect on attachment security, with sensitivity being identified as a mediator in this association. No indirect effect linking MM and attachment security via sensitivity was observed. These results highlight the contribution of PEM to maternal sensitivity and show maternal sensitivity to be a factor that partly explains the influence of PEM on attachment security in children.

In adults, higher anxiety level related to COVID-19 has been associated with having a pre-existing medical or mental health condition and poor sleep quality. However, no study yet has looked at these links in children. The present study’s main aim was to assess family changes associated with child and parent fears and concerns about COVID-19. We conducted a cross-sectional study among 144 families with children aged 9–12 years during the COVID-19 lockdown period. Families came from Quebec, Canada, and the survey was done in the early stages of the lockdown (April–May 2020). A phone-based survey assessed parent and child COVID-19-related fears and concerns, family-related changes and health issues. Results showed the more fears parents have about COVID-19, the more fears their child also has. Moreover, changes in family sleep habits were associated with parental and child fears and concerns about COVID-19. Reduced access to health services was associated with parental concerns about COVID-19. If another lockdown was to be put in place in the future, it would be important to inform families on the importance of sleep schedules and to maintain or increase health appointments when possible.

Objective: To evaluate how sociodemographic characteristics and various aspects of parent well-being, family functioning, parent-child relationship, and child characteristics are related to psychological functioning in children aged 9 to 12 years during the COVID-19 lockdown. Method: Participants included 144 children aged 9 to 12 years and their parents who lived in the province of Quebec, Canada, during the COVID-19 mandatory lockdown. Parents and children were administered a phone-based survey in which various child, parent, parent-child, and family characteristics were assessed. Results: Results showed that higher internalizing problems in children were related to greater depressive symptoms in parents, lower attachment security to parents, and greater aversion to aloneness in children. Results on externalizing behavior problems showed that more problems were associated with more family dysfunction and chaos and lower attachment security to parents. Finally, results on children's anxiety toward COVID-19 showed that more anxiety was associated with greater parental anxiety toward COVID-19 and more child aversion to aloneness. Conclusion: Our findings showed that even during an unusual and stressful context such as a pandemic, proximal variables such as the attachment relationship that have been known to be closely associated with adaptation are significantly related to child psychological functioning. Such observations are important because they highlight factors that may accentuate child vulnerability in times of a pandemic and shed light on potential intervention targets.

Relatively few studies have focused on relational factors within the school environment that could moderate the associations between temperament and behavior problems. The purpose of this longitudinal study was to examine whether student-teacher relationship quality (i.e., Closeness, Conflict, and Dependency) moderated longitudinal associations between child temperament (i.e., Negative Affectivity, Surgency/Extraversion, and Effortful Control) and externalizing and internalizing problems. The participants were 744 elementary school students (mean age 8.4 years at study entry) followed over 3 years (four measurement times). Parents assessed their child's temperament at study entry (T1) and the children reported their self-perceptions of problems 3 years later (T4). Student-teacher relationship quality was constructed as a latent variable based on ratings from three different teachers over 3 years (T1, T2, T3). Latent moderated structural equations revealed that a low level of Surgency/Extraversion was associated with less internalizing problems but only for children experiencing a high level of Closeness with their teachers. A high level of Negative Affectivity was associated with more internalizing problems, but only for children experiencing a high level of Conflict or a high level of Dependency with their teachers. Student-teacher relationship quality did not moderate the associations between temperament and externalizing problems. Improving student-teacher relationship quality through focused interventions thus represents a useful strategy.

Introduction Sexual minority youth experience worse mental health compared to their heterosexual peers, reflecting the consequences of sexual minority-based stigma. Previous research has focused on contextual variation to understand variability within this vulnerability. Childhood temperament factors such as negative affect, effortful control and surgency/extraversion are important for understanding differential susceptibility to environmental stressors. The objective of the current study was to understand how childhood temperament factors, measured prior to the most difficult developmental period for sexual minority youth, moderated the association between sexual minority status and internalizing and externalizing behavior problems. Methods Youth reporting same-sex attraction in an ongoing longitudinal project on the development of conduct problems in Quebec, Canada were matched with heterosexual peers, for an analytic sample of 280 youth (62% girls). Structural equation models were used to examine (1) the association between youth-reported same-sex attraction (ages 13–16) and parent and youth-reported internalizing and externalizing problems a year later at ages 14–17, and (2) the moderating role of temperament (ages 6–9) in this association between sexual minority status and internalizing and externalizing problems. Results Same-sex attraction was associated with higher levels of youth-reported internalizing and externalizing behavior problems. Surgency/extraversion moderated the association between sexual minority status and youth-reported internalizing and externalizing problems. Conclusions These findings suggest that temperament linked to individual visibility may be important for understanding variation in self-reported mental health among sexual minority youth, and supports the use of developmental constructs like temperament to better understand vulnerability to psychosocial difficulties within this population.

Youth with conduct problems present frequently depressive symptoms. Academic skills are thought to be a mediating variable by which conduct problems could lead to depressive symptoms. No studies have longitudinally compared this model among school-aged boys and girls with different levels of conduct problems. Cascade models were tested to examine the relations between conduct problems, depressive symptoms, and academic skills over a 3-year period, and whether the severity of conduct problems and gender moderated these associations. Participants were 381 children presenting early clinically significant conduct problems (44.9% female) and 363 children with low levels of conduct problems (48.8% female). While results did not show any cascade or indirect associations, they revealed different direct links between conduct problems or depressive symptoms and academic skills in the four groups. These findings suggest that conduct problems severity and gender differences should be considered in treatment planning.

Children with conduct problems are at greater risk for internalizing problems. The objectives of this study were to (1) examine trajectories of internalizing problems among children with and without clinically significant conduct problems during the transition to adolescence; and (2) identify how academic achievement, peer rejection, parent socioeconomic status, maternal distress, parental warmth, child temperament, and receptive verbal functioning explained differences between the two groups. Children with conduct problems ( N = 388, 45% girls) and a comparison sample without conduct problems ( N = 299, 52% girls) were recruited from Quebec, Canada, when they were between the ages of 7 and 10 years, and were followed across 4 years. Mothers and teachers provided information on internalizing problems each year. Having clinically significant conduct problems was associated with higher initial levels of internalizing problems according to mothers and teachers, but not with changes in internalizing problems over time. With regards to teacher ratings, academic achievement, peer rejection, and negative emotionality partially explained differences in internalizing problems for youth with and without conduct problems. For mother ratings, maternal distress, negative emotionality, and peer rejection completely explained the association for girls, and partially explained the association for boys. Findings supported a multi-rater approach for understanding risk for internalizing problems among children with and without conduct problems. In particular, they highlight the importance of differences across context for understanding factors associated with vulnerability to internalizing problems.

The high levels of comorbidity between oppositional/conduct problems and hyperactivity/attention problems underscore the need for assessing how vulnerability for peer victimization is shaped by overlap among these behavior problems. Children (mean age 8.39, SD = 0.93) participating in a longitudinal study of the development of conduct problems (N = 744; 348 girls) in Quebec, Canada, were evaluated by their teachers regarding experiences of peer verbal and physical victimization every year for 6 years. Parent and teacher ratings of clinically significant oppositional/conduct problems, and hyperactivity/attention problems, as well as cormorbid opposition defiant/conduct problems and hyperactivity/attention problems were regressed onto trajectories of verbal and physical victimization. While behavior problems (both alone and together) were associated with higher levels of verbal and physical victimization, some variation was observed across rater and type of victimization. Ultimately, these findings suggest the importance of adapting programming for reducing victimization to children with oppositional and conduct problems.

Students with conduct problems (CPs) may present heterogeneity in terms of behavioral manifestations and service needs. Previous studies using Latent Class Analysis (LCA) to capture this heterogeneity have been conducted mostly with community samples and have often applied a narrow definition of CP. Considering this context, this study investigated CP subgroups among elementary students with CP receiving special education services. LCA was conducted on 10 CP indices for 297 6–9 year old children. Latent CP subgroups were compared with 201 controls without CP. LCA suggests a three-class solution based on severity of CP and context/informant reports (home/parent, school/teacher). Multinomial logistic regressions indicated that all CP subgroups differed from the control group on social competence and surgency/extraversion temperament scale in the expected direction but varied on specific personal, family, or school correlates. Interventions aimed at reducing CP should consider differences in CP subtype and in correlated risk factors.

Objective: Adolescent participation in risky and addictive behaviours, such as smoking, substance use, and gambling has the potential to lead to many serious problems. The presence of conduct problems (CPs) and early initiation into risky and addictive behaviours have been independently shown to be associated with adolescent and young adult smoking, drinking, and gambling. Nevertheless, the relation between early initiation into risky and addictive behaviours and CPs remains to be explored among pre-adolescents. Our study aims to examine the prospective relation between CPs in early primary school and pre-adolescent initiation into smoking, alcohol use, and gambling. Method: Our study used data from participants in an ongoing prospective, longitudinal study at the Université de Sherbrooke to examine cigarette, alcohol, and gambling initiation among primary school-aged boys and girls with CPs. Children were recruited between the ages of 6 and 9 years from several low socioeconomic status public schools in diverse geographical regions of Quebec. Initiation into cigarettes, alcohol, and gambling was measured 1 year later. Results: Children with CPs were found to be at greater risk for early initiation into smoking, alcohol, and gambling. These effects remained even once other known risk factors, such as poor parental supervision and child effortful control, were controlled for. Conclusions: These results suggest that CPs present in early elementary school can predict early initiation in to potentially addictive behaviours among boys and girls. Implications for targeted preventive intervention are discussed.

BACKGROUND Prenatal exposure to polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) has been associated with cognitive deficits and behavioral problems in children. To date, no study has examined this exposure in association with neurobehavioral development in infants younger than 12 months assessed with observational tasks. OBJECTIVES This study examined the relation between prenatal PBDE concentrations and predisposition to frustration, assessed by the arm restraint task (ART), in Canadian infants. METHODS In a prospective longitudinal study conducted in Canada, exposure to nine PBDE congeners was measured in maternal plasma during the first trimester of pregnancy. The ART was used to measure predisposition to frustration in infancy (N = 333; mean age = 6.9 months), as assessed by negative vocalizations (crying and screaming) and physical reactivity (discomfort movements). RESULTS Maternal plasma PBDE-47 concentrations collected during pregnancy were associated with negative vocalizations using the ART (adjusted Relative Risk [aRR] = 1.04, 95% CI: 1.00, 1.09). Prenatal PBDE-99 concentrations during pregnancy were also related to a shift to the left in the tail of the distribution of onset of negative vocalizations as measured by a decrease of 38 s (95% CI: -78.1, 1.3) in the 75th quantile of the distribution for infants whose mothers had detectable levels of PBDE-99 compared to infants of mothers with undetectable levels. Similarly, infants whose mothers had detectable levels of PBDE-100 showed an increase of 24.1 s (95% CI: 4.1, 44.1) in the 75th quantile of the distribution of proportion of time in negative vocalizations compared with infants of mothers with undetectable levels. Finally, the association between PBDE-47 and PBDE-153, and physical reactivity was significantly modified by sex (p

De nombreuses études ont démontré que le stress parental (SP) affecte la qualité des interactions mère-enfant. En effet, de nombreux auteurs proposent que le stress et la détresse que peuvent expérimenter les parents dans leur rôle parental puissent avoir une influence importante sur la sensibilité maternelle (SM) (Cmic & Low, 2002; Deater-Deckard, 1998; Neuhauser, 2018). Cependant, il est possible que les effets entre le SP et la SM lors d’interactions puissent être bidirectionnels (Booth & al., 2018). Ainsi, des niveaux élevés d’insensibilité donneraient lieu à des difficultés comportementales et émotionnelles chez l’enfant, pouvant être à la base d’expériences de SP. Cette étude examine les liens entre le SP et la SM lors d’interactions mère-enfant lorsque l’enfant est âgé de 6, 10, 15 et 18 mois. L’échantillon comprend 160 dyades mère-enfants. La SM est évaluée avec une mesure observationnelle (MBQS) et le SP avec un questionnaire autorapporté (PSI). Les résultats montrent un seul lien bidirectionnel, soit entre le SP à 10 mois et la SM à 18 mois.

There is limited empirical research on the correlates of conduct problems (CP) and depression comorbidity during childhood. This study investigated 479 elementary school children (48.2% girls). It compared children with comorbidity to children with CP only, depression only, and control children on individual, academic, social, and family characteristics. The study also analyzed gender differences in the associations between correlates and comorbidity. Multinomial logistic regression results revealed that children with CP and depression had higher levels of anxiety and more school difficulties than children with CP only, more social difficulties and more severe attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms than children with depression only, and more difficulties in all domains than control children. Girls with CP and depression presented a particularly negative profile, including lower school abilities than CP and control girls, and lower social skills and more severe ADHD symptoms than control girls. Implications for evaluation and intervention planning are discussed.

There is growing evidence that child neglect is an important risk factor for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and dissociation. Considering that the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) is a widely used measure, the possibility of using validated CBCL-derived trauma symptoms scales could be particularly useful to better understand how trauma symptoms develop among neglected children and adolescents. This study examined the factor structure of three CBCL-derived measures of PTSD and dissociation (namely, PTSD scale, Dissociation scale, and PTSD/Dissociation scale) in a sample of 239 neglected children and adolescents aged 6 to 18 years using the latest version of CBCL (CBCL 6-18). Evidence of convergent validity of these scales was also examined for participants aged 12 and under using two well-validated measures of PTSD and Dissociation: the Trauma Symptoms Checklist for Young Children and the Child Dissociation Checklist. Findings suggest that CBCL-derived measures of trauma symptoms, especially PTSD and Dissociations scales, may be of heuristic value in the study of trauma symptomatology in neglected samples. Factor structure and evidence of convergent validity were supported for these two scales. Results also provide further support to the well-established assumption that PTSD and dissociation are two related but different constructs.

Little is known about the development of number knowledge (NK) and the antecedents of low-persistent NK profiles in early childhood. We documented the developmental trajectories of NK across the transition from preschool to elementary school, their predictive validity with respect to later math achievement, and the child and family early-life factors associated with low NK profiles. Children's NK was assessed four times at regular intervals between the ages 4 and 7 years in a large, representative population-based sample. Developmental trajectories of NK were established for 1597 children. These children were also assessed with respect to several features of their family environment at 5, 17, and 29 months, as well as their cognitive skills at age 41 months. Analyses revealed a best-fitting 4-trajectory model, characterized by Low-Increasing (10% of the children), Moderate-Increasing (39%), Moderate-Fast Increasing (32%) and High-Increasing (19%) groups. Children of these trajectory groups differed significantly with respect to math achievement at ages 8 and 10 years, with the Low-Increasing group persistently scoring lower than the other groups throughout these years. Children of Low-Increasing NK group were from household of lower income and father with low educational background, poorer early cognitive development, and more importantly, reduced visual-spatial skills and memory-span. Children displaying reduced cognitive abilities and impoverished living conditions early in life are at greater risk of low NK throughout late preschool and school entry, with ensuing difficulties in math achievement. They deserve early preventive attention to help alleviate later mathematic difficulties.

This study examined the associations between intrinsic motivation and achievement in mathematics in a sample of 1,478 Canadian school-age children followed from Grades 1 to 4 (ages 7-10). Children self-reported their intrinsic motivation toward mathematics, whereas achievement was measured through direct assessment of mathematics abilities. Cross-lagged models showed that achievement predicted intrinsic motivation from Grades 1 to 2, and from Grades 2 to 4. However, intrinsic motivation did not predict achievement at any time. This developmental pattern of association was gender invariant. Contrary to the hypothesis that motivation and achievement are reciprocally associated over time, our results point to a directional association from prior achievement to subsequent intrinsic motivation. Results are discussed in light of their theoretical and practical implications.

This study aims to examine the potential direction of effects between infant temperament and maternal sensitivity between 15 and 18 months, while considering five different temperament dimensions (activity level, pleasure, social fearfulness, anger proneness and interest/persistence). More specifically, it aims to verify if the direction of effects and the strength of the relation between these two variables vary as a function of the level of psychosocial risk infants are exposed to and infant gender. Fifty low-risk and 98 high-risk mother-infant dyads (defined as a function of mother status: adult or adolescent) were evaluated twice during home visits. At 15 and 18 months, mothers completed a French-Canadian version of the Toddler Behaviour Assessment Questionnaire (TBAQ; Goldsmith, 1996), the Questionnaire d’evaluation du comportement de l’enfant (QECE; Lemelin, Tarabulsy, Provost, Fournier, Robitaille, Hemond & Tessier, 2007), and observers completed the Maternal Behaviour Q-Sort (MBQS, Pederson & Moran, 1995). Results obtained in the study show that the strength of the relation, and the direction of effects, between infant temperament and maternal sensitivity vary as a function of the temperament dimension taken into account. In 276 THERRIAULT, LEMELIN, TARABULSY ET PROVOST

Home environment quality is a well-known predictor of school readiness (SR), although the underlying processes are little known. This study tested two hypotheses: (a) child language mediates the association between home characteristics (socioeconomic status and exposure to reading) and SR, and (b) genetic factors partly explain the association between language and SR. Data were collected between 6 and 63 months in a large sample of twins. Results showed that home characteristics had direct effects on SR and indirect effects through child language. No genetic correlation was found between language and SR. These results suggest that home characteristics affect SR in part through their effect on early language skills, and show that this process is mainly environmental rather than genetic in nature.

This study examined the similarities and differences in maternal and observer Attachment Behavior Q-Sort ratings (AQS; Waters, 1995) and their relations to dimensions of the developmental ecology – maternal sensitivity, infant irritability, parental stress and psychosocial risk. Data was gathered from low risk (adult mothers; N = 44) and high risk mother–infant dyads (adolescent mothers; N = 83) when infants were aged 6, 10 and 15 months old, attachment being assessed at 15 months by both mothers and independent observers. A common factor was extracted from both sorts and served to operationalize the similarities between mother and observer ratings. Regressions were conducted to extract maternal and observer AQS scores that were unrelated to each other to represent the difference between the two sorts. Correlation analyses indicated that the common AQS factor was moderately linked to maternal sensitivity and parental stress, and showed a weak association to psychosocial risk and infant irritability. Residual maternal scores showed greater correlations with infant irritability and parental stress than did observer residual scores. Observer scores showed a greater correlation with psychosocial risk than maternal scores. Results suggest that common AQS variance presents a pattern of associations with ecological variables that is coherent with attachment research. Variance related to irritability, stress and risk appear to drive the differences between maternal and observer observations.

School readiness tests are significant predictors of early school achievement. Measuring school readiness on a large scale would be necessary for the implementation of intervention programs at the community level. However, assessment of school readiness is costly and time consuming. This study assesses the predictive value of a school readiness measure, the Early Development Instrument (EDI), which relies on kindergarten teachers' ratings of children's well-being and social, emotional, and cognitive development. We also compared the predictive value of the EDI with that of a direct school readiness test and a battery of cognitive tests. Data were collected when the children were in kindergarten and a year later, as part of Quebec's Longitudinal Study of Child Development. We found that that the EDI alone explained 36% of the variance in school achievement. The complete battery of measures explained 50% of the variance in early school achievement. Two of the EDI domains (Physical Health and Well-Being and ...

Cette etude vise a valider le Questionnaire d'evaluation du comportement de l'enfant (QECE), une version canadienne francaise du Toddler Behavior Assessment Questionnaire (TBAQ; Goldsmith, 1996) qui est utilise afin d'evaluer cinq dimensions du temperament des enfants âges de 15 a 36 mois : niveau d'activite, tendance a exprimer du plaisir, crainte sociale, predisposition a la colere et interet/attention. Un echantillon de 122 enfants de 15 mois a ete evalue a l'aide du QECE. Cent six d'entre eux ont ete reevalues avec le QECE une deuxieme fois trois mois plus tard (a 18 mois). Cent deux des enfants avaient ete precedemment evalues a dix mois a l'aide du Infant Characteristics Questionnaire (ICQ, Bates, Freeland & Lounsbury, 1979), un questionnaire mesurant le temperament durant la premiere annee de vie. Les resultats demontrent que les echelles du QECE ont une coherence interne et une stabilite temporelle adequate. De plus, les resultats demontrent que les echelles du QECE possedent des proprietes discriminantes adequates et que le QECE possede une bonne validite convergente avec l'ICQ. Les proprietes psychometriques du QECE, sa facilite et rapi-dite d'administration et de cotation et sa capacite a fournir de l'information concernant plusieurs dimensions du temperament font de celui-ci un questionnaire tres interessant a utiliser dans la recherche sur le developpement des enfants.

Highlights • Genes rather than environment contribute to family resemblance in academic motivation. • Environmental influences stemmed entirely from individual specific experiences. • Attending same vs. different classes did not affect twin similarity in motivation. • Results are similar across ages, countries and academic subjects., Little is known about why people differ in their levels of academic motivation. This study explored the etiology of individual differences in enjoyment and self-perceived ability for several school subjects in nearly 13,000 twins aged 9–16 from 6 countries. The results showed a striking consistency across ages, school subjects, and cultures. Contrary to common belief, enjoyment of learning and children’s perceptions of their competence were no less heritable than cognitive ability. Genetic factors explained approximately 40% of the variance and all of the observed twins’ similarity in academic motivation. Shared environmental factors, such as home or classroom, did not contribute to the twin’s similarity in academic motivation. Environmental influences stemmed entirely from individual specific experiences.

Youth with conduct problems (CP) may experience high rates of depressive symptoms (DS). However, little is known about the direction of the longitudinal associations between CP and DS in this specific population. Although girls with CP appear at greater risk than boys for presenting comorbid depression, empirical research on gender differences in these associations is even sparser. The current study used autoregressive latent trajectory models to compare four perspectives with hypotheses regarding the longitudinal associations between CP and DS, while taking into account the evolution of both problems. We also examined gender differences in the longitudinal associations. A total of 345 children (40.6 % female) presenting with a high level of CP in early elementary school (mean age at study inception = 8.52; SD = .94) were evaluated annually over a four-year period (5 measurement time points). The results revealed that CP and DS were quite stable over time. Moreover, CP and DS showed strong covariation at each measurement time point, but only one significant positive cross-lagged association between the two processes, indicating that higher levels of DS at time 3 were associated with higher levels of CP 1 year later. No differences were observed in the longitudinal associations between CP and DS in boys and girls. Given the comorbidity and stability of CP and DS, these findings suggest that DS should be systematically evaluated among children with early clinically significant CP, and treatment plans should include interventions aimed at both CP and DS among children who present with both types of problems.

This study examined the association between infant still-face response and assessments of maternal behavior taken outside the still-face procedure (SFP). We also addressed the contributions of risk status and infant difficultness. Forty-one adolescent mother–infant dyads (high risk), and thirty-five adult mother–infant dyads (low risk) were seen when infants were 6 months old. Home visits were carried out to obtain maternal ratings of infant difficultness and to conduct observations of maternal interactive behavior. The SFP was conducted at the university two weeks later. Infant still-face response was coded for positive affect, negative affect and self-soothing behavior. Regression analyses revealed that maternal behavior was associated with negative affect and self-soothing behavior. In both cases risk status significantly moderated these effects. Infant difficultness significantly moderated the association between maternal behavior and self-soothing behavior, and marginally moderated the link between maternal behavior and negative affect.

The hypothesis that irritability and contingency detection are negatively correlated was examined in thirty-one 6-month-old infants. Observation and maternal report-based assessments of irritability were correlated with both a criterion score and a continuous score of contingency detection. Results indicated that greater irritability in infants was associated with lower contingency detection scores. Discussion focuses on identifying processes by which the 2 constructs may be associated.

This study aimed to assess disorganized states of mind in a sample of neglecting and at-risk of neglecting mothers using the recently developed Hostile-Helpless (HH) coding system (Lyons-Ruth et al., 2006) for the Adult Attachment Interview (Main & Goldwyn, 1998). The relation between HH states of mind and mothers' childhood traumas was also examined. Participants were 70 neglecting mothers and at-risk of neglecting mothers. Childhood traumas were assessed using the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire. HH states of mind were coded from Adult Attachment Interview transcripts by two reliable coders. Results revealed a high prevalence of disorganized states of mind in this sample. Forty-five mothers were classified HH, representing 64% of the entire sample. Most mothers reported at least one form of childhood trauma, with a mean of 2.9 different forms of trauma. Mothers classified HH reported having been emotionally abused, sexually abused and physically neglected more frequently than non-HH mothers. There was no difference between neglecting and at-risk of neglect mothers on HH states of mind and childhood experiences of trauma. These findings are in line with theorization on maltreating mothers' psychological background and they provide further empirical support to the validation of the HH classification system with at-risk populations.

The Russian School Twin Registry (RSTR) was established in 2012, supported by a grant from the Government of the Russian Federation. The main aim of the registry is to contribute to Progress in Education through Gene-Environment Studies (PROGRESS). The formation of the registry is ongoing and it is expected that most schools in the Russian Federation (approximately 50,000 schools) will contribute data to the registry. With a total of 13.7 million students in Grades 1–11 (ages 7–18), the potential number of twin pairs exceeds 100,000. Apart from the large sample size and its representative nature, the RSTR has one unique feature: in collaboration with the International Advisory Committee to the Registry, genetically sensitive cross-cultural investigations are planned, aided by the use of the common assessment instruments. Other strengths of the registry include the assessment of a large sample of non-twin school children, including those studying in the same classes as the twins in the registry. It is hoped that the RSTR will provide an important research platform for national and international educationally relevant research.