Biomedical subjects

R E Tremblay

Publications and source records attributed to R E Tremblay.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

PubMed1995

Teacher ratings of children's behaviors and teachers' management styles: a research note.

The purpose of this study was to explore how changes in teacher ratings of children's behavior problems from kindergarten to first grade might vary with teachers' styles of managing behavior problems. Familial and socioeconomical variables were controlled because of their potential modulating effects. Subjects were from a community sample of 1,573 boys and girls rated by teachers, mothers and peers (for one part of the sample) on aggressiveness-hyperactivity, anxiety-withdrawal and social skills deficits. Teacher ratings of aggressive-hyperactive behaviors significantly changed from kindergarten to grade one when the teachers had different management styles. Mother and peer ratings, however, did not change. The importance of considering teachers' management styles when assessing behavior problems in school is stressed.

Aggression↗

PubMed1995

Supporting fathers and supported mothers in families with disruptive boys: who are they?

What are the personal characteristics of supported mothers and supporting fathers, in the context of families having disruptive boys? The supportive and unsupportive behaviors of fathers towards mothers (N = 44) were rated by observers in standardized situations. Characteristics of both fathers and mothers were used to predict support: age, education, IQ, reported parental care during childhood, symptoms of distress and marital satisfaction. The joint characteristics of both spouses were better predictors than fathers' or mothers' characteristics alone. Unexpectedly more support and less stress correlated with more unfavorable characteristics of the father compared to the mother for the same marital dyad. Both spouses' reports on parental care were highly predictive of fathers' supportive and unsupportive behaviors towards mothers, whereas higher intellectual abilities of fathers predicted unsupportive behaviors. Results are discussed in relation to marital relations and differences between behavioral versus reported assessments of spouse support.

Adult↗

PubMed1995

[Rate of precocious sexual intercourse in adolescents in disadvantaged socioeconomic environments. (University of Quebec in Montreal)].

This article presents a preliminary study, a descriptive one, on the sexual intercourse precocity rates at adolescence. 765 male adolescents francophones, 13 years old, from low economic status answered the QAS, questionnaire on aspects of sexual life including. The results show that 11.3% of subjects are sexually active by 13 years old. The first sexual partner is known from many months to many years from the majority of subjects. The majority (61.8%) of the non-sexually active subjects of the research would be near to transit to the first sexual intercourse if we consider the results of our predictive measure of the transition. Discussed at the light of the literature, these results show that early sexual behaviors are: 1) a concrete reality for an important proportion of male adolescents from low economic status; 2) to consider in the future in terms of research priority.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1995

Individual and peer characteristics in predicting boys' early onset of substance abuse: a seven-year longitudinal study.

Early onset of substance abuse is a clear marker for future maladjustment in adolescents. The present study employed data originating from 755 6-year-old boys from low SES neighborhoods, who were followed through age 13, to predict this marker, 3 models were tested using LISREL analyses to determine whether individual characteristics and/or peer influences were linked to subsequent substance abuse. Individual characteristics consisted of fighting, hyperactivity, oppositional behaviors, and likability. Peer influences referred to mutual friends' characteristics (aggressiveness and likability). Data were obtained from 3 different sources: teacher ratings, peer ratings, and self-reports. Results were replicated at ages 10, 11, and 12 years with 3 subsamples of the original sample and indicated that individual characteristics, more than friends' deviance, are pivotal in the development of substance abuse. This finding is consistent with results from other longitudinal studies involving children from a variety of cultural backgrounds. It suggests that prevention programs should target individual characteristics and begin at an early age.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1994

Predicting early onset of male antisocial behavior from preschool behavior.

METHODS: Data from a large longitudinal study of boys who were between kindergarten and age 13 years were used to (1) test whether Gray's and Cloninger's personality dimensions measured in kindergarten predicted the early onset of stable, highly delinquent behavior; (2) test whether 1, 2, or 3 dimensions were needed; and (3) test the predictive value of a categorical approach. RESULTS: The impulsivity dimension was the best predictor of the early onset of stable, highly delinquent behavior. Anxiety and reward dependence made significant but weaker contributions. The categorical approach corroborated Cloninger's suggestion that boys who are high in impulsivity, low in anxiety, and low in reward dependence would be more at risk for delinquent involvement. Boys who were high in impulsivity and low in anxiety but high in reward dependence were much less at risk for delinquency. Differences in antisocial behavior among extreme kindergarten personality groups were stable from ages 11 to 13 years. CONCLUSIONS: The behavioral activating system appears to be the major dimension underlying the propensity toward early onset of antisocial behavior, but both the behavioral inhibition system and the need for social rewards play important roles. The behavioral style (personality) that results from the interplay of these systems is clearly in place by the kindergarten year. Preventive efforts should target preschool children with at-risk behavior profiles. However, longitudinal-experimental studies with at least yearly assessments between birth and school-entry age are needed to understand the extent to which the behavioral styles are antecedent to preschool disruptive behavior disorders.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1994

Impact of a prevention program on aggressive children's friendships and social adjustment.

A group of 46 aggressive boys aged 8 to 9 years participated in a prevention program aimed at reducing their externalizing problems in the short term and at preventing delinquency in the long term. Outcome measures were collected during the 3-year period following the prevention program. At that time, the boys were 10, 11, and 12 years old. Outcome measures included teacher ratings of aggressiveness and self-reports of delinquent behaviors. The boys' friends were rated on disruptive behaviors by their classmates. The experimental boys' outcome measures were compared to the measures obtained from 58 aggressive boys in a control group. The disruptive ratings of the experimental and control subjects' best friends were also compared. Differences in teacher-rated aggressiveness between the two groups increased from one year to the next for the 3-year followup period. Similarly, the friends' disruptive scores differed increasingly between the two groups over the 3-year period. The effect of the prevention program on the subjects' friendships and the mediating impact of friends with regard to social adjustment were stressed.

Aggression↗

PubMed1994

Physically aggressive boys from ages 6 to 12: family background, parenting behavior, and prediction of delinquency.

Boys from low socioeconomic environments were rated on physical aggression at ages 6, 10, 11, and 12 by teachers and classified according to stability of fighting over time: stable high fighters, high fighters with late onset, desisting high fighters, variable high fighters, and nonfighters. The fighter groups differed from each other both in family background and parenting behavior. They were also significantly associated with delinquency across ages 10 to 14. A stepwise logistic regression with fighter groups, family adversity index, and parenting behavior variables as predictors showed that the Punishment x Fighter Group interaction, together with supervision, predicted self-reported delinquency. The study thus showed that the developmental pathways of physically aggressive behavior for boys in low socioeconomic environments were related to familial adversity and poor parenting, and that they predicted delinquency.

Adult↗

PubMed1994

Is having an alcoholic father hazardous for children's physical health?

Five hundred and ninety-nine French-Canadian pre-adolescent children for whom the alcoholic status of the parents was known were subdivided into eight groups, according to family structure (intact, non-intact), alcoholic status of the father (alcoholic, non-alcoholic) and gender of the target child (girl, boy). ANCOVAs were conducted (controlling for income, a factor which contributes to illness) for health-related variables in order to test the hypothesis that children of alcoholic fathers have more physical health problems compared to children without alcoholic fathers. Data pertaining to use of medical services, serious and minor illnesses and pregnancy-related events were analysed. It was found that overall, pre-adolescent children of alcoholics were not more ill than children of non-alcoholics. There were, however, some differences worthy of note. Children of alcoholics had significantly lower birthweights than the children of non-alcoholics. Boys in non-intact alcoholic families were of shorter stature than the other children. A three-way interaction showed that daughters of alcoholics and sons of non-alcoholics living in non-intact families were more likely to have used psychologists' services, as were sons of alcoholics in intact families. The results were discussed in terms of the heterogeneity of alcoholic families as well as the need to identify subgroups of children of alcoholics who are at risk.

Alcoholism↗

PubMed1994

[Prediction of somatization disorders in pre-pubertal girls].

Several studies of female adult populations suggest that somatization problems appear during adolescence and that they are related to behavioural problems during childhood. This study uses Cloninger's personality model to verify the link between personality traits and the beginning of somatization problems in elementary school girls. This model is based on the interaction of three dimensions: novelty seeking, harm avoidance and social reward dependence. Subjects were part of a longitudinal study of the social adjustment of children from Montreal and Val d'Or families. Evaluations of the girls' behaviour in kindergarten were used to establish personality types according to Cloninger's model. The somatization problems were assessed at age ten following interviews with mothers and girls, and ratings by mothers and teachers. The results showed that somatization problems at age ten were more likely when novelty seeking and harm avoidance were high in kindergarten. The kindergarten girls with 'passive-aggressive' or 'explosive-schizoid' personality profiles were more at risk of higher levels of somatization problems at age ten. However, Cloninger's hypothesized link between high levels of somatization problems and the 'histrionic' personality profile was not confirmed.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1993

Can spouse support be accurately and reliably rated? A generalizability study of families with disruptive boys.

The present study addressed two questions: Can support be accurately and reliably rated? What are the relative setting and subject effects on observed spouse support? From a sample of families with a disruptive boy, the supportive or stressing behaviors of the father towards the mother were rated by trained observers in four different standardized situations. A generalizability study was carried out to assess the relative contribution of variance due to subjects, situations, and raters on the support and stress scores. Results indicate a reliable inter-rater assessment of observed spouse support. Spouse support appears to be controlled both by personal and by situational characteristics.

Adult↗

PubMed1992

Early disruptive behavior, poor school achievement, delinquent behavior, and delinquent personality: longitudinal analyses.

Three alternative models concerning the causal links between early disruptive behavior, poor school achievement, and delinquent behavior or antisocial personality were tested with linear structural equation modeling. Subjects were boys and girls followed from first grade to age 14. Disruptive behavior was assessed in Grade 1; school achievement was assessed in Grades 1 and 4; delinquent behavior and antisocial personality were assessed at age 14. With regard to self-reported delinquent behavior at age 14, results indicate that the best model for boys was a direct causal link between Grade 1 disruptive behavior and delinquent behavior. Poor school achievement was not a necessary causal factor. For girls, none of the tested models were a good fit to the delinquent behavior data. As for delinquent personality, results indicate that, for both boys and girls, poor school achievement was a necessary component of the causal path between Grade 1 disruptive behavior and age 14 delinquent personality.

Achievement↗

PubMed1992

Parent-teacher agreement on kindergarteners' behavior problems: a research note.

The present study investigated parameters of agreement as well of disagreement among mothers' and teachers' ratings of the behavior of kindergarten boys and girls. Findings indicated a generally low to moderate level of agreement between these two types of informants. They also suggested that demographic and background characteristics can effect size and direction of level of agreement. Although proportions of children rated as having the listed behavior problems varied in magnitude according to mothers and teachers, the rank order of the proportion of children with those behavior problems was rather similar for both informants. Such similar rankings of prevalence rates may reflect parents' and teachers' agreement on the consistency of children's behavior across the home and school settings.

Anxiety↗

PubMed1992

Behavioural and cognitive characteristics of conduct disordered-hyperactive boys from age 6 to 11: a multiple informant perspective.

Three subgroups of kindergarten boys (stable conduct disordered-hyperactive (SCDH), stable conduct disordered (SCD), stable non-deviant control (SC)) were defined and followed up three, four and five years later in primary school. Using assessments from multiple informants (teachers, mothers, peers, self), the results showed that SCDH boys were more hyperactive (i.e. overactive/inattentive) and displayed a greater diversity of conduct problems in school and home at follow-up compared to the other groups. These results and the fact that during early adolescence SCDH boys tend to develop a worse prognosis than SCD boys suggest that they should be distinguished.

Antisocial Personality Disorder↗

PubMed1991

Disruptive boys with stable and unstable high fighting behavior patterns during junior elementary school.

Boys' fighting was assessed at ages six, eight, and nine. The boys (N = 69) had been selected from the 30% most disruptive children in kindergartens from low socioeconomic neighborhoods. Twenty-three percent of these disruptive boys were rated as high fighters on three assessments ("stable high fighters"), and 28% were rated as high fighters on two of the three assessments ("variable high fighters"). Forty-two percent were rated as high fighters only one out of three assessments ("occasional high fighters") and 7% were never rated as high fighters. Only high fighting in two successive years significantly increased the risk of being rated a high fighter in a following year. At age 10, stable high fighters (high fighters at ages 6, 8, 9) were perceived by teachers, peers, mothers, and the boys themselves as more disruptive and more antisocial than occasional high fighters. These results show an impressive self-other agreement in boys who have adopted a physically aggressive life style from an early age. The three groups did not differ on individual family demographic characteristics, but stable high fighters had a higher mean on an index of family socioeconomic disadvantage. Results indicate that the aggression scales which include only a few physical aggression items and many disruptive items (oppositional behavior, rejection, hyperactivity, inattention, etc.) probably aggregate two kinds of disruptive boys, the high-frequency fighters at high risk for stable disruptive, physically aggressive, and antisocial behaviors, and the disruptive low-frequency fighters who are at a lower risk of stable disruptive behavior and at a lower risk of early antisocial behavior.

Aggression↗

PubMed1991

Social and psychological consequences, at 10 years old, of an earlier onset of self-reported delinquency.

In this paper we will answer the following question: what are the consequences of an earlier onset of delinquency on competence several years after onset? Rather than studying the social and psychological predictors of an early onset, we will be interested in the impact of the age of onset of self-reported delinquency on the social and personal adaptation of boys at age 10, social and personal adaptation referring to the broad concepts of competence--"having the requisite or adequate capacity or qualities to function or develop in a particular way" or "sufficiency of means for the necessities and conveniences of life."

Achievement↗

PubMed1991

Can disruptive boys be helped to become competent?

The Montréal Longitudinal Study of Disruptive Boys, an experimental study, was designed to understand boys who were considered disruptive in kindergarten. One part of the study involved assessing effects of a preventive treatment program carried out during the boys' early years in primary school. This paper reports on the outcome of the randomized treatment experiment 3 years after treatments ended. Disruptive boys were randomly allocated to a treated group and two nontreated groups. Treatment consisted of parent training and training of boys for social skills, fantasy play and television viewing. Results suggest that the treatment program had some positive effects. Some of the improvements were not evident immediately after treatment ended.

Achievement↗

PubMed1991

[Types of families, living conditions, functioning of family systems and social maladjustment during latency and adolescence in underprivileged milieus].

Available data on the impact of certain types of families is lacking, and the results are often misleading with respect to maladjustment. Following a description of variations in delinquent activity and behaviour problems according to family type, the authors analyse the difficulties in the operation of family systems. Comparisons of six family types apply to data from 763 boys aged 10, 319 female and 426 male adolescents, aged 14 and 15: intact families, father-based and mother-based single-parent families, father-based and mother-based reconstituted families and substitute families. The article's data show that in the late eighties, nearly 40 per cent of children and adolescents living in low-income districts in Montreal belonged to disunited families. In addition, the data confirm a classic observation: in comparison with intact families, disunited families are underprivileged in relation to living conditions, deficient in relation to psychosocial functioning, and propitious to behaviour problems and delinquent activity. In addition, it has been established that certain disunited family types represent a considerable risk factor. The damaging effect of family structure increases in the following order: intact families, mother-based single-parent families, mother-based reconstituted families, substitute families, father-based reconstituted families and father-based single-parent families. Finally, certain intervention methods are suggested to help prevent behaviour and family problems.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1988

The predictive power of first-grade peer and teacher ratings of behavior: sex differences in antisocial behavior and personality at adolescence.

Peer and teacher assessments of aggression, social withdrawal, and likability using the Pupil Evaluation Inventory were recorded for 104 French Canadian girls and boys in grade 1. Self-reported delinquency and personality measures were administered to these children when they were in junior high school 7 years later. Linear regression analyses revealed significant predictive differences between the grade 1 assessment of girls and boys: For antisocial behavior, teacher and peer assessments of boys were equally good predictors, and the combination of the two assessments did not improve prediction; for girls, peer and teacher assessments taken separately were weak predictors, but, taken together, they were better predictors for girls than for boys; for personality, peers were better predictors than teachers both for girls and for boys. When categorical analyses were used to predict extreme antisocial behavior, peer and teacher assessments were equally good predictors for girls and boys. The use of peer and teacher ratings together, however, decreased the number of false positives. The implications of these findings for research and clinical work are discussed.

Antisocial Personality Disorder↗