Biomedical subjects

Frank Vitaro

Publications and source records attributed to Frank Vitaro.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2007

"Accept me, or else...": disputed overestimation of social competence predicts increases in proactive aggression.

It has been proposed that aggressive behavior may result from unrealistically positive self-evaluations that are disputed by others (Baumeister, Smart, & Boden, 1996). The present three studies tested this proposition concurrently and longitudinally for the domain of self-perceived social competence (SPSC) in 3-6th grade children on two continents. Each study tested whether aggressive behavior is related to general overestimation of SPSC compared to competence as perceived by peers, or to disputed overestimation, that is, overestimation disputed through rejection by peers. Specificity of relations with reactively or proactively aggressive behavior patterns was assessed and the predictive value of overestimation to the development of these types of aggressive behavior was investigated. Concurrently, disputed overestimation explained more variance in aggressive behavior than general overestimation, and was uniquely related to proactive aggression. Longitudinally, disputed overestimation also uniquely predicted changes in proactive, not reactive aggression.

Aggression↗

PubMed2006

Do early difficult temperament and harsh parenting differentially predict reactive and proactive aggression?

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. These links were assessed on a longitudinal population-based study of 1516 boys and girls followed longitudinally from the age of 17 months through the age of 72 months. 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.

Aggression↗

PubMed2006

Protective and compensatory factors mitigating the influence of deviant friends on delinquent behaviours during early adolescence.

This study examined factors that could moderate or compensate the link between exposure to deviant friends and delinquent behaviours in a sample of 265 early adolescents. The putative moderating or compensatory factors referred to the behavioural domain (i.e. novelty seeking, harm avoidance), the biological domain (i.e. physical maturation), the sociofamily domain (i.e. sociofamily adversity, parental practices), the school domain (i.e. academic performance), and the social domain (i.e. peer acceptance). A series of regression analyses showed that novelty seeking and puberty status moderated the link between friends' self-reported delinquency and participants' self-reported delinquency. In addition, all the factors except peer acceptance also had main effects that, cumulatively, reduced the association between friends' delinquency and self-rated delinquency through compensatory main effects. These results are discussed in light of the differential roles of moderating and of compensatory factors.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2006

Salivary testosterone and aggression, delinquency, and social dominance in a population-based longitudinal study of adolescent males.

Testosterone (T) has been found to have a stimulating effect on aggressive behavior in a wide range of vertebrate species. There is also some evidence of a positive relationship in humans, albeit less consistently. In the present study we investigated the relationship between T and aggression, dominance and delinquency over time, covering a period from early adolescence to adulthood. From a large population-based sample (n = 1.161) a subgroup of 96 boys was selected whose behavior had been assessed repeatedly by different informants from age 12 to 21 years, and who had provided multiple T samples over these years of assessment. On the whole, a decrease in aggressive and delinquent behavior was observed in a period in which T rises dramatically. Boys who developed a criminal record, had higher T levels at age 16. In addition, positive associations were observed between T and proactive and reactive aggression and self-reported delinquent behavior. Over the pubertal years different forms of aggressive and delinquent behavior were positively related to T, which may indicate that specific positive links are dependent on the social setting in which this relationship is assessed.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2006

Prediction of early-onset deviant peer group affiliation: a 12-year longitudinal study.

CONTEXT: Deviant peer group involvement is strongly related to onset, aggravation, and persistence of conduct problems during adolescence. OBJECTIVE: To identify early childhood behavioral profiles that predict early-onset deviant peer group involvement. DESIGN: A 12-year longitudinal study of behavioral development. SETTING: Fifty-three inner-city elementary schools in a large Canadian city. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 1037 boys in kindergarten from low socioeconomic neighborhoods. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Annual self-reported deviant peer group involvement from 11 to 17 years of age. RESULTS: Kindergarten boys were at highest risk of following an early adolescence trajectory of deviant peer group affiliation if they were hyperactive, fearless, and low on prosocial behaviors but much less at risk if they scored high on only 2 of these dimensions. Family adversity had no main effect but substantially increased the risk of following an early adolescence trajectory of deviant peer group affiliation for boys with a profile of hyperactivity, fearlessness, and low prosocial behaviors. CONCLUSIONS: Kindergarten boys from low socioeconomic areas who are hyperactive, fearless, infrequently prosocial, and raised in adverse family environments are at much heightened risk of engaging in deviant peer groups early in their development. Boys at high risk can be identified as early as kindergarten and should be targeted for preventive intervention.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2006

Flow and dissociation: examination of mean levels, cross-links, and links to emotional well-being across sports and recreational and pathological gambling.

To examine whether flow (Csikszentmihalyi (1990). Flow: The psychology of optimal experience. NY: Harper & Row) and dissociation (Jacobs (1986). Journal of Gambling Behavior, 2, 15-31) are experienced across sports and recreational and pathological gambling, we assessed a sample of 511 college students (256 females and 255 males, M age = 19.54) that was comprised of 14 pathological gamblers, 21 non-addicted gamblers, and 476 athletes. The findings showed that both flow and dissociation lay on a continuum of subjective experiences across activity groups. Specifically, pathological gamblers experienced lower levels of flow than athletes, whereas recreational gamblers lay in between the previous groups in this regard. In contrast, pathological gamblers experienced higher mean levels of dissociation than athletes and recreational gamblers who, in turn, were similar in this regard. A LISREL model showed that flow was positively associated with general emotional well-being, whereas dissociation was negatively associated with well-being.

Adult↗

PubMed2006

Examining genetic and environmental effects on reactive versus proactive aggression.

This study compared the contribution of genes and environment to teacher-rated reactive and proactive aggression in 6-year-old twin pairs (172 pairs: 55 monozygotic girls, 48 monozygotic boys, 33 dizygotic girls, 36 dizygotic boys). Genetic effects accounted for 39% of the variance of reactive aggression and for 41% of the variance of proactive aggression. The remainder of the variance was explained by unique environmental effects. Genetic as well as unique environmental effects were significantly correlated across reactive and proactive aggression (genetic correlation = .87, environmental correlation = .34), but this overlap was largely due to a common underlying form of aggression (i.e., teacher-rated physical aggression). Once common etiological factors due to physical aggression were accounted for, reactive and proactive aggression shared no other genes and only a few environmental influences, although additional specific genetic and environmental effects were observed for both reactive and proactive aggression. These specific effects indicate that both reactive and proactive aggression may be influenced mostly by socialization experiences that are specific to each type of aggression and only to a very small degree by specific genes.

Age Factors↗

PubMed2006

Intoxicated behavioral disinhibition and the heart rate response to alcohol.

This study examined the association between the heart rate (HR) response to alcohol intoxication, which is thought to reflect sensitivity to alcohol-induced reward and alcohol-induced behavioral disinhibition. High- and low-HR responders to alcohol participated in a go/no-go task, under sober and intoxicated conditions. Errors of commission on this task have previously been related to behavioral disinhibition. High-HR responders made more intoxicated commission errors as compared with low-HR responders. High-HR responders also reported increased alcohol consumption, and controlling for the latter did not alter the significant association between high-HR responders and increased intoxicated errors of commission. These results are consistent with previous findings of an increased risk for addictive and disinhibited behavioral propensities in individuals with a high-HR response to alcohol intoxication.

Alcoholic Intoxication↗

PubMed2006

Development of male proactive and reactive physical aggression during adolescence.

BACKGROUND: Different developmental courses have been postulated for proactive and reactive aggression. OBJECTIVE: Investigated the developmental course of proactive and reactive aggression in a large sample of adolescent boys from low socioeconomic areas. METHOD: A dual group-based joint trajectory method was used to identify distinct trajectories as well as similarities and differences in intra-individual changes. RESULTS: The trajectories for proactive and reactive aggression were similar: the majority of individuals followed infrequent and desisting trajectories. Contrary to expectations, very few adolescents followed trajectories of increasing proactive aggression. Reactive aggression was more common than proactive aggression. The overlap in trajectory group membership of individuals following trajectories of high peaking proactive and reactive aggression was nearly 100%. Across a period of 5 years, the boys on the high peaking trajectories were twice as likely to have affiliated with gangs. CONCLUSIONS: The developmental courses of proactive and reactive aggression are similar during adolescence. Males who tend to frequently use one form of aggression throughout adolescence also tend to frequently use the other and are at an increased risk for contemporaneous delinquent lifestyles.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2006

Heart rate response to alcohol and intoxicated aggressive behavior.

BACKGROUND: This study examined the elevated heart rate (HR) response to alcohol intoxication, thought to reflect an increased sensitivity to alcohol-induced reward, as a potential factor in the increased likelihood of alcohol-induced aggression. METHODS: Three groups, intoxicated high (n=37) and low (n=37) HR responders and sober controls (n=73), participated in a laboratory measure of physical aggression, the Taylor Aggression Paradigm. RESULTS: Results revealed that intoxicated high HR responders were more aggressive than the intoxicated low HR responders and sober controls. CONCLUSIONS: These findings are interpreted within a hypothetical model relating increased alcohol-induced aggression to a dysregulation in the motivational system responding to rewards.

Adult↗

PubMed2006

Verbal abuse by the teacher and child adjustment from kindergarten through grade 6.

OBJECTIVES: Many adults mention past incidences of verbal abuse by the teacher as the most overwhelming negative experience in their lives. The present study examined (1) the course and stability of verbal abuse by the teacher from kindergarten through grade 4 and (2) the link between verbal abuse by the teacher and children's behavioral, emotional, and academic adjustment. DESIGN: Participants were 399 children (177 girls) who were assessed yearly over a period of 7 years, starting in kindergarten. Verbal abuse by the teacher, as well as acceptance versus rejection by the peer group from kindergarten through grade 4, were assessed through peer nomination. Child adjustment from kindergarten through grade 4 (antisocial behavior, attention problems, anxiety) was evaluated by the teacher. Child adjustment in early adolescence (delinquent behavior, depressive feelings, academic performance) was assessed by teacher evaluations and self-reports. RESULTS: The vast majority of children (approximately 85%) have almost 0 risk of becoming a target of verbal abuse by the teacher over the course of elementary school. However, a small minority of children (15%) seems to be at relatively high risk of verbal abuse by the teacher in kindergarten, and this risk increases even further over the course of elementary school. Boys, as well as children with high levels of early antisocial behavior and attention problems in kindergarten, are at high risk of verbal abuse by the teacher during elementary school. In turn, verbal abuse by the teacher is significantly related to subsequent delinquent behavior and academic difficulties in early adolescence, although this effect depends on child characteristics. CONCLUSIONS: Verbal abuse by the teacher seems to be a highly stable phenomenon for at-risk children. Children who are relatively well adjusted are at low risk of becoming the target of verbal abuse by the teacher. If they do, however, these children are the most vulnerable to subsequent developmental difficulties.

Child↗

PubMed2005

Personality traits as correlates of suicide attempts and suicidal ideation in young adults.

BACKGROUND: Adults in their twenties appear to be at high risk for suicidal behaviors (SBs) and there is substantial evidence suggesting that certain personality traits may increase individual vulnerability to suicide. METHOD: We investigated relationships of personality traits with two SBs in a cohort (n=1140) of 21- to 24-year-old adults, representative of the general population of Quebec. Subjects were assessed using a series of structured diagnostic and personality trait questionnaires. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were employed to identify personality trait correlates of suicide-attempt history and serious suicidal ideation in the context of other known risk factors, such as psychopathology and experiences of childhood sexual and physical abuse. RESULTS: Traits of conduct problems contributed to both suicide attempts [odds ratio (OR) 1.03, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.01-1.06] and suicidal ideation (OR 1.04, 95% CI 1.02-1.07), while identity problems (OR 1.10, 95% CI 1.07-1.13) and gender-moderated impulsivity contributed exclusively to suicidal ideation. CONCLUSIONS: Personality traits may make independent contributions to current suicidal ideation and previous suicide attempts in certain subgroups of suicidal individuals. In order to further explore their utility as markers of suicide risk and targets of intervention further investigation in clinical samples and other cultural and age groups is necessary.

Adult↗

PubMed2005

Joint trajectories of gambling, alcohol and marijuana use during adolescence: a person- and variable-centered developmental approach.

The usefulness of Moffitt's (1993) [Moffitt, T. E. (1993). Adolescence-limited and life-course-persistent antisocial behavior: A developmental taxonomy. Psychological Review, 100, 674-701.] theory of antisocial behavior was examined regarding gambling, alcohol and marijuana use. We assessed 903 Caucasian boys' developmental trajectories of these behaviors annually from age 11 through age 16. Severity of problems with these behaviors were assessed at ages 17 and 23. As correlates of these behaviors, teacher-rated personality and self-reported parenting were assessed at age 10. Self-reported autonomy was measured at ages 11 and 14. A cluster analysis on the correlates yielded two clusters. Membership in the cluster without adult problems was associated with either late onset of gambling and/or alcohol use trajectories or consistently low involvement in each of the behaviors. This cluster may correspond to Moffitt's adolescence-limited group and uninvolved adolescents, respectively. Membership in the cluster with subsequent adult problems was associated with early initiation of at least one of the three behaviors and involvement in each of them during adolescence. This cluster may correspond to Moffitt's life-course-persistent group. Findings indicate that early assessment of correlates used in the cluster analysis may be useful for screening and preventive purposes.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2005

Can teachers' behavior ratings be used to screen early adolescent boys for psychiatric diagnoses?

The present study examined if a short, 22-item teacher rating questionnaire could be used to screen young adolescent boys for psychiatric diagnoses. Subjects were 239 12-year-old boys from a community sample of low socioeconomic status families. Child and parent versions of the Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children were used to provide DSM-III-R diagnoses. Results show a low to moderate screening value for the Short Social Behavior Questionnaire (S-SBQ) scales, with best results for externalizing disorders. The method used to establish the diagnoses had an impact on the screening efficacy of the S-SBQ, higher prevalence rates resulting in a lower proportion of false-positives for the same cutoff point. Additional research is needed to assess the screening efficacy of the S-SBQ across ages and gender, but results suggest that teacher ratings with the S-SBQ could be used to screen boys with externalizing disorders at the end of elementary school.

Child↗

PubMed2005

Relations with parents and with peers, temperament, and trajectories of depressed mood during early adolescence.

The present study examined (a) whether groups of children can be empirically identified with distinct longitudinal profiles of depressed mood from late childhood through early adolescence, (b) to what extent these different longitudinal depression profiles are predicted by problematic relations with parents, same-sex peers, and other-sex peers, and (c) what role individuals' temperamental characteristics play in this context. Based on a sample of 414 early adolescents (197 girls), four groups were identified with distinct longitudinal profiles of depressed mood between ages 11 and 14: One group with consistently low levels of depressed mood, another with consistently moderate levels of depressed mood, a third group whose depressed mood increased sharply from late childhood through early adolescence, and a fourth group who already showed clinical-range levels of depressed mood during late childhood and whose depressive feelings increased even slightly more thereafter. Subsequent analyses revealed that rejection by same-sex peers was related to the odds of following an increasing trajectory of depressed mood, but only for girls with a highly reactive temperament. A problematic relationship with parents increased the odds of an elevated trajectory of depressed mood regardless of individual temperament. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2005

Modifying youths' perception toward pathological gamblers.

This study evaluates the effectiveness of a video specifically designed to provide relevant information on gambling and to correct the perceptions that adolescents have about pathological gamblers. Results indicate that the video significantly improved participants' knowledge about gambling and corrected their misconceptions toward excessive gamblers. The implications of these results for the prevention of gambling problems are discussed.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2005

Concordance between the SOGS-RA and the DSM-IV criteria for pathological gambling among youth.

This study assessed the possible differences in the classification of adolescent gamblers when using the South Oaks Gambling Screen-Revised for Adolescents (SOGS-RA; K. C. Winters, R. D. Stinchfield, & J. Fulkerson, 1993) versus a clinical interview that was based on Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV; American Psychiatric Association, 1994) criteria for pathological gambling. A total of 631 adolescents ages 15-17 years participated in the two phases of the study. Results revealed that of the 93 adolescents who had been screened as problem gamblers according to the SOGS-RA, only 7 could be clinically confirmed as pathological gamblers according to the criteria used at present to define pathological gambling. The need to clarify the construct of pathological gambling among youth is discussed.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2005

Youth gangs, delinquency and drug use: a test of the selection, facilitation, and enhancement hypotheses.

BACKGROUND: Three different explanations have been given for the observation that adolescent gang members report more delinquent behaviour than their counterparts who do not affiliate with gangs: a) adolescents who commit more crimes join gangs (selection hypothesis); b) gang membership facilitates deviant behaviour (facilitation hypothesis); c) selection and facilitation work interactively (enhancement hypothesis). The aim of this study was to test these hypotheses, while controlling for self-reported delinquency, friends' delinquency, and individual as well as family characteristics. METHOD: The sample included 756 boys first assessed when they attended kindergarten in disadvantaged areas of Montreal. Gang membership was assessed at the ages of 14, 15 and 16 years. Delinquency and drug use data were collected from self-reports and court files at the same ages. RESULTS: Gang members displayed far higher rates of delinquent behaviour and drug use than non-gang members. The results support the facilitation model for transient gang members (i.e., youths in a gang during only one of the three periods considered) and the enhancement model for stable gang members (i.e., youths in a gang for at least two of the periods considered), for person and property offences. The association between gang membership and delinquency persisted after introducing the control variables. Additional analyses showed that the effect associated with belonging to a gang was beyond that of simply having delinquent friends. CONCLUSION: Preventing the creation and participation in such gangs should reduce the frequency of antisocial behaviour during adolescence.

Adolescent↗