Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, Jul 1, 2002
The objective of the present study was to describe the development of boys and girls during the e... more The objective of the present study was to describe the development of boys and girls during the elementary-school years on three dimensions that conceptually and empirically represent risk for maladjustment. Every year between kindergarten and grade six, teachers rated the impulsivity, fearfulness, and helpfulness dimensions among a sample of 1,865 children representative of kindergarten boys and girls in the province of Quebec (Canada) in 1986-87. A group-based trajectory method was used to 1) identify groups of boys and girls following distinct-level trajectories of behaviours (on each dimension) during the elementary-school years; 2) estimate the proportion of children in each of the identified trajectory groups; and 3) estimate the patterns of consistency and variations in trajectories. The results indicated that the best models comprised three distinct-level trajectory groups on fearfulness and helpfulness (a low, moderate, and high group) and four distinct-level trajectory groups on impulsivity. The helpfulness and fearfulness trajectory groups were generally more stable than the impulsivity groups. The broad patterns of development were similar across sexes. However, there were more boys on the higher impulsivity trajectories and low helpfulness trajectory, while there were more girls on the high fearfulness trajectory. We found that behavioural consistency over middle childhood varied across trajectory groups and across dimensions, and we identified sex differences in the distribution of children in the different trajectory groups that may reflect gender-specific risks for psychopathology.
mania without psychosis. Also, having a manic bipolar episode with psychotic symptoms was not ass... more mania without psychosis. Also, having a manic bipolar episode with psychotic symptoms was not associated to being prescribed a longacting injectable antipsychotic. Conclusions: The presence of psychotic symptoms in bipolar manic episodes were associated to male gender and younger age but not to indirect measures of illness severity. Disclosure: No significant relationships.
Using a French-Canadian population-based longitudinal data set, we examine the impact of socioeco... more Using a French-Canadian population-based longitudinal data set, we examine the impact of socioeconomic factors (paternal education and family structure); inherent individual factors (child gender and developmental trajectories of physical aggression from early to later childhood, problematic substance use), family environment (concurrent parent-child involvement, parental problematic substance use), and prospective and concurrent parenting process variables (mean parental supervision at puberty, concurrent punishment practices) as predictors of adolescent-directed aggression against fathers (in the last 6 months). A childhood behavioral pattern characterized by physical aggression showed the highest risk of adolescent-directed verbal and physical aggression toward fathers, regardless of sex. In terms of parental practices, verbal (and not corporal) punishment in the last 6 months significantly predicted aggression toward fathers. A childhood life-course of violence is likely to culminate in aggression toward fathers during adolescence. Beyond this risk, it seems that harsh verbal punishment by parents builds up the odds of childdirected aggression against fathers. Compared to the preschool years, the ever diminishing size differential between parents and adolescent children makes their sons and daughters more formidable opponents in a heated family discussion. Given the addition of some risk factors in the equation, aggressive altercations between parents and teenagers have the potential to escalate into dangerous domestic violence. Clinicians could benefit greatly from a better understanding of the risk factors involved and their individual contribution to the violent outcome. Given that risk typologies of this form of domestic aggression are likely to be unique for mothers and fathers, we longitudinally examine the individual and contextual risk factors for verbal and physical aggression against fathers by their adolescent sons and daughters. We do so at its peak age (Agnew and Huguley 1989), which also corresponds to the peak age of adolescent aggression toward nonrelated individuals, especially among males (Loeber and Stouthamer-Loeber 1998). Most samples have had a large age-range and generally have not been population-based, and previous epidemiological estimates provided in the literature have been vague, hovering between 5% and 20% (Agnew and
This study examines the link between behavior in kindergarten and adult-life welfare receipt. Tea... more This study examines the link between behavior in kindergarten and adult-life welfare receipt. Teacher-rated behavioral assessments were obtained for inattention, hyperactivity, aggression–opposition, anxiety, and prosociality when children (n=2960) were aged 5–6 years and linked to their tax return records from age 18–35 years. We used group-based based trajectory modeling to identify distinct trajectories of welfare receipt and multinomial logistic regression models to examine the association between behaviors and trajectory group membership. The child's sex, IQ, and family background were adjusted for. Four trajectories of welfare receipt were identified: low (n = 2,390, 80.7%), declining (n = 260, 8.8%), rising (n = 150, 5.2%), and chronic (n = 160, 5.4%). Relative to the low trajectory, inattention and aggression–opposition at age 6 years were associated with increased risk of following a declining, rising, and chronic trajectory of welfare receipt, independent of hyperactiv...
IntroductionChildhood behavioral problems are highly prevalent in school-aged children and are as... more IntroductionChildhood behavioral problems are highly prevalent in school-aged children and are associated with poor long-term outcomes. Yet little is known about their association with patterns of partnering in adulthood.ObjectivesTo (1) describe patterns of partnering from age 18-35 years in a large population-based sample, and (2) examine the association between childhood behavioural problems and adult partnering patterns.MethodsBehavioural ratings were prospectively obtained from teachers when children (n=2960) were aged 10-12 years – for inattention, hyperactivity, aggression-opposition, anxiety and prosociality – and linked to their tax return records from age 18-35 years. We used group-based trajectory modelling to identify distinct trajectories of partnering (married or cohabitating) and multinomial regression models to examine the association between childhood behaviour and trajectory group membership.Results Five distinct trajectories of partnering were identified: early-pa...
Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 2001
Limited attention has been given to the study of antecedents of antisocial behavior in females co... more Limited attention has been given to the study of antecedents of antisocial behavior in females compared with males. Still, conduct disorder (CD) is one of the most common psychiatric diagnoses among adolescent girls . Girls with CD have poor outcomes, including substance abuse and dependence, antisocial personality disorder, internalizing disorders, early and vio-lent death, criminal charges, failing to finish high school, and poor health (
The objective of the present study was to describe the development of boys and girls during the e... more The objective of the present study was to describe the development of boys and girls during the elementary-school years on three dimensions that conceptually and empirically represent risk for maladjustment. Every year between kindergarten and grade six, teachers rated the impulsivity, fearfulness, and helpfulness dimensions among a sample of 1,865 children representative of kindergarten boys and girls in the province of Quebec (Canada) in 1986-87. A group-based trajectory method was used to 1) identify groups of boys and girls following distinct-level trajectories of behaviours (on each dimension) during the elementary-school years; 2) estimate the proportion of children in each of the identified trajectory groups; and 3) estimate the patterns of consistency and variations in trajectories. The results indicated that the best models comprised three distinct-level trajectory groups on fearfulness and helpfulness (a low, moderate, and high group) and four distinct-level trajectory groups on impulsivity. The helpfulness and fearfulness trajectory groups were generally more stable than the impulsivity groups. The broad patterns of development were similar across sexes. However, there were more boys on the higher impulsivity trajectories and low helpfulness trajectory, while there were more girls on the high fearfulness trajectory. We found that behavioural consistency over middle childhood varied across trajectory groups and across dimensions, and we identified sex differences in the distribution of children in the different trajectory groups that may reflect gender-specific risks for psychopathology.
Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology, 2006
This study examined the association between the heart rate (HR) response to alcohol intoxication,... more 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 alcoholinduced 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.
Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology, 2003
Some sons of male alcoholics (SOMAs) are characterized by an increased heart rate (HR) response t... more Some sons of male alcoholics (SOMAs) are characterized by an increased heart rate (HR) response to alcohol intoxication, which is thought to reflect increased sensitivity to alcoholinduced reward. Such a response has also been related to increased physical aggression. However, the confounding effect of aggression in SOMAs may be obscuring the interpretation of these findings. The HR response to alcohol was therefore assessed in 4 groups: high/low aggressive SOMAs and high/low aggressive non-SOMAs. Results indicate that aggressive SOMAs had the highest intoxicated HR response and that they reported the most alcohol consumption. This suggests that in some cases the high comorbidity between alcohol misuse and aggression is related to an increased sensitivity to alcohol-induced reward.
This article uses a group-based modeling approach to jointly estimate disability and mortality tr... more This article uses a group-based modeling approach to jointly estimate disability and mortality trajectories over time based on data from the population aged 80 and older in China, and explores relations of demographic, socioeconomic, and early-life characteristics to membership in gender-specific trajectory groups. A three-group model best fits the data for both males and females. For most groups, predicted numbers of limitations in activities of daily living (ADLs) increase with age, but the pace is gradual in some cases and rapid in others. For each gender, the estimated mortality probability trajectories for the three groups follow a hierarchy that is related to the predicted ADL counts at age 80. Only a few characteristics predict trajectory-group membership. Prior nonagricultural occupation is associated with less favorable disability trajectories for both genders. For females, rural residence, a greater number of children ever born, and having a father who did not work in agri...
This study used data from 6 sites and 3 countries to examine the developmental course of physical... more This study used data from 6 sites and 3 countries to examine the developmental course of physical aggression in childhood and to analyze its linkage to violent and nonviolent offending outcomes in adolescence. The results indicate that among boys there is continuity in problem behavior from childhood to adolescence and that such continuity is especially acute when early problem behavior takes the form of physical aggression. Chronic physical aggression during the elementary school years specifically increases the risk for continued physical violence as well as other nonviolent forms of delinquency during adolescence. However, this conclusion is reserved primarily for boys, because the results indicate no clear linkage between childhood physical aggression and adolescent offending among female samples despite notable similarities across male and female samples in the developmental course of physical aggression in childhood. Children's behavior problems have long been considered precursors of juvenile delinquency and adult criminality (Carpenter, 1851;. The development of these behavior problems during the elementary school years was the object of intensive investigations over the last quarter of the 20th century. A number of large-scale longitudinal studies in different industrialized countries used repeated measurements over many years to trace the development of behavior problems. These studies followed older pioneering longitudinal studies that were retrospective (e.g., or that had limited their prospective assessments to one time point during childhood and one or two time points during adolescence and adulthood (e.g., West & Harrington, 1973).
In a nonrandomized or observational study, propensity scores may be used to balance observed cova... more In a nonrandomized or observational study, propensity scores may be used to balance observed covariates and trajectory groups may be used to control baseline or pretreatment measures of outcome. The trajectory groups also aid in characterizing classes of subjects for whom no good matches are available and to define substantively interesting groups between which treatment effects may vary. These and related methods are illustrated using data from a Montreal-based study. The effects on subsequent violence of gang joining at age 14 are studied while controlling for measured characteristics of boys prior to age 14. The boys are divided into trajectory groups based on violence from ages 11 to 13. Within trajectory group, joiners are optimally matched to a variable number of controls using propensity scores, Mahalanobis distances, and a combinatorial optimization algorithm. Use of variable ratio matching results in greater efficiency than pair matching and also greater bias reduction than matching at a fixed ratio. The possible impact of failing to adjust for an important but unmeasured covariate is examined using sensitivity analysis.
Child Psychiatry & Human Development, May 31, 2021
Developmental trajectories of common mental health issues such as ADHD symptoms, internalising pr... more Developmental trajectories of common mental health issues such as ADHD symptoms, internalising problems, and externalising problems can often be usefully summarised in terms of a small number of 'developmental subtypes' (e.g., 'childhood onset', 'adolescent onset') that may differ in their profiles or levels of clinically meaningful variables such as etiological risk factors. However, given the strong tendency for symptoms in these domains to co-occur, it is important to consider not only developmental subtypes in each domain individually, but also the joint developmental subtypes defined by symptoms trajectories in all three domains together (e.g., 'late onset multimorbid', 'pure internalising', 'early onset multimorbid'). Previous research has illuminated the joint developmental subtypes of ADHD symptoms, internalising problems, and externalising problems that emerge from normative longitudinal data using methods such as group-based trajectory modelling, as well as predictors of membership in these developmental subtypes. However, information on the long-term outcomes of developmental subtype membership is critical to illuminate the likely nature and intensity of support needs required for individuals whose trajectories fit different developmental subtypes. We, therefore, evaluated the relations between developmental subtypes previously derived using group-based trajectory modelling in the z-proso study (n = 1620 with trajectory data at ages 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15) and early adulthood outcomes. Individuals with multimorbid trajectories but not 'pure' internalising problem elevations showed higher levels of social exclusion and delinquency at age 20. These associations held irrespective of the specific developmental course of symptoms (e.g., early versus late onset versus remitting). There was also some evidence that intimate partner violence acts as a form of heterotypic continuity for earlier externalising problems. Results underline the need for early intervention to address the pathways that lead to social exclusion and delinquency among young people with multiple co-occurring mental health issues. Keywords Comorbidity • Group-based trajectory modelling • ADHD • Internalising problems • Externalising problems Developmental trajectories of mental health symptoms can vary considerably from individual to individual; however,
BackgroundChildhood disruptive behaviors are highly prevalent and associated with adverse long-te... more BackgroundChildhood disruptive behaviors are highly prevalent and associated with adverse long-term social and economic outcomes. Trajectories of welfare receipt in early adulthood and the association of childhood behaviors with high welfare receipt trajectories have not been examined.MethodsBoys (n = 1000) from low socioeconomic backgrounds were assessed by kindergarten teachers for inattention, hyperactivity, aggression, opposition, and prosociality, and prospectively followed up for 30 years. We used group-base trajectory modeling to estimate trajectories of welfare receipt from age 19–36 years using government tax return records, then examined the association between teacher-rated behaviors and trajectory group membership using mixed effects multinomial regression models.ResultsThree trajectories of welfare receipt were identified: low (70.8%), declining (19.9%), and chronic (9.3%). The mean annual personal employment earnings (US$) for the three groups at age 35/36 years was $3...
IMPORTANCE Specifying the association between childhood behaviors and adult earnings can inform t... more IMPORTANCE Specifying the association between childhood behaviors and adult earnings can inform the development of screening tools and preventive interventions to enhance social integration and economic participation. OBJECTIVE To test the association between behaviors at age 6 years and employment earnings at age 33 to 35 years. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS This study obtained data from the Quebec Longitudinal Study of Kindergarten Children, a population-based sample of boys and girls (n = 3020) born
The developmental course of hyperactivity-impulsivity and inattention symptoms from infancy to ad... more The developmental course of hyperactivity-impulsivity and inattention symptoms from infancy to adolescence has not been documented in a population sample. The aim of this study was to describe the developmental course of hyperactivity-impulsivity and inattention symptoms from 1.5 to 17 years using multiple informants, and to identify perinatal risk factors associated with following elevated (high-risk) trajectories. Using a population-based birth cohort (n = 1374), symptom ratings from mothers (1.5-8 years), teachers (6-13 years) and participant self-reports (10-17 years) were combined using group-based multi-trajectory modeling to identify informants' convergence in identifying high-symptom trajectories of hyperactivity-impulsivity and inattention over time. Perinatal risk factors associated with high-symptom trajectories were identified using stepwise logistic regression. The study found that symptoms of hyperactivity-impulsivity broadly declined from 1.5 to 17 years while symptoms of inattention remained constant. 21.4% of participants followed elevated trajectories of hyperactivity-impulsivity and 20.2% followed elevated trajectories of inattention; 11.6% followed elevated trajectories of both types of symptoms concurrently. Risk factors for high-risk trajectories of hyperactivity-impulsivity were low maternal education, prenatal alcohol exposure, non-intact family, maternal depression, and low child IQ; for high-risk inattention they were prenatal street drug exposure, early motherhood, low maternal education, maternal depression and low child IQ. Risk factors for trajectories of high-risk hyperactivity-impulsivity and inattention concurrently were low maternal education, maternal depression, and low child IQ. The combination of longitudinal assessments from multiple informants (i.e., mother, teacher, participant-reports) provides a new way to characterize hyperactivity-impulsivity and inattention phenotypes over time.
Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, Jul 1, 2002
The objective of the present study was to describe the development of boys and girls during the e... more The objective of the present study was to describe the development of boys and girls during the elementary-school years on three dimensions that conceptually and empirically represent risk for maladjustment. Every year between kindergarten and grade six, teachers rated the impulsivity, fearfulness, and helpfulness dimensions among a sample of 1,865 children representative of kindergarten boys and girls in the province of Quebec (Canada) in 1986-87. A group-based trajectory method was used to 1) identify groups of boys and girls following distinct-level trajectories of behaviours (on each dimension) during the elementary-school years; 2) estimate the proportion of children in each of the identified trajectory groups; and 3) estimate the patterns of consistency and variations in trajectories. The results indicated that the best models comprised three distinct-level trajectory groups on fearfulness and helpfulness (a low, moderate, and high group) and four distinct-level trajectory groups on impulsivity. The helpfulness and fearfulness trajectory groups were generally more stable than the impulsivity groups. The broad patterns of development were similar across sexes. However, there were more boys on the higher impulsivity trajectories and low helpfulness trajectory, while there were more girls on the high fearfulness trajectory. We found that behavioural consistency over middle childhood varied across trajectory groups and across dimensions, and we identified sex differences in the distribution of children in the different trajectory groups that may reflect gender-specific risks for psychopathology.
mania without psychosis. Also, having a manic bipolar episode with psychotic symptoms was not ass... more mania without psychosis. Also, having a manic bipolar episode with psychotic symptoms was not associated to being prescribed a longacting injectable antipsychotic. Conclusions: The presence of psychotic symptoms in bipolar manic episodes were associated to male gender and younger age but not to indirect measures of illness severity. Disclosure: No significant relationships.
Using a French-Canadian population-based longitudinal data set, we examine the impact of socioeco... more Using a French-Canadian population-based longitudinal data set, we examine the impact of socioeconomic factors (paternal education and family structure); inherent individual factors (child gender and developmental trajectories of physical aggression from early to later childhood, problematic substance use), family environment (concurrent parent-child involvement, parental problematic substance use), and prospective and concurrent parenting process variables (mean parental supervision at puberty, concurrent punishment practices) as predictors of adolescent-directed aggression against fathers (in the last 6 months). A childhood behavioral pattern characterized by physical aggression showed the highest risk of adolescent-directed verbal and physical aggression toward fathers, regardless of sex. In terms of parental practices, verbal (and not corporal) punishment in the last 6 months significantly predicted aggression toward fathers. A childhood life-course of violence is likely to culminate in aggression toward fathers during adolescence. Beyond this risk, it seems that harsh verbal punishment by parents builds up the odds of childdirected aggression against fathers. Compared to the preschool years, the ever diminishing size differential between parents and adolescent children makes their sons and daughters more formidable opponents in a heated family discussion. Given the addition of some risk factors in the equation, aggressive altercations between parents and teenagers have the potential to escalate into dangerous domestic violence. Clinicians could benefit greatly from a better understanding of the risk factors involved and their individual contribution to the violent outcome. Given that risk typologies of this form of domestic aggression are likely to be unique for mothers and fathers, we longitudinally examine the individual and contextual risk factors for verbal and physical aggression against fathers by their adolescent sons and daughters. We do so at its peak age (Agnew and Huguley 1989), which also corresponds to the peak age of adolescent aggression toward nonrelated individuals, especially among males (Loeber and Stouthamer-Loeber 1998). Most samples have had a large age-range and generally have not been population-based, and previous epidemiological estimates provided in the literature have been vague, hovering between 5% and 20% (Agnew and
This study examines the link between behavior in kindergarten and adult-life welfare receipt. Tea... more This study examines the link between behavior in kindergarten and adult-life welfare receipt. Teacher-rated behavioral assessments were obtained for inattention, hyperactivity, aggression–opposition, anxiety, and prosociality when children (n=2960) were aged 5–6 years and linked to their tax return records from age 18–35 years. We used group-based based trajectory modeling to identify distinct trajectories of welfare receipt and multinomial logistic regression models to examine the association between behaviors and trajectory group membership. The child's sex, IQ, and family background were adjusted for. Four trajectories of welfare receipt were identified: low (n = 2,390, 80.7%), declining (n = 260, 8.8%), rising (n = 150, 5.2%), and chronic (n = 160, 5.4%). Relative to the low trajectory, inattention and aggression–opposition at age 6 years were associated with increased risk of following a declining, rising, and chronic trajectory of welfare receipt, independent of hyperactiv...
IntroductionChildhood behavioral problems are highly prevalent in school-aged children and are as... more IntroductionChildhood behavioral problems are highly prevalent in school-aged children and are associated with poor long-term outcomes. Yet little is known about their association with patterns of partnering in adulthood.ObjectivesTo (1) describe patterns of partnering from age 18-35 years in a large population-based sample, and (2) examine the association between childhood behavioural problems and adult partnering patterns.MethodsBehavioural ratings were prospectively obtained from teachers when children (n=2960) were aged 10-12 years – for inattention, hyperactivity, aggression-opposition, anxiety and prosociality – and linked to their tax return records from age 18-35 years. We used group-based trajectory modelling to identify distinct trajectories of partnering (married or cohabitating) and multinomial regression models to examine the association between childhood behaviour and trajectory group membership.Results Five distinct trajectories of partnering were identified: early-pa...
Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 2001
Limited attention has been given to the study of antecedents of antisocial behavior in females co... more Limited attention has been given to the study of antecedents of antisocial behavior in females compared with males. Still, conduct disorder (CD) is one of the most common psychiatric diagnoses among adolescent girls . Girls with CD have poor outcomes, including substance abuse and dependence, antisocial personality disorder, internalizing disorders, early and vio-lent death, criminal charges, failing to finish high school, and poor health (
The objective of the present study was to describe the development of boys and girls during the e... more The objective of the present study was to describe the development of boys and girls during the elementary-school years on three dimensions that conceptually and empirically represent risk for maladjustment. Every year between kindergarten and grade six, teachers rated the impulsivity, fearfulness, and helpfulness dimensions among a sample of 1,865 children representative of kindergarten boys and girls in the province of Quebec (Canada) in 1986-87. A group-based trajectory method was used to 1) identify groups of boys and girls following distinct-level trajectories of behaviours (on each dimension) during the elementary-school years; 2) estimate the proportion of children in each of the identified trajectory groups; and 3) estimate the patterns of consistency and variations in trajectories. The results indicated that the best models comprised three distinct-level trajectory groups on fearfulness and helpfulness (a low, moderate, and high group) and four distinct-level trajectory groups on impulsivity. The helpfulness and fearfulness trajectory groups were generally more stable than the impulsivity groups. The broad patterns of development were similar across sexes. However, there were more boys on the higher impulsivity trajectories and low helpfulness trajectory, while there were more girls on the high fearfulness trajectory. We found that behavioural consistency over middle childhood varied across trajectory groups and across dimensions, and we identified sex differences in the distribution of children in the different trajectory groups that may reflect gender-specific risks for psychopathology.
Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology, 2006
This study examined the association between the heart rate (HR) response to alcohol intoxication,... more 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 alcoholinduced 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.
Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology, 2003
Some sons of male alcoholics (SOMAs) are characterized by an increased heart rate (HR) response t... more Some sons of male alcoholics (SOMAs) are characterized by an increased heart rate (HR) response to alcohol intoxication, which is thought to reflect increased sensitivity to alcoholinduced reward. Such a response has also been related to increased physical aggression. However, the confounding effect of aggression in SOMAs may be obscuring the interpretation of these findings. The HR response to alcohol was therefore assessed in 4 groups: high/low aggressive SOMAs and high/low aggressive non-SOMAs. Results indicate that aggressive SOMAs had the highest intoxicated HR response and that they reported the most alcohol consumption. This suggests that in some cases the high comorbidity between alcohol misuse and aggression is related to an increased sensitivity to alcohol-induced reward.
This article uses a group-based modeling approach to jointly estimate disability and mortality tr... more This article uses a group-based modeling approach to jointly estimate disability and mortality trajectories over time based on data from the population aged 80 and older in China, and explores relations of demographic, socioeconomic, and early-life characteristics to membership in gender-specific trajectory groups. A three-group model best fits the data for both males and females. For most groups, predicted numbers of limitations in activities of daily living (ADLs) increase with age, but the pace is gradual in some cases and rapid in others. For each gender, the estimated mortality probability trajectories for the three groups follow a hierarchy that is related to the predicted ADL counts at age 80. Only a few characteristics predict trajectory-group membership. Prior nonagricultural occupation is associated with less favorable disability trajectories for both genders. For females, rural residence, a greater number of children ever born, and having a father who did not work in agri...
This study used data from 6 sites and 3 countries to examine the developmental course of physical... more This study used data from 6 sites and 3 countries to examine the developmental course of physical aggression in childhood and to analyze its linkage to violent and nonviolent offending outcomes in adolescence. The results indicate that among boys there is continuity in problem behavior from childhood to adolescence and that such continuity is especially acute when early problem behavior takes the form of physical aggression. Chronic physical aggression during the elementary school years specifically increases the risk for continued physical violence as well as other nonviolent forms of delinquency during adolescence. However, this conclusion is reserved primarily for boys, because the results indicate no clear linkage between childhood physical aggression and adolescent offending among female samples despite notable similarities across male and female samples in the developmental course of physical aggression in childhood. Children's behavior problems have long been considered precursors of juvenile delinquency and adult criminality (Carpenter, 1851;. The development of these behavior problems during the elementary school years was the object of intensive investigations over the last quarter of the 20th century. A number of large-scale longitudinal studies in different industrialized countries used repeated measurements over many years to trace the development of behavior problems. These studies followed older pioneering longitudinal studies that were retrospective (e.g., or that had limited their prospective assessments to one time point during childhood and one or two time points during adolescence and adulthood (e.g., West & Harrington, 1973).
In a nonrandomized or observational study, propensity scores may be used to balance observed cova... more In a nonrandomized or observational study, propensity scores may be used to balance observed covariates and trajectory groups may be used to control baseline or pretreatment measures of outcome. The trajectory groups also aid in characterizing classes of subjects for whom no good matches are available and to define substantively interesting groups between which treatment effects may vary. These and related methods are illustrated using data from a Montreal-based study. The effects on subsequent violence of gang joining at age 14 are studied while controlling for measured characteristics of boys prior to age 14. The boys are divided into trajectory groups based on violence from ages 11 to 13. Within trajectory group, joiners are optimally matched to a variable number of controls using propensity scores, Mahalanobis distances, and a combinatorial optimization algorithm. Use of variable ratio matching results in greater efficiency than pair matching and also greater bias reduction than matching at a fixed ratio. The possible impact of failing to adjust for an important but unmeasured covariate is examined using sensitivity analysis.
Child Psychiatry & Human Development, May 31, 2021
Developmental trajectories of common mental health issues such as ADHD symptoms, internalising pr... more Developmental trajectories of common mental health issues such as ADHD symptoms, internalising problems, and externalising problems can often be usefully summarised in terms of a small number of 'developmental subtypes' (e.g., 'childhood onset', 'adolescent onset') that may differ in their profiles or levels of clinically meaningful variables such as etiological risk factors. However, given the strong tendency for symptoms in these domains to co-occur, it is important to consider not only developmental subtypes in each domain individually, but also the joint developmental subtypes defined by symptoms trajectories in all three domains together (e.g., 'late onset multimorbid', 'pure internalising', 'early onset multimorbid'). Previous research has illuminated the joint developmental subtypes of ADHD symptoms, internalising problems, and externalising problems that emerge from normative longitudinal data using methods such as group-based trajectory modelling, as well as predictors of membership in these developmental subtypes. However, information on the long-term outcomes of developmental subtype membership is critical to illuminate the likely nature and intensity of support needs required for individuals whose trajectories fit different developmental subtypes. We, therefore, evaluated the relations between developmental subtypes previously derived using group-based trajectory modelling in the z-proso study (n = 1620 with trajectory data at ages 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15) and early adulthood outcomes. Individuals with multimorbid trajectories but not 'pure' internalising problem elevations showed higher levels of social exclusion and delinquency at age 20. These associations held irrespective of the specific developmental course of symptoms (e.g., early versus late onset versus remitting). There was also some evidence that intimate partner violence acts as a form of heterotypic continuity for earlier externalising problems. Results underline the need for early intervention to address the pathways that lead to social exclusion and delinquency among young people with multiple co-occurring mental health issues. Keywords Comorbidity • Group-based trajectory modelling • ADHD • Internalising problems • Externalising problems Developmental trajectories of mental health symptoms can vary considerably from individual to individual; however,
BackgroundChildhood disruptive behaviors are highly prevalent and associated with adverse long-te... more BackgroundChildhood disruptive behaviors are highly prevalent and associated with adverse long-term social and economic outcomes. Trajectories of welfare receipt in early adulthood and the association of childhood behaviors with high welfare receipt trajectories have not been examined.MethodsBoys (n = 1000) from low socioeconomic backgrounds were assessed by kindergarten teachers for inattention, hyperactivity, aggression, opposition, and prosociality, and prospectively followed up for 30 years. We used group-base trajectory modeling to estimate trajectories of welfare receipt from age 19–36 years using government tax return records, then examined the association between teacher-rated behaviors and trajectory group membership using mixed effects multinomial regression models.ResultsThree trajectories of welfare receipt were identified: low (70.8%), declining (19.9%), and chronic (9.3%). The mean annual personal employment earnings (US$) for the three groups at age 35/36 years was $3...
IMPORTANCE Specifying the association between childhood behaviors and adult earnings can inform t... more IMPORTANCE Specifying the association between childhood behaviors and adult earnings can inform the development of screening tools and preventive interventions to enhance social integration and economic participation. OBJECTIVE To test the association between behaviors at age 6 years and employment earnings at age 33 to 35 years. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS This study obtained data from the Quebec Longitudinal Study of Kindergarten Children, a population-based sample of boys and girls (n = 3020) born
The developmental course of hyperactivity-impulsivity and inattention symptoms from infancy to ad... more The developmental course of hyperactivity-impulsivity and inattention symptoms from infancy to adolescence has not been documented in a population sample. The aim of this study was to describe the developmental course of hyperactivity-impulsivity and inattention symptoms from 1.5 to 17 years using multiple informants, and to identify perinatal risk factors associated with following elevated (high-risk) trajectories. Using a population-based birth cohort (n = 1374), symptom ratings from mothers (1.5-8 years), teachers (6-13 years) and participant self-reports (10-17 years) were combined using group-based multi-trajectory modeling to identify informants' convergence in identifying high-symptom trajectories of hyperactivity-impulsivity and inattention over time. Perinatal risk factors associated with high-symptom trajectories were identified using stepwise logistic regression. The study found that symptoms of hyperactivity-impulsivity broadly declined from 1.5 to 17 years while symptoms of inattention remained constant. 21.4% of participants followed elevated trajectories of hyperactivity-impulsivity and 20.2% followed elevated trajectories of inattention; 11.6% followed elevated trajectories of both types of symptoms concurrently. Risk factors for high-risk trajectories of hyperactivity-impulsivity were low maternal education, prenatal alcohol exposure, non-intact family, maternal depression, and low child IQ; for high-risk inattention they were prenatal street drug exposure, early motherhood, low maternal education, maternal depression and low child IQ. Risk factors for trajectories of high-risk hyperactivity-impulsivity and inattention concurrently were low maternal education, maternal depression, and low child IQ. The combination of longitudinal assessments from multiple informants (i.e., mother, teacher, participant-reports) provides a new way to characterize hyperactivity-impulsivity and inattention phenotypes over time.
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Papers by Daniel Nagin