Attention deficit/hyperactivity behaviors in children are often unnoticed until they reach school age; however, evidence suggests that attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) tends to develop at an earlier age. Recent studies also indicate that perinatal maternal mental health is associated with ADHD symptoms in offspring. This study…

Narcissistic youth use social media to engage in a variety of self-promotional behaviors, which have either antisocial or prosocial characteristics. Differing views exist to explain the processes underlying narcissistic self-promotion, either characterizing these actions as intentional, or as impulsive. This study compared intentional…

To study the role of executive function (EF) in the early development of aggression, the role of cool and hot EF skills at 5 years old, in the development of physical and relational aggression between 5 and 6 years old, was explored. Typically developing children (N = 80) completed tasks assessing their cool (inhibition, working memory, planning)…

Women are at greater risk of exposure to interpersonal violence during pregnancy. The influence prenatal violence has on children's behavioral adjustment is generally understood to stem from its impact on mothers, but there is a dearth of prospective research to test these models. The current study evaluated the influence of interpersonal violence…

Theory of mind is one of the most important cognitive factors in social information-processing, and deficits in theory of mind have been linked to aggressive behavior in childhood. The present longitudinal study investigated reciprocal links between theory of mind and two forms of aggression--physical and relational--in middle childhood with three…

Being surrounded by peers who are accepting of aggression is a significant predictor of the development and persistence of aggression in childhood and adolescence. Whereas past research has focused on social reinforcement mechanisms as the underlying processes, the present longitudinal study analysed the role of external control beliefs as an…

To better address the many consequences of peer victimization, research must identify not only aspects of individuals that put them at risk for victimization, such as aggression, but also aspects of the context that influence the extent of that risk. To this end, this study examined the contextual influences of gender, same-sex peer group norms of…

Aggression among youth is a public health problem that is often studied in the context of how youth interpret social information. Social cognitive factors, especially hostile attribution biases, have been identified as risk factors for the development of youth aggression, particularly across the transition to middle school. Parental behaviors,…

Whereas US-based data have contributed to our understanding of family composition changes over the last decades, data on Canadian families are limited, and previous studies have stressed the need for in depth, longitudinal investigations. This article begins to fill this gap in the literature by providing a current and detailed portrait of family…

The study investigated long-term relations between moral emotion attributions in childhood and adolescence and antisocial conduct in early adulthood while taking into account potentially confounding personality factors. Specifically, onset of prediction, unique and indirect effects of moral emotion attributions were examined. In a longitudinal…

Appetitive aggression--a rewarding perception of the perpetration of violence--seems to be an adaptation common to adverse conditions. Children raised within armed groups may develop attitudes and values that favour harming others when socialized within a combat force. Combatants who joined an armed force early in their lives should, therefore,…

High and stable levels of aggression and the presence of aggressive behaviour in multiple settings according to different informants are risk factors for later problems. However, these two factors have not been investigated in early childhood. The present study investigates trajectories of parent-reported child aggression from 1.5 up to 6 years of…

Despite wide recognition of the important role of student bystanders in influencing peer aggression in schools, little is currently known about what influences students to intervene in defense of peer aggression victims. This longitudinal study involving 1,167 primarily white adolescents (aged 12-15 years, 613 females) investigated the role of…

This 30-year longitudinal study examined pathways from problematic childhood behavior patterns to future disadvantaged conditions for family environment and child rearing in adulthood. Participants were mothers (n = 328) and fathers (n = 222) with lower income backgrounds participating in the ongoing Concordia Longitudinal Risk Project. Structural…

Examines three critical components of interpersonal cognitive problem solving (alternative-thinking ability, evaluative judgments of response alternatives, and consequential thinking) among 188 elementary school students with differing levels of aggressiveness, assertiveness, and submissiveness. Findings indicate interrelatedness of the cognitive…