Michèle Déry

Sexist attitudes are linked with negative outcomes during adolescence, but research has not examined how modifiable risk factors such as conduct problems or social processes associated with conduct problems are linked with the development of these problematic gender attitudes. The present longitudinal study examined (a) the association between childhood conduct problems and the later endorsement of sexist attitudes, and (b) the mediating role of peer rejection and peer delinquency in adolescence in this association. Participants ( N = 564; 49.4% women) were drawn from a study oversampling children with conduct problems in elementary schools in Québec, Canada, of whom 58.3% met criteria at baseline (T1; M age = 8.43, SD = 0.93). Peer rejection was assessed in early adolescence (T2; M age = 13.27, SD = 0.95), peer delinquency in mid‐adolescence (T3; M age = 14.33, SD = 0.95), and benevolent and hostile sexism in early adulthood (T4; M age = 18.93, SD = 0.97). Childhood conduct problems were directly associated with higher levels of endorsement of both hostile and benevolent sexism. Mediation analyses also identified significant indirect associations through peer rejection and affiliation with delinquent peers, with distinct patterns across the two forms of sexism. These patterns of associations did not differ by gender. Findings underscore peer influence as a potential intervention target for preventing sexist attitudes in at‐risk youth.

Relational aggression refers to behaviors intended to harm a target’s social relationships either in response to a threat (reactive form) or with an ulterior motive (proactive form). The use of relational aggression is associated with internalizing symptoms such as depression, anxiety, and somatic complaints, as well as externalizing problems including conduct disorder symptoms, attention problems and oppositional defiant disorder symptoms (Murray-Close et al., 2016). Considering these consequences, the factors that may explain the use of relational aggression need to be explored. By adopting a macro-systemic perspective, this paper addresses the role that sexism may play in the use of relational aggression by young adults. Using data from an ongoing longitudinal study of social adaptation during the transition into adulthood (571 participants aged 17–22 years; 49.3 % women), this paper focused on the association between relational aggression and sexism in young adults, and on the moderating role of gender in this association. Results showed a positive association between hostile sexism and proactive as well as reactive relational aggression. However, benevolent sexism was associated with neither form of relational aggression. Gender only moderated the association between hostile sexism and reactive relational aggression, which was stronger for men than for women. These results allow for a more complex analysis of relational aggression and show the relevance of variables related to the broader social context, such as sexism, for understanding young adults’ aggressive behaviors.

Conduct problems are among the most common reasons of referral to special education services and placement in special classrooms. Students with conduct problems are at a high risk of school dropout. However, little is known about the association between placement in special classrooms and the risk of school dropout for students with conduct problems. We employed data from a longitudinal study of students with conduct problems who were receiving special education services in special or in inclusive classrooms at study entry ( N = 302). Five patterns of placement in special (vs. inclusive) classrooms were identified. Higher academic performance and receptive vocabulary, and lower externalizing problems reduce the odds of persistent placement in special classrooms. Students with a persistent or delayed placement had higher risk of school dropout in comparison to students with no placement history. Students in special classrooms at study entry did not have a greater risk of school dropout if they later transitioned to inclusive classrooms. Strengthening the academic performance and receptive vocabulary of students with conduct problems could prevent placement in special classrooms. Limiting persistent and delayed placement in special classrooms may decrease the risk of school dropout among students with conduct problems.

Adolescent substance use is comorbid with internalizing problems (e.g., anxious and depressive symptoms) and externalizing problems (EPs). Developmental researchers have linked early anxious and depressive symptoms to later substance use behaviours via an “internalizing pathway”. Support for this pathway exists among young adults; however, evidence from prospective studies of adolescents has been inconsistent. Given the paucity of prospective studies in this area, the current study used a developmental framework to examine childhood anxiety and depression symptom trajectories as predictors of adolescent substance use and whether these relationships depend on sex and EPs. Children with and without EPs participated annually in an ongoing longitudinal study (N = 744; Time 1 age = 6.3–10.6). Youth completed self-report measures of anxiety and depression symptoms (Times 3–6) and substance use (Times 7–8). Parents and teachers completed measures of children’s EPs (Time 0). Parallel process growth models showed that changes over time in childhood depression symptoms were significantly positively associated with adolescent alcohol/cannabis use, substance-related consequences, and total score of problematic substance use. Changes over time in childhood anxiety symptoms were significantly negatively associated with adolescent alcohol/cannabis use. These results were invariant by EPs and sex. Research implications of this study emphasize the importance of isolating the respective pathways of anxious and depressive symptoms to later substance use outcomes, while clinical implications focus on targets for early identification and prevention of problematic substance use in adolescence.

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

This study examines how maternal adverse parenting (hostility, neglect, low warmth) and psychological distress explain the associations between child temperament factors and externalizing problems. It also examines if these associations differ according to the child's biological sex. The sample consists of 339 school-age children receiving in-school services for conduct problems. Data were collected through questionnaires completed by mothers at 3 time points, at one-year intervals. Results from path analyses revealed that maternal psychological distress partly explained the associations between each child temperamental factors (negative affectivity, surgency/extraversion, effortful control) and levels of externalizing problems. Specifically, the indirect effect of psychological distress between child negative affectivity and externalizing problems was only significant for boys, not girls. Maternal hostility, on the other hand, mediated the association between child surgency/extraversion and externalizing problems in both boys and girls. Interestingly, neglectful parenting and maternal warmth did not explain the association between child temperamental factors and externalizing problems. The findings suggest small but significant temperament child-driven effects on maternal psychological distress and hostility, in turn, translating into higher levels of externalizing problems. These findings support the relevance of temperament-based interventions for children with conduct problems and of increased mental health support for their mothers. By aiding mothers in developing a larger repertoire of parenting strategies, mothers may be better equipped to respond appropriately to their child's various temperamental characteristics, hence, reducing their psychological distress and hostile behaviors and limiting the development of child externalizing problems.