Trajectories of Childhood Bullying Behaviors and Conduct Problems:: Associations With Cognitive Functioning in a Nationally-Representative Cohort Study

Frédéric Thériault-Couture; Jessica Agnew-Blais; Virginia Carter Leno; Andrea Danese; Keertana Ganaesan; Timothy Matthews; Geneviève Morneau-Vaillancourt; Katherine N. Thompson; Sania Shakoor; Louise Arseneault

doi:10.1037/dev0001788

Trajectories of Childhood Bullying Behaviors and Conduct Problems: Associations With Cognitive Functioning in a Nationally-Representative Cohort Study

Frédéric Thériault-Couture, Jessica Agnew-Blais, Virginia Carter Leno, Andrea Danese, Keertana Ganaesan, Timothy Matthews, Geneviève Morneau-Vaillancourt, Katherine N. Thompson, Sania Shakoor, Louise Arseneault^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Social Genetic & Developmental Psychiatry

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

1 Citation (Scopus)

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Abstract

Bullying behaviors and conduct problems are two forms of antisocial behavior that frequently co-occur in childhood. However, it remains unclear whether their developmental trajectories are distinct, and the extent to which different aspects of cognitive functioning account for their development. We aimed to disentangle the developmental trajectories of bullying behaviors and conduct problems, test their interrelations across childhood, and assess associations with children’s early cognitive functioning (executive functions, IQ, and theory of mind). Participants included 2,232 children from the Environmental Risk (E-Risk) Longitudinal Twin Study. We performed dual group-based trajectory modeling on combined parent and teacher reports of children’s bullying behaviors and conduct problems at 5, 7, 10, and 12 years. We assessed associations with age-5 cognitive functioning using regression analyses. We identified five developmental trajectories for bullying behaviors and four for conduct problems. The developmental course of both behaviors was interrelated most strongly amongst those with high levels. A subgroup of children was likely to transition from conduct problems to bullying behaviors as they got older. Lower IQ was associated with both antisocial behavior trajectories, whereas lower theory of mind was only associated with conduct problems trajectories. The developmental course of bullying behaviors and conduct problems is distinct, but linked across childhood. Interventions targeting bullying behaviors or conduct problems could benefit from more integration and should take into account children’s cognitive functioning.

Original language	English
Journal	Developmental Psychology
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0001788
Publication status	Accepted/In press - 16 Apr 2024

Keywords

bullying behaviors
childhood
cognitive functioning
conduct problems
developmental trajectories

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Access to Document

10.1037/dev0001788

DEV2023_1106R2_Manuscript_18Apr2024Accepted author manuscript, 90.8 KBLicence: CC BY
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DEV2023_1106R2_Supplemental material_18Apr2024Accepted author manuscript, 31.3 KBLicence: CC BY
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Cite this

Thériault-Couture, F., Agnew-Blais, J., Leno, V. C., Danese, A., Ganaesan, K., Matthews, T., Morneau-Vaillancourt, G., Thompson, K. N., Shakoor, S., & Arseneault, L. (Accepted/In press). Trajectories of Childhood Bullying Behaviors and Conduct Problems: Associations With Cognitive Functioning in a Nationally-Representative Cohort Study. Developmental Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0001788

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title = "Trajectories of Childhood Bullying Behaviors and Conduct Problems:: Associations With Cognitive Functioning in a Nationally-Representative Cohort Study",

abstract = "Bullying behaviors and conduct problems are two forms of antisocial behavior that frequently co-occur in childhood. However, it remains unclear whether their developmental trajectories are distinct, and the extent to which different aspects of cognitive functioning account for their development. We aimed to disentangle the developmental trajectories of bullying behaviors and conduct problems, test their interrelations across childhood, and assess associations with children{\textquoteright}s early cognitive functioning (executive functions, IQ, and theory of mind). Participants included 2,232 children from the Environmental Risk (E-Risk) Longitudinal Twin Study. We performed dual group-based trajectory modeling on combined parent and teacher reports of children{\textquoteright}s bullying behaviors and conduct problems at 5, 7, 10, and 12 years. We assessed associations with age-5 cognitive functioning using regression analyses. We identified five developmental trajectories for bullying behaviors and four for conduct problems. The developmental course of both behaviors was interrelated most strongly amongst those with high levels. A subgroup of children was likely to transition from conduct problems to bullying behaviors as they got older. Lower IQ was associated with both antisocial behavior trajectories, whereas lower theory of mind was only associated with conduct problems trajectories. The developmental course of bullying behaviors and conduct problems is distinct, but linked across childhood. Interventions targeting bullying behaviors or conduct problems could benefit from more integration and should take into account children{\textquoteright}s cognitive functioning.",

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Thériault-Couture, F, Agnew-Blais, J, Leno, VC, Danese, A, Ganaesan, K, Matthews, T , Morneau-Vaillancourt, G , Thompson, KN, Shakoor, S & Arseneault, L 2024, 'Trajectories of Childhood Bullying Behaviors and Conduct Problems: Associations With Cognitive Functioning in a Nationally-Representative Cohort Study', Developmental Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0001788

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AU - Leno, Virginia Carter

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