Early life experiences can "cascade" into violent behaviors in teenagers, according to a new study from Duke University. However, early interventions or positive life events can prevent such problems.
"Our findings indicate that these trajectories are not inevitable," said Professor Kenneth Dodge of Duke's Center for Child and Family Policy. "Successful early intervention could redirect paths of anti-social development to prevent serious violent behaviors in adolescence."
- Dr. Dodge and his colleagues studied 754 children from kindergarten to 11th grade.
- The researchers' goal was to understand how serious violent behavior develops.
- One of their key findings was that children from disadvantaged backgrounds were more likely to experience harsh and inconsistent parenting that impeded their cognitive development when they entered school.
- From that point, behavior problems worsened significantly. Some children managed to avoid these problems, depending on their life events.
This study appeared on the website of the journal Child Development.
Labels: violence, trauma, influences
Posted By: Aspen/CRC