Frank Vitaro
YOU?
Author Swipe
View article: Evaluating the Impact of the How‐to Parenting Program on Child Mental Health: A Randomized Controlled Trial in Grade Schools
Evaluating the Impact of the How‐to Parenting Program on Child Mental Health: A Randomized Controlled Trial in Grade Schools Open
The How‐to Parenting Program teaches parents how to provide autonomy support, structure, and affiliation, the three components of the parenting style shown to be beneficial for children's mental health. Using a waitlist RCT, we assessed it…
View article: Deciphering the mediating role of childhood maltreatment in the association between genetic risk and developmental trajectories of school-age reactive and proactive aggression
Deciphering the mediating role of childhood maltreatment in the association between genetic risk and developmental trajectories of school-age reactive and proactive aggression Open
Background: Childhood maltreatment is a robust predictor of aggression. Research indicates that both maltreatment experiences and aggression are moderately heritable. It has been hypothesized that gene–environment correlation may be at pla…
View article: Children’s mental health symptoms over three decades (1993–2022): a comparison of population-based cross-sectional samples
Children’s mental health symptoms over three decades (1993–2022): a comparison of population-based cross-sectional samples Open
Concerns have been raised about an increase in children's mental health symptoms over the past 30 years, including after COVID-19 lockdowns. Yet, few studies have investigated variations over generations, while considering sex and socioeco…
View article: Reciprocal associations between teachers' use of disciplinary practices and aggression in elementary school students
Reciprocal associations between teachers' use of disciplinary practices and aggression in elementary school students Open
Transactional theories of human development suggest that the association between teachers' disciplinary practices and students' aggressive behavior may be reciprocal. However, no study has tested this possibility. Therefore, this study exa…
View article: Trajectories of childhood eating behaviors and their association with internalizing and externalizing symptoms in adolescence
Trajectories of childhood eating behaviors and their association with internalizing and externalizing symptoms in adolescence Open
Objective Several studies have shown that maladaptive eating behaviors in childhood predict greater risk for eating disorders in adolescence. Whether or not maladaptive eating behaviors could represent developmental risk factors for a larg…
View article: The mediation role of reading-related endophenotypes in the gene-to-reading pathway
The mediation role of reading-related endophenotypes in the gene-to-reading pathway Open
Although individual differences in reading-related skills are largely influenced by genetic variation, the molecular basis of the heritability of this phenotype is far from understood. Functional single-nucleotide polymorphisms spanning re…
View article: BRAIN RESPONSES TO ALCOHOL CUES IN YOUTH AT RISK FOR SUBSTANCE USE DISORDERS (SUDS): A FUNCTIONAL MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING STUDY
BRAIN RESPONSES TO ALCOHOL CUES IN YOUTH AT RISK FOR SUBSTANCE USE DISORDERS (SUDS): A FUNCTIONAL MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING STUDY Open
Background Adolescent alcohol use is the norm, but only some develop a substance use disorder (SUD). The most common vulnerability traits are characterized by diverse externalizing (EXT) behaviors (e.g., poor impulse-control and emotion re…
View article: Correction: A sequential model of the contribution of preschool fluid and crystallized cognitive abilities to later school achievement
Correction: A sequential model of the contribution of preschool fluid and crystallized cognitive abilities to later school achievement Open
[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0276532.].
View article: Understanding Early Risk Factors of Preschool Disruptive Behaviors in a Population-Based Birth Cohort: Why Does Comorbidity Matter?
Understanding Early Risk Factors of Preschool Disruptive Behaviors in a Population-Based Birth Cohort: Why Does Comorbidity Matter? Open
Background/Objectives: Research on early risk factors for disruptive behaviors (DBs: hyperactivity–impulsivity/HI, non-compliance/NC, or physical aggression/PA) has predominantly focused on individual DBs in silos (i.e., HI, NC, or PA) or …
View article: Social support moderates the link between chronic peer victimization in school and later cortisol secretion
Social support moderates the link between chronic peer victimization in school and later cortisol secretion Open
Using a genetically informed design based on twins, this study tested the association between chronic peer victimization from ages 12 to 17 and later cortisol secretion at age 19 and the moderating effect of social support in this regard. …
View article: Are Children Following High Trajectories of Disruptive Behaviors in Early Childhood More or Less Likely to Follow Concurrent High Trajectories of Internalizing Problems?
Are Children Following High Trajectories of Disruptive Behaviors in Early Childhood More or Less Likely to Follow Concurrent High Trajectories of Internalizing Problems? Open
The developmental association between disruptive behaviors (DBs: hyperactivity-impulsivity, non-compliance, physical aggression) and internalizing problems in early childhood is not well understood and has generated competing hypotheses an…
View article: Hair steroid before and after COVID-19 in preschoolers: the moderation of family characteristics
Hair steroid before and after COVID-19 in preschoolers: the moderation of family characteristics Open
Our findings suggest that stress biomarkers were comparable from before to during the COVID-19 pandemic. This observation holds true despite the pandemic being perceived by many as a novel, unpredictable, and potentially threatening event.…
View article: Genetic and phenotypic evidence of the predictive validity of preschool parent reports of hyperactivity/impulsivity and inattention
Genetic and phenotypic evidence of the predictive validity of preschool parent reports of hyperactivity/impulsivity and inattention Open
To determine the validity of parent reports (PRs) of ADHD in preschoolers, we assessed hyperactivity/impulsivity (HI) and inattention (IN) in 1114 twins with PRs at 1.5, 2.5, 4, 5, 14, 15, and 17 years, and teacher-reports at 6, 7, 9, 10, …
View article: Intergenerational transmission of genetic risk for hyperactivity and inattention. Direct genetic transmission or genetic nurture?
Intergenerational transmission of genetic risk for hyperactivity and inattention. Direct genetic transmission or genetic nurture? Open
Background Hyperactivity and inattention, the symptoms of ADHD, are marked by high levels of heritability and intergenerational transmission. Two distinct pathways of genetic intergenerational transmission are distinguished: direct genetic…
View article: Childhood hyperactivity, eating behaviours, and executive functions: Their association with the development of eating-disorder symptoms in adolescence
Childhood hyperactivity, eating behaviours, and executive functions: Their association with the development of eating-disorder symptoms in adolescence Open
Background Cross-sectional studies have shown that hyperactivity and impaired executive functioning are associated with symptoms of eating disorders in adolescence and adulthood. Whether hyperactivity and executive functions in early life …
View article: Concurrent and prospective associations between family socioeconomic status, social support and salivary diurnal and hair cortisol in adolescence
Concurrent and prospective associations between family socioeconomic status, social support and salivary diurnal and hair cortisol in adolescence Open
Background Exposure to socioeconomic adversity is hypothesized to impact hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis activity and cortisol secretion, but existing evidence is inconsistent. Yet, few studies have investigated this association …
View article: Reconsidering the failure model: Using a genetically controlled design to assess the spread of problems from reactive aggression to internalizing symptoms through peer rejection across the primary school years
Reconsidering the failure model: Using a genetically controlled design to assess the spread of problems from reactive aggression to internalizing symptoms through peer rejection across the primary school years Open
According to the failure model (Patterson & Capaldi, 1990), peer rejection is the intermediary link between problem behaviors and internalizing symptoms. The present study tested the model with 464 monozygotic and same‐sex dizygotic twin p…
View article: Mechanisms and pathways linking kindergarten behavior problems with mid‐life employment earnings for males from low‐income neighborhoods
Mechanisms and pathways linking kindergarten behavior problems with mid‐life employment earnings for males from low‐income neighborhoods Open
Childhood behavior problems are associated with reduced labor market participation and lower earnings in adulthood, but little is known about the pathways and mechanisms that explain these associations. Drawing on a 33‐year prospective bir…
View article: Inattention, academic underachievement, and depressive symptoms: uncovering environmental and genetic pathways from middle to late childhood
Inattention, academic underachievement, and depressive symptoms: uncovering environmental and genetic pathways from middle to late childhood Open
Introduction School underachievement has been shown to mediate the association between inattention and depressive symptoms in middle childhood. However, is it not clear whether these sequential associations are underpinned by genetic and e…
View article: Adolescent anxiety and pain problems: A joint, genome-wide investigation and pathway-based analysis
Adolescent anxiety and pain problems: A joint, genome-wide investigation and pathway-based analysis Open
Both common pain and anxiety problems are widespread, debilitating and often begin in childhood-adolescence. Twin studies indicate that this co-occurrence is likely due to shared elements of risk, rather than reciprocal causation. A joint …
View article: The social and economic impact of the Montreal Longitudinal and Experimental Study
The social and economic impact of the Montreal Longitudinal and Experimental Study Open
Background The effectiveness of early prevention programmes and their viability as a public policy option have increasingly caught the attention of scholars and policymakers. Given the implementation costs of such programmes, it is importa…
View article: Association of Childhood Externalizing, Internalizing, and Comorbid Symptoms With Long-term Economic and Social Outcomes
Association of Childhood Externalizing, Internalizing, and Comorbid Symptoms With Long-term Economic and Social Outcomes Open
Importance Little is known about the long-term economic and social outcomes for children with longitudinally assessed comorbid externalizing and internalizing symptoms, especially compared with children with externalizing symptoms or inter…
View article: Link of outdoor exposure in daycare with attentional control and academic achievement in adolescence: Examining cognitive and social pathways
Link of outdoor exposure in daycare with attentional control and academic achievement in adolescence: Examining cognitive and social pathways Open
Contact with nature during early childhood has many benefits, both in the short and the long term. However, explanatory mechanisms remain understudied. This study examined the long-term association of the time children spend outdoors in da…
View article: A sequential model of the contribution of preschool fluid and crystallized cognitive abilities to later school achievement
A sequential model of the contribution of preschool fluid and crystallized cognitive abilities to later school achievement Open
The present study documented in two distinct population-based samples the contribution of preschool fluid and crystallized cognitive abilities to school achievement in primary school and examined the mediating role of crystallized abilitie…
View article: Changing genetic architecture of body mass index from infancy to early adulthood: an individual based pooled analysis of 25 twin cohorts
Changing genetic architecture of body mass index from infancy to early adulthood: an individual based pooled analysis of 25 twin cohorts Open
Background Body mass index (BMI) shows strong continuity over childhood and adolescence and high childhood BMI is the strongest predictor of adult obesity. Genetic factors strongly contribute to this continuity, but it is still poorly know…