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Services d’éducation préscolaire et comportements agressifs : un rôle de prévention pour les familles vulnérables

Pre-school education services and aggressive behaviour: a preventive role in vulnerable families

  • Psychopathologie de L’Enfance et de L’Adolescence / Childhood and Adolescence Psychopathology
  • Published:
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Résumé

Contexte

La violence physique est un important problème de santé et de société. De nombreuses études montrent que des indices socio-économiques tels que la pauvreté et le faible niveau de scolarité des parents sont associés à un risque accru de difficultés d’ajustement social chez les enfants, dont les problèmes de violence. Cette étude a fait l’hypothèse que les services d’éducation préscolaire (SEP) pouvaient contribuer à prévenir l’apparition des problèmes d’agression physique (AP) chez les enfants de familles vulnérables, et ce, en fonction de l’âge à l’entrée dans ces services.

Méthodologie

Identification d’enfants qui présentaient une trajectoire d’AP élevée entre 17 et 60 mois parmi un échantillon représentatif d’enfants nés au Québec (n = 1 691). Les chercheurs ont pris en considération le niveau de scolarité des mères et l’âge d’initiation des SEP et vérifié leur association avec l’appartenance au groupe d’AP tout en contrôlant plusieurs autres caractéristiques familiales associées aux SEP et à l’AP.

Résultats

Les enfants dont la mère avait un faible niveau de scolarité (c’est-à-dire qu’ils ne sont pas titulaires d’un diplôme d’études secondaires) étaient moins susceptibles de recevoir des SEP que les autres. Ceux qui en ont reçu avaient des risques considérablement plus faibles de suivre une trajectoire d’AP élevée. Les résultats de régressions multiples et logistiques indiquent que les SEP réduisent le risque d’AP élevée, surtout si l’enfant commence à les recevoir avant l’âge de neuf mois (d = −0,62 ; s = 0,24 ; IC 95 % : − 1,09 à - 0,16 ; rapport de cotes = 0,20 ; IC 95 % : 0,05–0,9). Les enfants dont la mère avait obtenu un diplôme d’études secondaires étaient moins à risque d’AP élevée. Dans leurs cas, les SEP ne représentaient pas un facteur de protection supplémentaire.

Interprétation

Les SEP destinés aux enfants dont la mère est peu scolarisée pourraient considérablement diminuer le risque d’AP chronique, surtout s’ils sont dispensés tôt après la naissance. Comme les enfants les plus susceptibles de bénéficier des SEP sont les moins susceptibles d’en recevoir, il faut mettre en place des mesures spéciales pour favoriser ce type de services à destination des familles à risque élevé.

Abstract

Context

Physical violence is a significant problem in health terms and for society as a whole. Many studies have shown that socio-economic indicators such as poverty and poor parental educational attainment are associated with an increased risk of difficulties in social adjustment of the child. The hypothesis of this study was that the pre-school educational services (PES) could help to prevent the development of physical aggression (PA) in the children of vulnerable families, and that this would depend on the age at which the child first had access to the service.

Methods

Identification of children presenting with a pattern of increased PA between 17 and 60 months of age, taken from a representative sample of children born in Quebec (N = 1691). We took into consideration the educational level of the mother and the age at which the child started to receive PES. We examined the association of these factors with the PA group to which the child belonged, while controlling against several other family characteristics which are associated with PES and PA.

Results

The children of mothers with a low level of educational attainment (no secondary school qualification) were less likely to have received PES than the others. Those who had received such attention had a considerably reduced risk of displaying a behaviour pattern of increased PA. The results of multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that the PES reduced the risk of high PA, especially if the child was exposed to the service before the age of 9 months (d = −0.62; SD = 0.24; 95% CI: −1.09 to −0.16; odds ratio = 0.20; 95% CI: 0.05–0.9). Children whose mothers had obtained a secondary school diploma were at reduced risk of high PA. For them, the PES did not represent an additional protective factor.

Interpretation

PES directed towards children of poorly educated mothers might reduce considerably the risk of chronic physical aggression, especially if initiated soon after birth. As those children who aremost likely to benefit from PES are the least likely to receive it, it is necessary to put special measures in place to direct this sort of service towards at risk families.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Université de Montréal, 3050, rue Édouard-Montpetit, Montréal, Québec, H3T 1J7, Canada

    S.M. Côté, J.-B. Pingault, Q. Xu & R.E. Tremblay

  2. Laboratoire international pour la santé mentale de l’enfant et de l’adolescent, Université de Montréal et INSERM 669 Maison de Solenn, 97, boulevard de Port-Royal, F-75679, Paris cedex 14, France

    S.M. Côté

  3. Université Laval, 2325, rue de l’université, Québec, Québec, G1V 0A6, Canada

    M. Boivin

  4. Carnegie Melon University, 5000, Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213, USA

    D.S. Nagin

  5. Université du Québec à Montréal, case postale 8888, succursale centre-ville, Montréal, Québec, H3C 3P8, Canada

    C. Japel

  6. McGill University, 845, Sherbrooke Street West, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, H3A 2T5

    M. Zoccolillo

  7. Utrecht University, Postbus 80125, 3508 TC, Utrecht, Nederland

    M. Junger

  8. Bestuursgebouw, Heidelberglaan 8, 3584 CS, Utrecht, Nederland

    M. Junger

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  1. S.M. Côté
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Côté, S., Pingault, JB., Boivin, M. et al. Services d’éducation préscolaire et comportements agressifs : un rôle de prévention pour les familles vulnérables. Psychiatr Sci Hum Neurosci 8, 77–87 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11836-010-0131-1

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