The objectives of the study were to model the developmental trajectories of physical aggression (PA) from toddlerhood to pre-adolescence and to identify risk factors that distinguish typical (normative) from atypical developmental patterns. Ten cohorts of approximately 1,000 children (n = 10,658) drawn form a nationally representative (Canadian) sample were followed over 6 years. Using a group-based trajectory approach, we identified three groups of children with distinct developmental trajectories between 2 and 11 years of age. One third of the children (31.1%) followed a low desisting trajectory, reflected in infrequent use of PA in toddlerhood and virtually no PA by pre-adolescence. The majority of children (52.2%) followed a moderate desisting trajectory, reflected in occasional use of PA in toddlerhood and infrequent use by pre-adolescence. One sixth of the children (16.6%) followed a high stable trajectory of PA. Multivariate logistic regression indicated that children in the high PA trajectory group were more likely to be boys (OR: 1.67; CI: 1.5-1.87), from low income families (OR: 1.4; CI; 1.27-1.67), from families where the mother had not completed high school (OR: 1.20; CI: 1.05-1.38) and who reported using hostile/ineffective parenting strategies (OR: 1.16; CI: 1.14-1.18). In sum, the results indicate that the typical developmental pattern of PA was one of occasional and declining use over time. However, about one sixth of children, mostly boys from disadvantaged families, exhibited an atypical developmental pattern reflected in more frequent and stable use of PA. The results suggest that most children learned relatively well to inhibit PA by the end of childhood and that a minority failed to do so. Family risks traditionally found to be associated with antisocial behaviors during adolescence appear to interfere with the socialization of PA during early and middle childhood.

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QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH C hildren and youth develop into mature adults depending on the extent of intrinsic assets such as perseverance, efficacy, self-esteem, and active avoidance of risk-taking behaviours, and extrinsic assets such as living in a nurturing environment with supportive parents, having a non-delinquent peer group and experiencing a healthy school climate. 1-3 When faced with adversity and risk, some youth will survive and even thrive while others will succumb to risky and possibly self-destructive behaviour. Those who thrive under adversity (e.g., poverty, maltreatment, loss of a parent) exhibit engagement in processes described as resilience. 4,5 Measurement of resilience can enable identification of modifiable factors that can be used to inform research and policy initiatives to help youth develop the capacity they require to cope with adversity during normative and non-normative developmental transitions. 6 The complexity of resilience as a construct, however, makes it challenging to measure. Resilience can be defined as an individual's capacity to navigate to health-enhancing resources that nurture individual, relational, and community assets, as well as the capacity of individuals to negotiate with others for these resources to be provided to them in culturally meaningful ways. 7 This socioecological definition implies that individual-, peer-, family-, schooland community-level resources protect and promote good outcomes by helping individuals engage in interactive processes within complex, multi-level environments that make it possible for them to avoid potential threats to their development. 8 Positive development, however, is contextual since a youth may thrive under one adverse circumstance but succumb under another. 9 As well, a youth's ability to cope over time may vary, 1,2,10 particularly during growth and development, and when processes associated with resilience interact with specific risk factors associated with culture, ethnoracial status, ability, gender, and socioeconomic status. 11 The 28-item Child and Health Youth Resilience Measure (CYRM) 12,13 was designed to measure youth resilience while accounting for diverse social contexts across numerous cultures. The CYRM-28 is a self-report instrument validated originally with a purposeful sample of 1,451 youth growing up facing diverse forms of adversity in 11 countries (

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