C D M H
Michigan Longitudinal Study of Early Aggression
PI: Sheryl Olson, Ph.D.
Co-Investigators: Arnold Sameroff, Ph.D.
Henry Wellman, Ph.D.
Sheila Gahagan, M.D.Everyday, it seems that we are bombarded with disturbing information about severe behavior problems in older children (for example, school shootings, truancy, academic failure, peer aggression and emotional abuse). Many experts believe that the ideal time to prevent these problems is early in life, before they become chronic. On the other hand, because preschool aged children are just developing skills like self-control and social understanding, problems of aggression, impulsivity, and distractibility are fairly normal during this age period. We know little about the reasons why some preschoolers persist in early problem behavior, whereas others readily outgrow it. Because we follow children and families through this important developmental period, we will be able to pinpoint the types of factors associated with young children who persist in their problem behavior. This type of knowledge opens the doors to effective early prevention."
The objective of the Michigan Longitudinal Study (MLS) is to identify 3-year-old children who may be at risk for behavioral and developmental problems by the time they enter elementary school. At 3 and later in kindergarten we will examine the emotional understanding, moral reasoning, intelligence, verbal abilities, and activity levels of these children to determine which are associated with continuities in high levels of interpersonal aggression. Of special interest will be a comparison between boys and girls to examine the correlates of the general tendencies for a decrease in aggression among girls and a continuation among boys.