C D M H
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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.
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.
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."
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