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Canadian Journal of Public Health = Revue Canadienne de Santé Publique logoLink to Canadian Journal of Public Health = Revue Canadienne de Santé Publique
. 1999 Jul 1;90(4):253–259. doi: 10.1007/BF03404127

The Clustering of Severe Behavioural, Health and Educational Deficits in Canadian Children: Preliminary Evidence from the National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth

Terrance J Wade 19,49,59,✉, David J Pevalin 29, Augustine Brannigan 39
PMCID: PMC6980085  PMID: 10489723

Abstract

This study identifies a high-risk subpopulation of children with a markedly antisocial behavioural profile in a national sample of Canadian children. We examine a broad array of environmental and child factors that may be associated with this high-risk group. The data are for 18,135 two to eleven year olds in the National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth. A cluster analysis was performed to identify children possessing extreme antisocial behaviour across five dimensions: aggression, hyperactivity, prosocial behaviour, emotional difficulties and misconduct. Clusters were compared across structural, family, school, neighbourhood, and health covariates. Membership in this severe cluster is associated with material disadvantage across the range of environmental factors as well as significant deficits in child health and education.

Footnotes

Support for this research was provided, in part, by grant # 410-98-0539 from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRCC).

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