The transition to parenthood among young adults with histories of conduct problems: Understanding intentions and supporting positive outcomes

Principal investigator

Alexa Martin-Storey

Researchers

Michèle Déry, Mélanie Lapalme, Geneviève Paquette, Caroline E. Temcheff

Project status:

Ongoing

Years:

April 2025 - March 2030

Abstract

Both the higher rates of early parenthood among individuals with childhood conduct problems (i.e., behaviour problems characterized by aggressive and oppositional behavior) and the higher levels parenting difficulties experienced by individuals with conduct problems highlight the need to understand how individuals with childhood conduct problems in particular transition to early parenthood (or not). Using a mixed-methods, developmental approach, the proposed project leverages an ongoing longitudinal project where families initially recruited from Quebec, Canada, were oversampled for childhood conduct problems. Our objective is to conduct secondary analyses to take a person-centered approach to identify profiles of fertility intentions and contraceptive use during early adulthood. We will examine how childhood conduct problems as well as theoretically-informed factors associated with fertility intentions and parenthood outcomes (i.e., familial context, educational and occupational pathways, romantic relationship quality and intimate partner violence, endorsement of social norms related to gender, parenthood, and fertility, and resilience processes) are associated with fertility intention/contraceptive use profiles.

Funding Organization:

Conseil de recherches en sciences humaines (CRSH) - Savoir