Lorna Jacobs - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Lorna Jacobs

Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 2010

Background: Young siblings' antisocial behaviour is common yet its impact has received relatively... more Background: Young siblings' antisocial behaviour is common yet its impact has received relatively little research attention. Methods: We examined trajectories of antisocial behaviour for a socially diverse sample (n = 99, 58 boys and 41 girls) who were filmed with their older siblings (52 boys and 47 girls) at ages 3 and 6 and with unfamiliar peers at age 6. Latent growth models were used to analyse three indicators of antisocial behaviour (refusal to share/interact, bullying and harming). Results: The average trajectory of antisocial behaviour towards siblings was stable and particularly high for boys with brothers and for children of mothers with no educational qualifications. Sustained and escalating antisocial behaviours towards siblings predicted bullying and refusals to share/interact with unfamiliar peers, independent of associations with concurrent antisocial behaviour towards sibling. Conclusions: These findings highlight the importance of a developmental perspective when examining antisocial behaviour between young siblings.

Early Education and Development, 2014

ABSTRACT Research Findings: Studies of children's prosocial behavior typically focus on p... more ABSTRACT Research Findings: Studies of children's prosocial behavior typically focus on prosocial acts with a specific partner (e.g., a friend, peer, or sibling), and comparisons of prosociality in different contexts are rare. To address this gap, the current study examined predictive links among children's spontaneous sharing (a common and important form of prosocial behavior) with siblings, friends, and unfamiliar peers. At ages 3 and 6 years, 81 children (48 boys) were filmed playing with an older sibling (44 brothers); at age 6 the children were also filmed playing with a best friend (at school) and with 2 unfamiliar peers (in a lab). Older siblings shared more frequently than the target children at the 1st time point, but this contrast was not apparent at the 2nd time point. Average rates of sharing with a sibling did not differ by gender at the 1st time point, but girls shared more frequently than boys at the 2nd time point. When effects of gender composition were controlled, early spontaneous sharing with an older sibling predicted later sharing with unfamiliar peers (but not with a friend). Practice or Policy: Learning to share with a sibling can help children acquire the prosocial skills needed to form positive relationships with their peers.

British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 2011

Disruptive behaviour disorders are much more common in boys than girls (Office of National Statis... more Disruptive behaviour disorders are much more common in boys than girls (Office of National Statistics, 1999); in contrast, gender differences in normative problem behaviours are poorly understood. To address this issue, 228 6-year-olds (134 boys, 94 girls) were each observed playing a board game with a same-gender friend. Ratings of aggression, disruption, arousal and negativity were used to index problem behaviours. Multiple-groups confirmatory factor analyses demonstrated that the latent factor had the same metric for boys and girls, but a mean that was approximately half a standard deviation higher for boys than girls. In addition, the association between the latent factor and teachers' ratings of total difficulties was significantly stronger for boys than girls. Early-onset disruptive behaviour disorders (e.g., conduct disorder, CD) are associated with serious long-term outcomes, such as school-failure, delinquency, substance-abuse and criminality (

Future directions of hospice care: IPU or ITU?, Oct 1, 2019

data. This needs to be investigated further because some of this information is important to asse... more data. This needs to be investigated further because some of this information is important to assess issues of equity of access to bereavement services. Future work should define the minimum dataset of information which should be routinely collected by hospices.

Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 2010

Background: Young siblings' antisocial behaviour is common yet its impact has received relatively... more Background: Young siblings' antisocial behaviour is common yet its impact has received relatively little research attention. Methods: We examined trajectories of antisocial behaviour for a socially diverse sample (n = 99, 58 boys and 41 girls) who were filmed with their older siblings (52 boys and 47 girls) at ages 3 and 6 and with unfamiliar peers at age 6. Latent growth models were used to analyse three indicators of antisocial behaviour (refusal to share/interact, bullying and harming). Results: The average trajectory of antisocial behaviour towards siblings was stable and particularly high for boys with brothers and for children of mothers with no educational qualifications. Sustained and escalating antisocial behaviours towards siblings predicted bullying and refusals to share/interact with unfamiliar peers, independent of associations with concurrent antisocial behaviour towards sibling. Conclusions: These findings highlight the importance of a developmental perspective when examining antisocial behaviour between young siblings.

Early Education and Development, 2014

ABSTRACT Research Findings: Studies of children's prosocial behavior typically focus on p... more ABSTRACT Research Findings: Studies of children's prosocial behavior typically focus on prosocial acts with a specific partner (e.g., a friend, peer, or sibling), and comparisons of prosociality in different contexts are rare. To address this gap, the current study examined predictive links among children's spontaneous sharing (a common and important form of prosocial behavior) with siblings, friends, and unfamiliar peers. At ages 3 and 6 years, 81 children (48 boys) were filmed playing with an older sibling (44 brothers); at age 6 the children were also filmed playing with a best friend (at school) and with 2 unfamiliar peers (in a lab). Older siblings shared more frequently than the target children at the 1st time point, but this contrast was not apparent at the 2nd time point. Average rates of sharing with a sibling did not differ by gender at the 1st time point, but girls shared more frequently than boys at the 2nd time point. When effects of gender composition were controlled, early spontaneous sharing with an older sibling predicted later sharing with unfamiliar peers (but not with a friend). Practice or Policy: Learning to share with a sibling can help children acquire the prosocial skills needed to form positive relationships with their peers.

British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 2011

Disruptive behaviour disorders are much more common in boys than girls (Office of National Statis... more Disruptive behaviour disorders are much more common in boys than girls (Office of National Statistics, 1999); in contrast, gender differences in normative problem behaviours are poorly understood. To address this issue, 228 6-year-olds (134 boys, 94 girls) were each observed playing a board game with a same-gender friend. Ratings of aggression, disruption, arousal and negativity were used to index problem behaviours. Multiple-groups confirmatory factor analyses demonstrated that the latent factor had the same metric for boys and girls, but a mean that was approximately half a standard deviation higher for boys than girls. In addition, the association between the latent factor and teachers' ratings of total difficulties was significantly stronger for boys than girls. Early-onset disruptive behaviour disorders (e.g., conduct disorder, CD) are associated with serious long-term outcomes, such as school-failure, delinquency, substance-abuse and criminality (

Future directions of hospice care: IPU or ITU?, Oct 1, 2019

data. This needs to be investigated further because some of this information is important to asse... more data. This needs to be investigated further because some of this information is important to assess issues of equity of access to bereavement services. Future work should define the minimum dataset of information which should be routinely collected by hospices.