Social-ecological context, health behaviours, and disruptive behaviour in young children

The project will determine the relationship among family context and child health behaviours (screen use, drinking sugar sweetened beverages, physical activity, sleep duration) at 3-4 years with later disruptive behaviour at 5-6 years. Disruptive behaviour, such as temper tantrums, defiance, impulsivity, and aggression affect 9-15% of young children and interfere with a child’s adjustment to routines, social relationships, and learning opportunities. Disruptive behaviour is highly distressing for both child and family. Family context, including income, neighbourhood quality, and family functioning is associated with disruptive behaviour. Likewise, child health behaviours, such as too little physical activity or sleep, too much screen time, or poor eating behaviours, are also associated with disruptive behaviour. However, it is unclear how different family contexts and child health behaviours combine to impact child disruptive behaviour. The proposed study will use data already collected on 3,000 children aged 3-4 years and new data collected at 5-6 years from primary care. We will use computer algorithms to find the family context variables and child health behaviours that are most robustly associated with child disruptive behaviour. Then, we will identify profiles in family context variables and child health behaviours to see how different combinations and patterns of these variables are associated with disruptive behaviour. Understanding the specific patterns of family context and child health behaviours that give rise to disruptive behaviours is a key step to extend interventions with contextual relevance.