Researcher

Title

• Professor, Department of Psychoeducation, University of Montreal, 1994.
• Researcher, Research Unit on Children's Psychosocial Maladjustment (GRIP), University of Montreal, 1989.

• PhD in Psychology, University of Montreal, 1983.
• Master's in Psychology, Université du Québec à Montréal, 1976.

Prediction and prevention of behavioural problems in children and adolescents

Frank Vitaro is a professor at the Department of Psychoeducation at the University of Montreal and is part of the Groupe de recherche sur l'inadaptation psychosociale chez l'enfant (GRIP). His research focuses on risk and protection factors related to games of chance and gambling in children as well as the interdependence between games of chance, gambling and consequences such as drug use, delinquency and school difficulties. He also looks at strategies aimed at preventing or reducing the negative effects of such problems. His studies, already the subject of numerous publications, are characterized by a developmental (i.e. longitudinal) and experimental approach.

Presentations

• Friends, aggression, and friendship quality: An application of the actor-partner interdependence model. Biennial Meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development, Denver, USA, April 2009.
• A closer look at peer rejection and friendedness as links between childhood disruptiveness and adolescent psychopathology. Biennial Meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development, Denver, USA, April 2009.
• Prévenir l’inadaptation psychosociale par une approche ciblée, générique et multimodale. Colloque sur la prévention des handicaps et des retards de développement, Montreal, October 2008.
• Monozygotic twin differences study of peer influence on childhood physical aggression. Biennial Meeting of the International Society for the Study of Behavioral Development, Würzbug, Germany, July 2008.
• Les défis de la prévention face à l’interdépendance entre les comportements de prise de risque chez les jeunes (round table). Journées annuelles en santé publique, Montreal, November 2007.