Our People

Amélie Petitclerc, Ph.D.

Dr. Amélie Petitclerc (amelie.petitclerc@tc.columbia.edu) is a Visiting Scholar at the NCCF, supported by a postdoctoral fellowship from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. She completed a MA in forensic psychology at the University of British Columbia and a PhD in clinical psychology (2008) at l’Université Laval, in Quebec City. She pursued postdoctoral research for two years in Ireland, at the University College Dublin Geary Institute, before arriving at the NCCF in January 2011. She is interested in the development and prevention of disruptive behavior problems in children, and the use of new statistical methods to test causal effects of services and policies on children’s development. She currently works on data from the Infant Health and Development Program, as well as longitudinal studies from Canada and other Western countries.

Selected Publications

Petitclerc, A., Boivin, M., Dionne, G., Pérusse, D., & Tremblay, R.E. (2011). Genetic and environmental etiology of disregard for rules. Behavior Genetics, 41(2), 192-200.

Côté, S., Petitclerc, A., Raynault, M.-F., Xu, Q., Boivin, M., & Tremblay, R.E. Short- and Long-term risk for infections as a function of group child care attendance: An 8-year population based study (2010). Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, 164(12), 1132-1137.

Boivin, M., Petitclerc, A., Feng, B., Barker, E.D., Delgadillo, S.S. (2010). The developmental trajectories of peer victimization in middle to late childhood and the changing nature of their behavioral correlates. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 56(3), 231-260.

Petitclerc, A., Boivin, M., Dionne, G., Zoccolillo, M., & Tremblay, R.E. (2009). Disregard for rules: The early development and predictors of a specific dimension of disruptive behavior disorders.  Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 50(12), 1477-1484.

Petitclerc, A. & Tremblay, R.E. (2009). Childhood disruptive behaviour disorders: Review of their origin, development, and prevention. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 54(4), 222-231.

Frick, P.J. & Petitclerc, A. (2009). The use of callous-unemotional traits to define important subtypes of antisocial and violent youth. In S. Hodgins, E. Viding, & A. Plodowski, The neurobiological basis of violence: Science and rehabilitation (pp. 65-84). London, NY : Oxford University Press.

Boivin, M., Ouellet-Morin, I. & Petitclerc, A. (2006). Une analyse psychosociale de l’agression. In R.J. Vallerand (Ed.), Les fondements de la psychologie sociale (2nd Ed., pp. 381-421). Montréal : Gaëtan Morin.


Selected Presentations

Petitclerc, A., Gatti, U., Vitaro, F., & Tremblay, R.E. (June 2011). Does the juvenile justice system work? A propensity-score matching study of its effects on adult criminality. Paper presented at the Society for Prevention Research (SPR) Annual Meeting, Washington, DC.

Petitclerc, A., Ouellet-Morin, I., Cote, S., Dionne, D., Boivin, M., & Tremblay, R.E. (March 2011). Genetic and Environmental Etiology of the Link Between Infancy Basal Cortisol and Future Externalizing Behavior. Paper presented as part of the symposium “Why Does Low Cortisol Predict Aggression in Children and Youth?”, chaired by Jacquelyn Mize, at the Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD) Biennial Conference, Montreal, Canada.

Petitclerc, A., Doyle, O., & Cote, S. (March 2011). Who Uses and Benefits From Childcare? A Cross-National Analysis of Childcare and Disadvantaged Children. Paper presented as part of the symposium “Child Care and Child Development in Western Countries: Results From 3 European and North American Population Samples”, chaired by Sylvana Cote, at the Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD) Biennial Conference, Montreal, Canada.

Petitclerc, A., Boivin, M., & Tremblay, R.E. (August 2009). Poor Emotion Discrimination in 7-Year-Old Twins with Callous and Noncompliant Behavior: The Role of Genetic and Environmental Factors. Poster presented at the Context, Causes, and Consequences of Conflict Workshop. Leiden, The Netherlands.

Petitclerc, A., Harmon, C., & Tremblay, R.E. (May 2009). Impact of Family Events and Choices on Young Children’s Conduct Problem Trajectories: The Case of Service Use. Poster presented at the Society for Prevention Research (SPR) Conference, Washington, DC.

Petitclerc, A., Boivin, M., Dionne, G., Pérusse, D., & Tremblay, R.E. (April 2009). Genetic and Environmental Etiology of Continuity and Change in Early Childhood Hyperactive-Impulsive and Inattentive Symptoms. Poster presented at the Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD) Biennial Meeting, Denver, CO.