Females' Reasons for Their Physical Aggression in Dating Relationships

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hettrich, Emma L.; O'Leary, K. Daniel

2007-01-01

Approximately 32% of dating college females reported that they engaged in physical aggression against their partners and that they engaged in acts of physical aggression more often than their male partners engaged in aggression against them. However, the females also reported that their male partners attempted to force them to engage in oral sex…

Televised relational and physical aggression and children's hostile intent attributions.

PubMed

Martins, Nicole

2013-12-01

An experiment was conducted with 150 children (mean age=10.1years) in third to fifth grades to test whether exposure to different forms of aggression in the media affected hostile attributional biases in response to different forms of provocation scenarios. Children were randomly assigned to watch a clip containing physical aggression, relational aggression, or no aggression. After exposure, children were asked to respond to a series of written provocation scenarios where a character caused some form of harm (instrumental or relational) to a target person, but the intent of the provocateur was ambiguous. Results revealed that exposure to relationally aggressive portrayals resulted in a hostile attributional bias in response to relational scenarios, whereas exposure to portrayals of physical aggression was associated with a hostile attributional bias in response to instrumental scenarios. Moreover, these biases were shown to be specific to the exposure condition (physical or relational) and not simply associated with exposure to aggression in general. The findings are discussed in terms of the general aggression model and children's social information processing. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Negative affect and parental aggression in child physical abuse.

PubMed

Mammen, Oommen K; Kolko, David J; Pilkonis, Paul A

2002-04-01

Parental negative affect is a risk factor for child physical abuse. As negative affect contributes to aggression, and because physical abuse involves an aggressive act directed at the child, we examined the relationship between negative affect and parent-to-child aggression (PTCA) in parents reported to Child Protective Services for physical abuse. Baseline assessment data were retrospectively examined on 49 participants in a treatment study for child physical abuse. The negative affects studied were depression, anxiety, and hostility on the Beck Depression Inventory and the Brief Symptom Inventory. PTCA was assessed using the physical aggression subscales (Minor and Severe Physical Violence) of the Conflict Tactics Scale. The contribution of these negative affects to PTCA was examined after controlling individually for the effects of parental attributions and contextual variables widely regarded as etiological factors in child physical abuse. Contributions of negative affect to PTCA after individually controlling for other predictors were found for Minor Physical Violence but not Severe Physical Violence. Findings were strongest with depression on the Beck Depression Inventory and to a lesser extent with hostility on the Brief Symptom Inventory. Finding that negative affect contributed to PTCA in this sample suggests that it may be important to study the effects of emotion-focused treatments in physically abusive parents. These findings also suggest that PTCA may have qualities of impulsive aggression, a form of aggression that is conceptualized as driven by negative affect, occurs in response to aversive events, and is not planned.

Physical Aggression and Expressive Vocabulary in 19-Month-Old Twins.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dionne, Ginette; Tremblay, Richard; Boivin, Michel; Laplante, David; Perusse, Daniel

2003-01-01

Used a genetic design to investigate association between physical aggression and language development in 19-month-old twins. Found a modest but significant correlation between aggression and expressive vocabulary. Substantial heritability was found for physical aggression. Quantitative genetic modeling suggested that the correlation could not be…

Signaling aggression.

PubMed

van Staaden, Moira J; Searcy, William A; Hanlon, Roger T

2011-01-01

From psychological and sociological standpoints, aggression is regarded as intentional behavior aimed at inflicting pain and manifested by hostility and attacking behaviors. In contrast, biologists define aggression as behavior associated with attack or escalation toward attack, omitting any stipulation about intentions and goals. Certain animal signals are strongly associated with escalation toward attack and have the same function as physical attack in intimidating opponents and winning contests, and ethologists therefore consider them an integral part of aggressive behavior. Aggressive signals have been molded by evolution to make them ever more effective in mediating interactions between the contestants. Early theoretical analyses of aggressive signaling suggested that signals could never be honest about fighting ability or aggressive intentions because weak individuals would exaggerate such signals whenever they were effective in influencing the behavior of opponents. More recent game theory models, however, demonstrate that given the right costs and constraints, aggressive signals are both reliable about strength and intentions and effective in influencing contest outcomes. Here, we review the role of signaling in lieu of physical violence, considering threat displays from an ethological perspective as an adaptive outcome of evolutionary selection pressures. Fighting prowess is conveyed by performance signals whose production is constrained by physical ability and thus limited to just some individuals, whereas aggressive intent is encoded in strategic signals that all signalers are able to produce. We illustrate recent advances in the study of aggressive signaling with case studies of charismatic taxa that employ a range of sensory modalities, viz. visual and chemical signaling in cephalopod behavior, and indicators of aggressive intent in the territorial calls of songbirds. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The validity of physical aggression in predicting adolescent academic performance.

PubMed

Loveland, James M; Lounsbury, John W; Welsh, Deborah; Buboltz, Walter C

2007-03-01

Aggression has a long history in academic research as both a criterion and a predictor variable and it is well documented that aggression is related to a variety of poor academic outcomes such as: lowered academic performance, absenteeism and lower graduation rates. However, recent research has implicated physical aggression as being predictive of lower academic performance. The purpose of this study was to examine the role of the 'Big Five' personality traits of agreeableness, openness to experience, conscientiousness, neuroticism and extraversion and physical aggression in predicting the grade point averages (GPA) of adolescent students and to investigate whether or not there were differences in these relationships between male and female students. A sample of 992 students in grades 9 to 12 from a high school in south-eastern USA as part of a larger study examining the students' preparation for entry into the workforce. The study was correlational in nature: students completed a personality inventory developed by the second author with the GPA information supplied by the school. Results indicated that physical aggression accounts for 16% of variance in GPA and it adds 7% to the prediction of GPA beyond the Big Five. The Big Five traits added only 1.5% to the prediction of GPA after controlling for physical aggression. Interestingly, a significantly larger amount of variance in GPA was predicted by physical aggression for females than for males. Aggression accounts for significantly more variance in the GPA of females than for males, even when controlling for the Big Five personality factors. Future research should examine the differences in the expression of aggression in males and females, as well as how this is affecting interactions between peers and between students and their teachers.

Resilience in physically abused children: protective factors for aggression.

PubMed

Holmes, Megan R; Yoon, Susan; Voith, Laura A; Kobulsky, Julia M; Steigerwald, Stacey

2015-04-27

Aggression continues to be a serious problem among children, especially those children who have experienced adverse life events such as maltreatment. However, there are many maltreated children who show resilient functioning. This study investigated potential protective factors (i.e., child prosocial skills, child internalizing well-being, and caregiver well-being) that promoted positive adaptation and increased the likelihood of a child engaging in the healthy, normative range of aggressive behavior, despite experiencing physical maltreatment. Logistic regression analyses were conducted using two waves of data from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW-I). Children who were physically maltreated were more likely to exhibit clinical levels of aggressive behavior at Time 1 than children who were not physically maltreated. Children's internalizing well-being, children's prosocial behavior, and caregivers' well-being were associated with lower likelihood of clinical levels of aggressive behavior at Time 1. Children's internalizing well-being and children's prosocial behavior remained significantly associated with nonclinical aggression 18 months later. These findings highlight the role of protective factors in fostering positive and adaptive behaviors in maltreated children. Interventions focusing on preventing early aggression and reinforcing child prosocial skills, child internalizing well-being, and caregiver well-being may be promising in promoting healthy positive behavioral adjustment.

Childhood physical abuse and aggression: Shame and narcissistic vulnerability.

PubMed

Keene, Amanda C; Epps, James

2016-01-01

This study examined narcissistic vulnerability and shame-proneness as potential mediators between childhood physical abuse (CPA) and adult anger and aggression. Participants were 400 undergraduate students, 134 of whom had a history of CPA. All participants completed self-report questionnaires assessing history of CPA, shame-proneness, narcissistic vulnerability, physical aggression, trait anger, and hostility. Results indicated abused participants were more angry and aggressive and experienced higher levels of shame-proneness and narcissistic vulnerability than nonabused participants. Multiple mediation analyses showed that narcissistic vulnerability, but not shame-proneness, partially mediated the relation between abuse and physical aggression. However, narcissistic vulnerability and shame-proneness both emerged as partial mediators between abuse and the anger and hostility variables. These findings suggest that narcissistic vulnerability and shame-proneness may function as mediators of adjustment following childhood maltreatment. Study limitations and recommendations for future research are discussed. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Validity of Physical Aggression in Predicting Adolescent Academic Performance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Loveland, James M.; Lounsbury, John W.; Welsh, Deborah; Buboltz, Walter C.

2007-01-01

Background: Aggression has a long history in academic research as both a criterion and a predictor variable and it is well documented that aggression is related to a variety of poor academic outcomes such as: lowered academic performance, absenteeism and lower graduation rates. However, recent research has implicated physical aggression as being…

Kindergarten Children's Genetic Vulnerabilities Interact with Friends' Aggression to Promote Children's Own Aggression

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

van Lier, Pol; Boivin, Michel; Dionne, Ginette; Vitaro, Frank; Brendgen, Mara; Koot, Hans; Tremblay, Richard E.; Perusse, Daniel

2007-01-01

Objective: To examine whether kindergarten children's genetic liability to physically aggress moderates the contribution of friends' aggression to their aggressive behaviors. Method: Teacher and peer reports of aggression were available for 359 6-year-old twin pairs (145 MZ, 212 DZ) as well as teacher and peer reports of aggression of the two best…

Childhood Chronic Physical Aggression Associates with Adult Cytokine Levels in Plasma

PubMed Central

Provençal, Nadine; Suderman, Matthew J.; Vitaro, Frank; Szyf, Moshe; Tremblay, Richard E.

2013-01-01

Background An increasing number of animal and human studies are indicating that inflammation is associated with behavioral disorders including aggression. This study investigates the association between chronic physical aggression during childhood and plasma cytokine levels in early adulthood. Methodology/Principal Findings Two longitudinal studies were used to select males on a chronic physical aggression trajectory from childhood to adolescence (n = 7) and a control group from the same background (n = 25). Physical aggression was assessed yearly by teachers from childhood to adolescence and plasma levels of 10 inflammatory cytokines were assessed at age 26 and 28 years. Compared to the control group, males on a chronic physical aggression trajectory from childhood to adolescence had consistently lower plasma levels of five cytokines: lower pro-inflammatory interleukins IL-1α (T(28.7) = 3.48, P = 0.002) and IL-6 (T(26.9) = 3.76, P = 0.001), lower anti-inflammatory interleukin IL-4 (T(27.1) = 4.91, P = 0.00004) and IL-10 (T(29.8) = 2.84, P = 0.008) and lower chemokine IL-8 (T(26) = 3.69, P = 0.001). The plasma levels of four cytokines accurately predicted aggressive and control group membership for all subjects. Conclusions/Significance Physical aggression of boys during childhood is a strong predictor of reduced plasma levels of cytokines in early adulthood. The causal and physiological relations underlying this association should be further investigated since animal data suggest that some cytokines such as IL-6 and IL-1β play a causal role in aggression. PMID:23922720

Childhood physical abuse, aggression, and suicide attempts among criminal offenders

PubMed Central

Swogger, Marc T.; You, Sungeun; Cashman-Brown, Sarah; Conner, Kenneth R.

2010-01-01

Childhood physical abuse (CPA) has numerous short and long-term negative effects. One of the most serious consequences of CPA is an increased risk for suicide attempts. Clarifying the mechanisms by which CPA increases risk for suicidal behavior may enhance preventative interventions. One potential mechanism is a tendency toward aggression. In a sample of 266 criminal offenders, ages 18–62, we examined the relationships among CPA, lifetime aggression, and suicide attempts and tested lifetime history of aggression as a mediator of the relationship between CPA and suicide attempts. Results indicated that CPA and aggression were associated with suicide attempts. Consistent with our hypothesis, lifetime aggression mediated the CPA-suicide attempt relationship. Findings suggest that aggression may be an important mediator of the relationship between CPA and suicide attempts among criminal offenders, and are consistent with the possibility that treating aggression may reduce risk for suicide attempts. PMID:20724000

Gender Differences in Predicting Antisocial Behaviors: Developmental Consequences of Physical and Relational Aggression

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McEachern, Amber D.; Snyder, James

2012-01-01

This study investigated gender differences in the relationship of early physical and relational aggression to later peer rejection and overt and covert antisocial behaviors. Significant gender differences were found indicating physically aggressive boys were more likely than girls to experience later peer rejection. Early physical aggression was…

Childhood physical abuse, aggression, and suicide attempts among criminal offenders.

PubMed

Swogger, Marc T; You, Sungeun; Cashman-Brown, Sarah; Conner, Kenneth R

2011-02-28

Childhood physical abuse (CPA) has numerous short and long-term negative effects. One of the most serious consequences of CPA is an increased risk for suicide attempts. Clarifying the mechanisms by which CPA increases risk for suicidal behavior may enhance preventive interventions. One potential mechanism is a tendency toward aggression. In a sample of 266 criminal offenders, ages 18-62, we examined the relationships among CPA, lifetime aggression, and suicide attempts and tested lifetime history of aggression as a mediator of the relationship between CPA and suicide attempts. Results indicated that CPA and aggression were associated with suicide attempts. Consistent with our hypothesis, lifetime aggression mediated the CPA and suicide attempts relationship. Findings suggest that aggression may be an important mediator of the relationship between CPA and suicide attempts among criminal offenders, and are consistent with the possibility that treating aggression may reduce risk for suicide attempts. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Impact of physical maltreatment on the regulation of negative affect and aggression.

PubMed

Shackman, Jessica E; Pollak, Seth D

2014-11-01

Physically maltreated children are at risk for developing externalizing behavioral problems characterized by reactive aggression. The current experiment tested the relationships between individual differences in a neural index of social information processing, histories of child maltreatment, child negative affect, and aggressive behavior. Fifty boys (17 maltreated) performed an emotion recognition task while the P3b component of the event-related potential was recorded to index attention allocation to angry faces. Children then participated in a peer-directed aggression task. Negative affect was measured by recording facial electromyography, and aggression was indexed by the feedback that children provided to a putative peer. Physically maltreated children exhibited greater negative affect and more aggressive behavior, compared to nonmaltreated children, and this relationship was mediated by children's allocation of attention to angry faces. These data suggest that physical maltreatment leads to inappropriate regulation of both negative affect and aggression, which likely place maltreated children at increased risk for the development and maintenance of externalizing behavior disorders.

Impact of physical maltreatment on the regulation of negative affect and aggression

PubMed Central

SHACKMAN, JESSICA E.; POLLAK, SETH D.

2015-01-01

Physically maltreated children are at risk for developing externalizing behavioral problems characterized by reactive aggression. The current experiment tested the relationships between individual differences in a neural index of social information processing, histories of child maltreatment, child negative affect, and aggressive behavior. Fifty boys (17 maltreated) performed an emotion recognition task while the P3b component of the event-related potential was recorded to index attention allocation to angry faces. Children then participated in a peer-directed aggression task. Negative affect was measured by recording facial electromyography, and aggression was indexed by the feedback that children provided to a putative peer. Physically maltreated children exhibited greater negative affect and more aggressive behavior, compared to nonmaltreated children, and this relationship was mediated by children’s allocation of attention to angry faces. These data suggest that physical maltreatment leads to inappropriate regulation of both negative affect and aggression, which likely place maltreated children at increased risk for the development and maintenance of externalizing behavior disorders. PMID:24914736

Teachers' Perceptions of Physical Aggression among Secondary School Students: A New Zealand View

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marsh, Louise; Williams, Sheila; McGee, Rob

2009-01-01

Previous research has found differences between adults' and students' perceptions of adolescents' aggressive behaviour. This study examines teachers' perceptions of physical aggression among New Zealand secondary school students. A survey assessed teachers' perceptions of problematic behaviour, and physical aggression by students towards teachers.…

Effects of viewing relational aggression on television on aggressive behavior in adolescents: A three-year longitudinal study.

PubMed

Coyne, Sarah M

2016-02-01

Most researchers on media and aggression have examined the behavioral effects of viewing physical aggression in the media. Conversely, in the current study, I examined longitudinal associations between viewing relational aggression on TV and subsequent aggressive behavior. Participants included 467 adolescents who completed a number of different questionnaires involving media and aggression at 3 different time points. Results revealed that viewing relational aggression on TV was longitudinally associated with future relational aggression. However, early levels of relational aggression did not predict future exposure to televised relational aggression. Conversely, there was a bidirectional relationship between TV violence and physical aggression over time. No longitudinal evidence was found for a general effect of viewing TV, as all significant media effects were specific to the type of aggression viewed. These results support the general aggression model and suggest that viewing relational aggression in the media can have a long-term effect on aggressive behavior during adolescence. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved.

The Influence of Aggressors' Characteristics on Teachers' Responses to Physical and Relational Aggression

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rogowicz, Samantha T.; Del Vecchio, Tamara; Dwyer-Masin, Tanya; Hughes, Elizabeth M.

2014-01-01

In the present study, middle school teachers responded to written vignettes describing physical and relational aggressive incidents. The aggressors were male or female children committing an aggressive act against same-sex peers, who were also described as good or bad. Among the results, teachers rated female physical aggression as more serious…

“Bad Romance”: Links between Psychological and Physical Aggression and Relationship Functioning in Adolescent Couples

PubMed Central

Seiffge-Krenke, Inge; Burk, William J.

2015-01-01

Assortative mating is an important issue in explaining antisocial, aggressive behavior. It is yet unclear, whether the similarity paradigm fully explains frequent displays of aggression in adolescents’ romantic relationships. In a sample of 194 romantic partner dyads, differences between female and male partners’ reports of aggression (psychological and physical) and different measures of relationship functioning (e.g., jealousy, conflicts, and the affiliative and romantic quality of the relationship) were assessed. A hierarchical cluster analysis identified five distinct subgroups of dyads based on male and female reports of psychological and physical aggression: nonaggressive couples, couples with higher perceived aggressiveness (both physical and psychological) by females, couples with higher aggressiveness perceived by males and mutually aggressive couples. A substantial number of non-aggressive dyads emerged. Of note was the high number of females showing one-sided aggression, which was, however, not countered by their partner. The mutually aggressive couples showed the least adaptive relationship functioning, with a lack of supportive, trusting relationship qualities, high conflict rates and high jealousy. The discussion focuses on the different functions of aggression in these early romantic relations, and the aggravating impact of mutual aggression on relationship functioning and its potential antisocial outcomes. PMID:26067515

Physical and verbal aggressive behavior and COMT genotype: Sensitivity to the environment.

PubMed

Tuvblad, Catherine; Narusyte, Jurgita; Comasco, Erika; Andershed, Henrik; Andershed, Anna-Karin; Colins, Olivier F; Fanti, Kostas A; Nilsson, Kent W

2016-07-01

Catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) genotype has been implicated as a vulnerability factor for several psychiatric diseases as well as aggressive behavior, either directly, or in interaction with an adverse environment. The present study aimed at investigating the susceptibility properties of COMT genotype to adverse and favorable environment in relation to physical and verbal aggressive behavior. The COMT Val158Met polymorphism was genotyped in a Swedish population-based cohort including 1,783 individuals, ages 20-24 years (47% males). A significant three-way interaction was found, after correction for multiple testing, between COMT genotype, exposure to violence, and parent-child relationship in association with physical but not verbal aggressive behavior. Homozygous for the Val allele reported lower levels of physical aggressive behavior when they were exposed to violence and at the same time experienced a positive parent-child relationship compared to Met carriers. Thus, susceptibility properties of COMT genotype were observed in relation to physical aggressive behavior supporting the hypothesis that COMT genotypes are modifying the sensitivity to environment that confers either risk or protection for aggressive behavior. As these are novel findings, they warrant further investigation and replication in independent samples. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Experiences of Psychological and Physical Aggression in Adolescent Romantic Relationships: Links to Psychological Distress

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jouriles, Ernest N.; Garrido, Edward; Rosenfield, David; McDonald, Renee

2009-01-01

Objective: This research examined links between adolescents' experiences of psychological and physical relationship aggression and their psychological distress. Experiences of psychological and physical aggression were expected to correlate positively with symptoms of psychological distress, but experiences of psychological aggression were…

Parents who hit and scream: interactive effects of verbal and severe physical aggression on clinic-referred adolescents' adjustment.

PubMed

LeRoy, Michelle; Mahoney, Annette; Boxer, Paul; Gullan, Rebecca Lakin; Fang, Qijuan

2014-05-01

The goals of this study were first, to delineate the co-occurrence of parental severe physical aggression and verbal aggression toward clinic-referred adolescents, and second, to examine the interactive effects of parental severe physical aggression and verbal aggression on adolescent externalizing and internalizing behavior problems. This research involved 239 referrals of 11- to 18-year-old youth and their dual-parent families to a non-profit, private community mental health center in a semi-rural Midwest community. Multiple informants (i.e., adolescents and mothers) were used to assess parental aggression and adolescent behavior problems. More than half of clinic-referred adolescents (51%) experienced severe physical aggression and/or high verbal aggression from one or both parents. A pattern of interactive effects of mother-to-adolescent severe physical aggression and verbal aggression on adolescent behavior problems emerged, indicating that when severe physical aggression was present, mother-to-adolescent verbal aggression was positively associated with greater adolescent behavior problems whereas when severe physical aggression was not present, the links between verbal aggression and behavior problems was no longer significant. No interactive effects were found for father-to-adolescent severe physical aggression and verbal aggression on adolescent adjustment; however, higher father-to-adolescent verbal aggression was consistently linked to behavior problems above and beyond the influence of severe physical aggression. The results of this study should promote the practice of routinely assessing clinic-referred adolescents and their parents about their experiences of verbal aggression in addition to severe physical aggression and other forms of abuse. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The role of social networks in physical and relational aggression among young adolescents.

PubMed

Low, Sabina; Polanin, Joshua R; Espelage, Dorothy L

2013-07-01

Despite the veritable influence of the peer context on the elaboration of adolescent aggression, few studies of relational aggression have directly identified and measured peer groups, limiting our ability to draw formal conclusions about the level and nature of peer influence. The current study used a developmental framework to examine peer group influence on individual levels of physical and relational aggression over a year with 6th and 7th grade students (n = 346, 51 % female). A multilevel network approach was used in which peer groups were identified via social network analysis, and peer group influence was evaluated with hierarchical linear modeling (HLM). HLM analyses indicated that peer group aggression (physical and relational) at time 1 was predictive of individual aggression levels at time 2 after controlling for other peer group characteristics as well as other individual risk and protective factors. Although both forms of aggression were embedded in peer networks, findings suggest that physical aggression is relatively less endemic to peer networks, and is more likely to occur in smaller, predominantly male networks. The current study highlights the importance of understanding the influence of peer group membership on adolescent aggression and points to important implications for prevention.

Media violence exposure and physical aggression in fifth-grade children.

PubMed

Coker, Tumaini R; Elliott, Marc N; Schwebel, David C; Windle, Michael; Toomey, Sara L; Tortolero, Susan R; Hertz, Marci F; Peskin, Melissa F; Schuster, Mark A

2015-01-01

To examine the association of media violence exposure and physical aggression in fifth graders across 3 media types. We analyzed data from a population-based, cross-sectional survey of 5,147 fifth graders and their parents in 3 US metropolitan areas. We used multivariable linear regression and report partial correlation coefficients to examine associations between children's exposure to violence in television/film, video games, and music (reported time spent consuming media and reported frequency of violent content: physical fighting, hurting, shooting, or killing) and the Problem Behavior Frequency Scale. Child-reported media violence exposure was associated with physical aggression after multivariable adjustment for sociodemographics, family and community violence, and child mental health symptoms (partial correlation coefficients: TV, 0.17; video games, 0.15; music, 0.14). This association was significant and independent for television, video games, and music violence exposure in a model including all 3 media types (partial correlation coefficients: TV, 0.11; video games, 0.09; music, 0.09). There was a significant positive interaction between media time and media violence for video games and music but not for television. Effect sizes for the association of media violence exposure and physical aggression were greater in magnitude than for most of the other examined variables. The association between physical aggression and media violence exposure is robust and persistent; the strength of this association of media violence may be at least as important as that of other factors with physical aggression in children, such as neighborhood violence, home violence, child mental health, and male gender. Copyright © 2015 Academic Pediatric Association. All rights reserved.

Verbal and physical aggression directed at nursing home staff by residents.

PubMed

Lachs, Mark S; Rosen, Tony; Teresi, Jeanne A; Eimicke, Joseph P; Ramirez, Mildred; Silver, Stephanie; Pillemer, Karl

2013-05-01

Little research has been conducted on aggression directed at staff by nursing home residents. To estimate the prevalence of resident-to-staff aggression (RSA) over a 2-week period. Prevalent cohort study. Large urban nursing homes. Population-based sample of 1,552 residents (80 % of eligible residents) and 282 certified nursing assistants. Measures of resident characteristics and staff reports of physical, verbal, or sexual behaviors directed at staff by residents. The staff response rate was 89 %. Staff reported that 15.6 % of residents directed aggressive behaviors toward them (2.8 % physical, 7.5 % verbal, 0.5 % sexual, and 4.8 % both verbal and physical). The most commonly reported type was verbal (12.4 %), particularly screaming at the certified nursing assistant (9.0 % of residents). Overall, physical aggression toward staff was reported for 7.6 % of residents, the most common being hitting (3.9 % of residents). Aggressive behaviors occurred most commonly in resident rooms (77.2 %) and in the morning (84.3 %), typically during the provision of morning care. In a logistic regression model, three clinical factors were significantly associated with resident-to-staff aggression: greater disordered behavior (OR = 6.48, 95 % CI: 4.55, 9.21), affective disturbance (OR = 2.29, 95 % CI: 1.68, 3.13), and need for activities of daily living morning assistance (OR = 2.16, 95 % CI: 1.53, 3.05). Hispanic (as contrasted with White) residents were less likely to be identified as aggressors toward staff (OR = 0.57, 95 % CI: 0.36, 0.91). Resident-to-staff aggression in nursing homes is common, particularly during morning care. A variety of demographic and clinical factors was associated with resident-to-staff aggression; this could serve as the basis for evidence-based interventions. Because RSA may negatively affect the quality of care, resident and staff safety, and staff job satisfaction and turnover, further research is needed to understand its causes and

The Development of Individual Physically Aggressive Behaviors from Infancy to Toddlerhood

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lorber, Michael F.; Del Vecchio, Tamara; Smith Slep, Amy M.

2018-01-01

In the present investigation, we studied the development of 6 physically aggressive behaviors in infancy and toddlerhood, posing 3 questions (a) How do the prevalences of individual physically aggressive behaviors change from 8, 15, and 24 months? (b) Are there groups of children who show distinctive patterns in the way individual physically…

Longitudinal Relations between Beliefs Supporting Aggression,Anger Regulation, and Dating Aggression among Early Adolescents.

PubMed

Sullivan, Terri N; Garthe, Rachel C; Goncy, Elizabeth A; Carlson, Megan M; Behrhorst, Kathryn L

2017-05-01

Dating aggression occurs frequently in early to mid-adolescence and has negative repercussions for psychosocial adjustment and physical health. The patterns of behavior learned during this developmental timeframe may persist in future dating relationships, underscoring the need to identify risk factors for this outcome. The current study examined longitudinal relations between beliefs supporting aggression, anger regulation, and dating aggression. Participants were 176 middle school students in sixth, seventh, and eighth grade (50 % female; 82 % African American). No direct effects were found between beliefs supporting reactive or proactive aggression and dating aggression. Beliefs supporting reactive aggression predicted increased rates of anger dysregulation, and beliefs supporting proactive aggression led to subsequent increases in anger inhibition. Anger dysregulation and inhibition were associated with higher frequencies of dating aggression. An indirect effect was found for the relation between beliefs supporting reactive aggression and dating aggression via anger dysregulation. Another indirect effect emerged for the relation between beliefs supporting proactive aggression and dating aggression through anger inhibition. The study's findings suggested that beliefs supporting proactive and reactive aggression were differentially related to emotion regulation processes, and identified anger dysregulation and inhibition as risk factors for dating aggression among adolescents.

Physical and psychological aggression in dating relationships of Spanish adolescents: motives and consequences.

PubMed

Fernández-Fuertes, Andres A; Fuertes, Antonio

2010-03-01

The purpose of the study was to examine three aspects of romantic relationships of Spanish adolescents: the prevalence of verbal-emotional and physical aggressive behaviors, correlates of dating violence perpetration (both verbal-emotional and physical aggression), and consequences of violence for victims' well-being. A convenience sample of 567 participants (15-19 years old) who voluntarily completed anonymous, self-report questionnaires was used. All were students from 5 public high schools in Salamanca, Spain. Females reported having perpetrated significantly more aggressive acts in their intimate relationships than males did, although the magnitude of differences between both groups was small; in contrast, no sex differences were noted in the frequency of aggressions suffered by adolescents. A strong relationship was observed between the perpetration and victimization of both verbal-emotional and physical aggression across genders. A strong link was observed between jealousy and aggression perpetration (both verbal-emotional and physical). Finally, verbal-emotional aggression represented the most common form of aggressive behavior used at these ages, and relationship deterioration was the most frequent consequence of arguments. These results demonstrate that the use of abusive behaviors in adolescent dating relationships is prevalent in Spain. Sex differences were evident in the perpetration of aggression, as well as some of the motivations for, and the effects of, dating violence. The present study underlines the need for early intervention programs aimed at decreasing any tolerance for the use of violence in dating relationships of Spanish adolescents. Such programs should include both victimization-based and perpetration-based activities, since the evidence on the relatively mutual nature of dating violence in adolescence points in this direction. Copyright (c) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Intra- Versus Intersex Aggression: Testing Theories of Sex Differences Using Aggression Networks.

PubMed

Wölfer, Ralf; Hewstone, Miles

2015-08-01

Two theories offer competing explanations of sex differences in aggressive behavior: sexual-selection theory and social-role theory. While each theory has specific strengths and limitations depending on the victim's sex, research hardly differentiates between intrasex and intersex aggression. In the present study, 11,307 students (mean age = 14.96 years; 50% girls, 50% boys) from 597 school classes provided social-network data (aggression and friendship networks) as well as physical (body mass index) and psychosocial (gender and masculinity norms) information. Aggression networks were used to disentangle intra- and intersex aggression, whereas their class-aggregated sex differences were analyzed using contextual predictors derived from sexual-selection and social-role theories. As expected, results revealed that sexual-selection theory predicted male-biased sex differences in intrasex aggression, whereas social-role theory predicted male-biased sex differences in intersex aggression. Findings suggest the value of explaining sex differences separately for intra- and intersex aggression with a dual-theory framework covering both evolutionary and normative components. © The Author(s) 2015.

Family Predictors of Continuity and Change in Social and Physical Aggression from Ages 9 – 18

PubMed Central

Ehrenreich, Samuel E.; Beron, Kurt J.; Brinkley, Dawn Y.; Underwood, Marion K.

2014-01-01

This research examined developmental trajectories for social and physical aggression for a sample followed from age 9–18, and investigated possible family predictors of following different trajectory groups. Participants were 158 girls and 138 boys, their teachers, and their parents (21% African American, 5.3% Asian, 51.6% Caucasian, and 21% Hispanic). Teachers rated children’s social and physical aggression yearly in grades 3–12. Participants’ parent (83% mothers) reported on family income, conflict strategies, and maternal authoritarian and permissive parenting styles. The results suggested that both social and physical aggression decline slightly from middle childhood through late adolescence. Using a dual trajectory model, group based mixture modeling revealed three trajectory groups for both social and physical aggression: low-, medium-, and high-desisting for social aggression, and stably-low, stably-medium, and high-desisting for physical aggression. Membership in higher trajectory groups was predicted by being from a single-parent family, and having a parent high on permissiveness. Being male was related to both elevated physical aggression trajectories and the medium-desisting social aggression trajectory. Negative interparental conflict strategies did not predict social or physical aggression trajectories when permissive parenting was included in the model. Permissive parenting in middle childhood predicted following higher social aggression trajectories across many years, which suggests that parents setting fewer limits on children’s behaviors may have lasting consequences for their peer relations. Future research should examine transactional relations between parenting styles and practices and aggression to understand the mechanisms that may contribute to changes in involvement in social and physical aggression across childhood and adolescence. PMID:24888340

Family predictors of continuity and change in social and physical aggression from ages 9 to 18.

PubMed

Ehrenreich, Samuel E; Beron, Kurt J; Brinkley, Dawn Y; Underwood, Marion K

2014-01-01

This research examined developmental trajectories for social and physical aggression for a sample followed from age 9 to 18, and investigated possible family predictors of following different trajectory groups. Participants were 158 girls and 138 boys, their teachers, and their parents (21% African American, 5.3% Asian, 51.6% Caucasian, and 21% Hispanic). Teachers rated children's social and physical aggression yearly in grades 3-12. Participants' parent (83% mothers) reported on family income, conflict strategies, and maternal authoritarian and permissive parenting styles. The results suggested that both social and physical aggression decline slightly from middle childhood through late adolescence. Using a dual trajectory model, group-based mixture modeling revealed three trajectory groups for both social and physical aggression: low-, medium-, and high-desisting for social aggression, and stably-low, stably-medium, and high-desisting for physical aggression. Membership in higher trajectory groups was predicted by being from a single-parent family, and having a parent high on permissiveness. Being male was related to both elevated physical aggression trajectories and the medium-desisting social aggression trajectory. Negative interparental conflict strategies did not predict social or physical aggression trajectories when permissive parenting was included in the model. Permissive parenting in middle childhood predicted following higher social aggression trajectories across many years, which suggests that parents setting fewer limits on children's behaviors may have lasting consequences for their peer relations. Future research should examine transactional relations between parenting styles and practices and aggression to understand the mechanisms that may contribute to changes in involvement in social and physical aggression across childhood and adolescence. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Physical Aggression in Children and Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorders

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mazurek, Micah O.; Kanne, Stephen M.; Wodka, Ericka L.

2013-01-01

Aggression is a clinically significant problem for many children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). However, there have been few large-scale studies addressing this issue. The current study examined the prevalence and correlates of physical aggression in a sample of 1584 children and adolescents with ASD enrolled in the Autism…

Aggression after traumatic brain injury: analysing socially desirable responses and the nature of aggressive traits.

PubMed

Dyer, Kevin F W; Bell, Rob; McCann, John; Rauch, Robert

2006-10-01

To compare patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI) with controls on sub-types of aggression and explore the role of social desirability. Quasi-experimental, matched-participants design. Sixty-nine participants were included in the study. The sample comprised a TBI group (n = 24), a spinal cord injury (SCI) group (n = 21) and an uninjured (UI) group of matched healthy volunteers (n = 24). Participants were given self-report measures of aggression, social desirability and impulsivity. Sixty-one independent 'other-raters' were nominated, who rated participant pre-morbid and post-morbid aggression. Using standardized norms, 25-39% of participants with TBI were classified as high average-very high on anger and 35-38% as high average-very high on verbal aggression. Other-raters rated participants with TBI as significantly higher on verbal aggression than SCI and UI participants. There were no differences between the groups on physical aggression. The TBI group also had higher levels of impulsivity than SCI and UI groups. Social desirability was a highly significant predictor of self-reported aggression for the entire sample. Impulsive verbal aggression and anger are the principal aggressive traits after brain injury. Physical aggression may present in extreme cases after TBI, but appears less prominent overall in this population. Social desirability, previously overlooked in research examining TBI aggression, emerged as an influential variable that should be considered in future TBI research.

Aggression on inpatient units: Clinical characteristics and consequences.

PubMed

Renwick, Laoise; Stewart, Duncan; Richardson, Michelle; Lavelle, Mary; James, Karen; Hardy, Claire; Price, Owen; Bowers, Len

2016-08-01

Aggression and violence are widespread in UK Mental Health Trusts, and are accompanied by negative psychological and physiological consequences for both staff and other patients. Patients who are younger, male, and have a history of substance use and psychosis diagnoses are more likely to display aggression; however, patient factors are not solely responsible for violence, and there are complex circumstances that lead to aggression. Indeed, patient-staff interactions lead to a sizeable portion of aggression and violence on inpatient units, thus they cannot be viewed without considering other forms of conflict and containment that occur before, during, and after the aggressive incident. For this reason, we examined sequences of aggressive incidents in conjunction with other conflict and containment methods used to explore whether there were particular profiles to aggressive incidents. In the present study, 522 adult psychiatric inpatients from 84 acute wards were recruited, and there were 1422 incidents of aggression (verbal, physical against objects, and physical). Cluster analysis revealed that aggressive incident sequences could be classified into four separate groups: solo aggression, aggression-rule breaking, aggression-medication, and aggression-containment. Contrary to our expectations, we did not find physical aggression dominant in the aggression-containment cluster, and while verbal aggression occurred primarily in solo aggression, physical aggression also occurred here. This indicates that the management of aggression is variable, and although some patient factors are linked with different clusters, these do not entirely explain the variation. © 2016 Australian College of Mental Health Nurses Inc.

Physical Dating Aggression Growth during Adolescence

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nocentini, Annalaura; Menesini, Ersilia; Pastorelli, Concetta

2010-01-01

The development of Physical Dating Aggression from the age of 16 to 18 years was investigated in relation to time-invariant predictors (gender, parental education, family composition, number of partners) and to time-varying effects of delinquent behavior and perception of victimization by the partner. The sample consisted of 181 adolescents with a…

Continuity and change in social and physical aggression from middle childhood through early adolescence.

PubMed

Underwood, Marion K; Beron, Kurt J; Rosen, Lisa H

2009-01-01

For a sample followed from age 9-13 (N=281), this investigation examined developmental trajectories for social and physical aggression as measured by teacher ratings. Trajectories for both forms of aggression were estimated first separately, then jointly. Mean levels of both social and physical aggression decreased over time for the overall sample, but with high variability of individual trajectories. Subgroups followed high trajectories for both social and physical aggression. Joint estimation yielded six trajectories: low stable, low increasers, medium increasers, medium desisters, high desisters, and high increasers. Membership in the high increaser group was predicted by male gender, unmarried parents, African American ethnicity, and maternal authoritarian and permissive parenting. Permissive parenting also predicted membership in the medium increaser group. This is one of the first studies to examine social aggression longitudinally across this developmental period. Though the results challenge the claim that social aggression is at its peak in early adolescence, the findings emphasize the importance of considering different developmental trajectories in trying to understand origins and outcomes of aggression.

Continuity and Change in Social and Physical Aggression from Middle Childhood through Early Adolescence

PubMed Central

Underwood, Marion K.; Beron, Kurt J.; Rosen, Lisa H.

2009-01-01

For a sample followed from age 9–13 (N=281), this investigation examined developmental trajectories for social and physical aggression as measured by teacher ratings. Trajectories for both forms of aggression were estimated first separately, then jointly. Mean levels of both social and physical aggression decreased over time for the overall sample, but with high variability of individual trajectories. Subgroups followed high trajectories for both social and physical aggression. Joint estimation yielded six trajectories: low stable, low increasers, medium increasers, medium desisters, high desisters, and high increasers. Membership in the high increaser group was predicted by male gender, unmarried parents, African American ethnicity, and maternal authoritarian and permissive parenting. Permissive parenting also predicted membership in the medium increaser group. This is one of the first studies to examine social aggression longitudinally across this developmental period. Though the results challenge the claim that social aggression is at its peak in early adolescence, the findings emphasize the importance of considering different developmental trajectories in trying to understand origins and outcomes of aggression. PMID:19685551

Dynamic Social Networks and Physical Aggression: The Moderating Role of Gender and Social Status Among Peers

PubMed Central

Rulison, Kelly L.; Gest, Scott D.; Loken, Eric

2013-01-01

We examined three interrelated questions: (1) Who selects physically aggressive friends?; (2) Are physically aggressive adolescents influential?; and (3) Who is susceptible to influence from these friends? Using stochastic actor-based modeling, we tested our hypotheses using a sample of 480 adolescents (ages 11–13) who were followed across four assessments (fall and spring of 6th and 7th grade). After controlling for other factors that drive network and behavioral dynamics, we found that physically aggressive adolescents were attractive as friends, physically aggressive adolescents and girls were more likely to select physically aggressive friends, and peer-rejected adolescents were less likely to select physically aggressive friends. There was an overall peer influence effect, but gender and social status were not significant moderators of influence. PMID:24068860

Daycare Center Attendance Buffers the Effects of Maternal Authoritarian Parenting Style on Physical Aggression in Children

PubMed Central

Muñoz, José M.; Braza, Paloma; Carreras, Rosario; Braza, Francisco; Azurmendi, Aitziber; Pascual-Sagastizábal, Eider; Cardas, Jaione; Sánchez-Martín, José R.

2017-01-01

A maternal authoritarian style has been related to the development of physical aggression during childhood and later future social problems; however, not too many studies have detected other than individual or family factors that may buffer this maternal effect. This work examines whether daycare center attendance may moderate the relationships between a mother authoritarian style and physical aggression. The study sample was 72 (40 girls) kindergarten children from Spain. Parents were asked to complete two questionnaires focused on individual family characteristics and parenting styles. At age 5, children physical aggression was assessed by direct observation at playtime; aggression scores at 6 was obtained by a peer-rated questionnaire. A least squared multiple regression was performed after controlling for children’s level of physical aggression at 5, child sex and siblings. A positive contribution of maternal authoritarian style on physical aggression was detected. Daycare center attendance appears to attenuate the effect of the mother’s authoritarian style on physical aggression, only in boys. PMID:28377733

Daycare Center Attendance Buffers the Effects of Maternal Authoritarian Parenting Style on Physical Aggression in Children.

PubMed

Muñoz, José M; Braza, Paloma; Carreras, Rosario; Braza, Francisco; Azurmendi, Aitziber; Pascual-Sagastizábal, Eider; Cardas, Jaione; Sánchez-Martín, José R

2017-01-01

A maternal authoritarian style has been related to the development of physical aggression during childhood and later future social problems; however, not too many studies have detected other than individual or family factors that may buffer this maternal effect. This work examines whether daycare center attendance may moderate the relationships between a mother authoritarian style and physical aggression. The study sample was 72 (40 girls) kindergarten children from Spain. Parents were asked to complete two questionnaires focused on individual family characteristics and parenting styles. At age 5, children physical aggression was assessed by direct observation at playtime; aggression scores at 6 was obtained by a peer-rated questionnaire. A least squared multiple regression was performed after controlling for children's level of physical aggression at 5, child sex and siblings. A positive contribution of maternal authoritarian style on physical aggression was detected. Daycare center attendance appears to attenuate the effect of the mother's authoritarian style on physical aggression, only in boys.

Cardiac Autonomic Function and Psychological Characteristics of Heterosexual Female Perpetrators of Intimate Partner Physical Aggression.

PubMed

Brzozowski, Artur; Gillespie, Steven M; Dixon, Louise; Mitchell, Ian J

2018-05-01

Intimate partner violence is predominantly viewed as a social problem of men's violence against women. However, a growing evidence base suggests an equal prevalence rate for male and female perpetrated intimate partner physical aggression. Moreover, female perpetrated intimate partner violence is often assumed to be reactive, yet there is limited evidence to support this notion. In this article, we describe the results of two studies that investigated the prevalence of female perpetrated intimate partner physical aggression, and its correlates in heterosexual female university students. The relationships of personality traits, resting heart rate, and heart rate variability (a correlate of vagal activity) were compared between females who did and did not report having engaged in intimate partner physical aggression. In Study 1, we found that 30.9% of participants reported enacting intimate partner physical aggression during the preceding 12 months. This finding suggests that a considerable number of undergraduate females aggress against their intimate partners. Perpetrators, relative to nonperpetrators, scored higher on secondary psychopathic traits. In Study 2, female intimate partner violence was shown to be associated with low resting heart rate and high heart rate variability. Perpetrators, relative to nonperpetrators, scored higher on psychopathic traits that index emotional resilience and unempathic tendencies, and reported increased proactive and reactive aggression. This raises the possibility that some incidences of female intimate partner physical aggression represent proactive aggressive acts. These findings also support the frequently found association between low resting heart rate and aggression, but raise the prospect that the reported aggressive acts reflect high heart rate variability and strong parasympathetic nervous system activity.

Adolescents' Social Reasoning about Relational Aggression

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Goldstein, Sara E.; Tisak, Marie S.

2010-01-01

We examined early adolescents' reasoning about relational aggression, and the links that their reasoning has to their own relationally aggressive behavior. Thinking about relational aggression was compared to thinking about physical aggression, conventional violations, and personal behavior. In individual interviews, adolescents (N = 103) rated…

Verbal and physical client aggression - A longitudinal analysis of professional caregivers' psychophysiological stress response and burnout.

PubMed

Kind, Nina; Eckert, Anne; Steinlin, Célia; Fegert, Jörg M; Schmid, Marc

2018-08-01

We investigated the impact of verbal and physical client aggression on risk of developing high hair cortisol concentration (HCC) as an indicator of chronic stress exposure and burnout in a Swiss population of professional caregivers working in youth residential care. Participants (n = 121; 62.0% women) reported on client aggression and burnout symptoms and provided hair samples at four annual sampling points. HCC was determined in the first 1.5 cm hair segment. Sociodemographic variables, private stressors, burnout symptoms, and HCC were compared between participants reporting either 'no aggression', 'verbal' aggression, or 'verbal + physical' aggression. Cox proportional hazards regressions were calculated to compute hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for the association between client aggression and risk of high HCC or burnout over the course of three years. Professional caregivers reporting 'verbal + physical' aggression had higher HCC, more cognitive burnout symptoms, and greater burden in interpersonal domains. Both 'verbal' and 'verbal + physical' aggression were positively associated with burnout risk (verbal: HR = 1.83; 95% CI = 1.27-2.65; verbal + physical: HR = 2.44, 95% CI = 1.56-3.84). 'Verbal + physical' aggression was positively associated with risk of high HCC (HR = 1.58; 95% CI = 1.07-2.36). This longitudinal analysis suggested that psychophysiological stress response is primarily associated with combined verbal and physical aggression. The emotional wearing-down associated with verbal aggression should however not be disregarded. Our exploratory findings could have implications for youth welfare policy, clinical child psychiatry, and future research. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Read anything mean lately? associations between reading aggression in books and aggressive behavior in adolescents.

PubMed

Stockdale, Laura A; Coyne, Sarah M; Nelson, David A; Padilla-Walker, Laura M

2013-01-01

Although there have been hundreds of studies on media violence, few have focused on literature, with none examining novels. Accordingly, the aim of the current study was to examine whether reading physical and relational aggression in books was associated with aggressive behavior in adolescents. Participants consisted of 223 adolescents who completed a variety of measures detailing their media use and aggressive behavior. A non-recursive structural equation model revealed that reading aggression in books was positively associated with aggressive behavior, even after controlling for exposure to aggression in other forms of media. Associations were only found for congruent forms of aggression. Implications regarding books as a form of media are discussed. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Feminine gender identity and physical aggressiveness in heterosexual and homosexual pedophiles.

PubMed

Freund, K; Blanchard, R

1987-01-01

This study explored the differences among six groups of adult males in retrospective self-reports of childhood gender identity and physical aggressiveness. The three groups of homosexual men preferred prepubescent, pubescent, or physically mature sexual partners. The three groups of heterosexual men preferred prepubescent partners, normal sexual interaction with physically mature partners (controls), or anomalous interaction with physically mature partners. Childhood gender identity was measured with the Feminine Gender Identity Scale (FGIS), and boyhood aggressiveness was measured with the Physical Aggressiveness Scale (PAS). Duncan tests at the .05 level showed that the FGIS differentiated the homosexuals who preferred mature partners from the five other groups; whereas the PAS differentiated all homosexual groups from all heterosexual groups. These results suggest that male homosexuals in general tend to be unaggressive in boyhood, whereas only those who prefer mature sexual partners show significant levels of feminine identification.

Physical Aggression and Mindfulness among College Students: Evidence from China and the United States.

PubMed

Gao, Yu; Shi, Lu; Smith, Kelly C; Kingree, Jeffery B; Thompson, Martie

2016-05-10

The link between trait mindfulness and several dimensions of aggression (verbal, anger and hostility) has been documented, while the link between physical aggression and trait mindfulness remains less clear. We used two datasets: one United States sample from 300 freshmen males from Clemson University, South Carolina and a Chinese sample of 1516 freshmen students from Shanghai University of Finance and Economics. Multiple regressions were conducted to examine the association between mindfulness (measured by Mindful Attention and Awareness Scale (MAAS)) and each of the four subscales of aggression. Among the Clemson sample (N = 286), the mindfulness scale had a significant negative association with each of the four subscales of aggression: Hostility: β = -0.62, p < 0.001; Verbal: β = -0.37, p < 0.001; Physical: β = -0.29, p < 0.001; Anger: β = -0.44, p < 0.001. Among the Shanghai male subsample, the mindfulness scale had a significant negative association with each of the four subscales of aggression: Hostility: β = -0.57, p < 0.001; Verbal: β = -0.37, p < 0.001; Physical: β = -0.35, p < 0.001; Anger: β = -0.58, p < 0.001. Among the Shanghai female subsample (N = 512), the mindfulness scale had a significant negative association with each of the four subscales of aggression: Hostility: β = -0.62, p < 0.001; Verbal: β = -0.41, p < 0.001; Physical: β = -0.52, p < 0.001; and Anger: β = -0.64, p < 0.001. Our study documents the negative association between mindfulness and physical aggression in two non-clinical samples. Future studies could explore whether mindfulness training lowers physical aggression among younger adults.

Japanese care workers' perception of dementia-related physically and psychologically aggressive behaviour symptoms.

PubMed

Hirata, Hiromi; Harvath, Theresa A

2017-03-01

The purpose of this study was to explore Japanese care workers' attributions, beliefs and cultural explanations of physically and psychologically aggressive behaviour symptoms. Physically and psychologically aggressive behaviour symptoms by older people with dementia have been associated with occupational stress among care workers in the United States and other Western countries and may contribute to staff turnover. However, few studies related to this issue have been conducted in Japan, where care worker reaction to physically and psychologically aggressive behaviour symptoms might be different because of cultural and customary differences in how care is provided for older people. This study reports on the results of three open-ended questions that were part of a larger study that explored Japanese care workers' experiences with aggressive behaviour symptoms in persons with dementia. Convenience sampling was used to recruit 137 care workers in 10 nursing homes in the northern and western areas of Japan. The answers to the open-ended questions were analysed using a content analysis. Most of the participants indicated that they believed that physically and psychologically aggressive behaviour symptoms came from residents' stress from dementia. Approximately, one-fourth of the participants responded that Japanese values such as chu (loyalty) and joge (hierarchy) influenced their work with residents with physically and psychologically aggressive behaviour symptoms. Seventeen participants (12%) commented either that they respected older people or that they respected older people as persons who had had many experiences in life. Interestingly, 43 responses (41.0%) indicated that physically and psychologically aggressive behaviour symptoms influenced quality of care positively, while, not surprisingly, about 30 responses indicated that those behaviour symptoms influenced quality of care negatively. Findings from this study indicate that the training and education needs to

Effects of Viewing Relational Aggression on Television on Aggressive Behavior in Adolescents: A Three-Year Longitudinal Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Coyne, Sarah M.

2016-01-01

Most researchers on media and aggression have examined the behavioral effects of viewing physical aggression in the media. Conversely, in the current study, I examined longitudinal associations between viewing "relational aggression" on TV and subsequent aggressive behavior. Participants included 467 adolescents who completed a number of…

Perpetration of Alcohol-Related Aggression by Male and Female College Students: An Examination of Overt and Relational Aggression.

PubMed

Robertson, Kirsten; Forbes, Sarah; Thyne, Maree

2017-03-01

Existing literature exemplifies the relationship between alcohol and overt aggression, especially for adult males. Less clear is the relationship between alcohol and aggression among male and female college students, in particular, the nature of this aggression and the co-occurrence of drinking and aggression on the same day (temporal proximity). This study examines the chronic and temporal nature of males' and females' alcohol-related aggression among college students. Two hundred fourteen students completed a web-based 7-day event-level survey measuring alcohol consumption and perpetration of physical aggression, verbal aggression, anger, and relational aggression over 4 weeks, resulting in 4,256 observations (days). The global analysis revealed students who are heavy drinkers are more likely to perpetrate all four forms of aggression, whereas the event-level analysis revealed that specific forms of aggression are associated with drinking at the time, while other forms were not linked to drinking occasions. Cross-tabulation revealed males and females were more likely to use verbal and physical aggression when drinking. For females, drinking was also associated with relational aggression and anger. Despite often being overlooked in research on aggression during emerging adulthood, relational aggression was prevalent. Discrepancies between the global and temporal analysis revealed factors other than alcohol might explain the relationship between chronic alcohol consumption and specific forms of aggression. This is one of the first event-level studies to show the temporal relationship between alcohol and relational aggression. The distinctions in the current study, exemplifying the diversity of alcohol-related aggression, are critical for understanding aggressive behavior, potential gender differences, and for developing interventions. The temporal relationship between alcohol and aggression suggests health interventions should target drinking and aggression

Physical Aggression and Language Ability from 17 to 72 Months: Cross-Lagged Effects in a Population Sample

PubMed Central

Girard, Lisa-Christine; Pingault, Jean-Baptiste; Falissard, Bruno; Boivin, Michel; Dionne, Ginette; Tremblay, Richard E.

2014-01-01

Background Does poor language ability in early childhood increase the likelihood of physical aggression or is language ability delayed by frequent physical aggression? This study examined the longitudinal associations between physical aggression and language ability from toddlerhood to early childhood in a population sample while controlling for parenting behaviours, non-verbal intellectual functioning, and children’s sex. Methods Children enrolled in the Quebec Longitudinal Study of Child Development (QLSCD) (N = 2, 057) were assessed longitudinally from 17 to 72 months via parent reports and standardized assessments. Results The cross-lagged models revealed modest reciprocal associations between physical aggression and language performance from 17 to 41 months but not thereafter. Conclusions Significant associations between physical aggression and poor language ability are minimal and limited to the period when physical aggression and language performance are both substantially increasing. During that period parenting behaviours may play an important role in supporting language ability while reducing the frequency of physical aggression. Further studies are needed that utilize multiple assessments of physical aggression, assess multiple domains of language abilities, and that examine the potential mediating role of parenting behaviours between 12 and 48 months. PMID:25375971

Associations of Neighborhood and Family Factors with Trajectories of Physical and Social Aggression During Adolescence

PubMed Central

Karriker-Jaffe, Katherine J.; Foshee, Vangie A.; Ennett, Susan T.; Suchindran, Chirayath

2013-01-01

Adolescents develop within multiple contexts that synergistically influence their behavior and health. To understand the simultaneous influence of neighborhood and family contexts on adolescents, this study examined relationships of neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage, neighborhood social disorganization, family conflict, parent-child bonding and parental control with trajectories of physical and social aggression. The sample included 5,118 adolescents between ages 11 and 18 (50% female, 52% Caucasian) living in predominantly rural areas. Multilevel growth curve models showed an interaction between neighborhood disadvantage, family conflict and gender on the physical aggression trajectories. The interaction suggested more rapid processes of both increase in and desistance from physical aggression over time for boys with high neighborhood disadvantage and high family conflict, as well as a higher starting point, more gradual increase and slower process of desistance over time for girls in similar neighborhood and family contexts. Less parent-child bonding and less parental control also were associated with higher initial levels of physical aggression. For social aggression, an interaction between family conflict and gender showed girls with high family conflict had the highest initial levels of social aggression, with a more gradual increase over time for these girls compared to their male counterparts in high-conflict families or their female counterparts in low-conflict families. Less parent-child bonding was associated with higher initial levels and a faster increase over time of social aggression, and less parental control was associated with higher initial levels of social aggression. The findings suggest early family-based interventions may help prevent perpetration of both physical and social aggression during adolescence. PMID:23054352

Associations of neighborhood and family factors with trajectories of physical and social aggression during adolescence.

PubMed

Karriker-Jaffe, Katherine J; Foshee, Vangie A; Ennett, Susan T; Suchindran, Chirayath

2013-06-01

Adolescents develop within multiple contexts that synergistically influence their behavior and health. To understand the simultaneous influence of neighborhood and family contexts on adolescents, this study examined relationships of neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage, neighborhood social disorganization, family conflict, parent-child bonding and parental control with trajectories of physical and social aggression. The sample included 5,118 adolescents between ages 11 and 18 (50% female, 52% Caucasian) living in predominantly rural areas. Multilevel growth curve models showed an interaction between neighborhood disadvantage, family conflict and gender on the physical aggression trajectories. The interaction suggested more rapid processes of both increase in and desistance from physical aggression over time for boys with high neighborhood disadvantage and high family conflict, as well as a higher starting point, more gradual increase and slower process of desistance over time for girls in similar neighborhood and family contexts. Less parent-child bonding and less parental control also were associated with higher initial levels of physical aggression. For social aggression, an interaction between family conflict and gender showed girls with high family conflict had the highest initial levels of social aggression, with a more gradual increase over time for these girls compared to their male counterparts in high-conflict families or their female counterparts in low-conflict families. Less parent-child bonding was associated with higher initial levels and a faster increase over time of social aggression, and less parental control was associated with higher initial levels of social aggression. The findings suggest early family-based interventions may help prevent perpetration of both physical and social aggression during adolescence.

The Role of Preschool Relational and Physical Aggression in the Transition to Kindergarten: Links with Social-Psychological Adjustment

PubMed Central

Gower, Amy L.; Lingras, Katherine A.; Mathieson, Lindsay C.; Kawabata, Yoshito; Crick, Nicki R.

2014-01-01

Research Findings The transition to kindergarten has important ramifications for future achievement and psychosocial outcomes. Research suggests that physical aggression may be related to difficulty during school transitions, yet no studies to date have examined the role of relational aggression in these transitions. This paper examined how engagement in preschool physical and relational aggression predicted psychosocial adjustment during the kindergarten school year. Observations and teacher reports of aggression were collected in preschool, and kindergarten teachers reported on student-teacher relationship quality, child internalizing problems, and peer acceptance in kindergarten. Results suggested that preschool physical aggression predicted reduced peer acceptance and increased conflict with the kindergarten teacher. High levels of relational aggression, when not combined with physical aggression, were related to more positive transitions to kindergarten in the domains assessed. Practice or Policy These data lend support to the need for interventions among physically aggressive preschoolers to target not only concurrent behavior but also future aggression and adjustment in kindergarten. Thus, educators should work to encourage social influence in more prosocial ways amongst aggressive preschoolers. PMID:26146468

Intimate partner aggression and women's work outcomes.

PubMed

LeBlanc, Manon Mireille; Barling, Julian; Turner, Nick

2014-10-01

Using conservation of resources theory, we examined the relationship between intimate partner aggression enacted against heterosexual women and 3 types of work-related outcomes for these women: withdrawal while at work (i.e., cognitive distraction, work neglect), withdrawal from work (i.e., partial absenteeism, intentions to quit), and performance. In Study 1, we compared withdrawal both at and from work across 3 clinically categorized groups of women (n = 50), showing that experiencing physical aggression is related to higher work neglect. We replicated and extended these findings in Study 2 using a community sample of employed women (n = 249) by considering the incremental variance explained by both physical aggression and psychological aggression on these same outcomes. Results showed that physical aggression predicted higher levels of withdrawal both at and from work, with psychological aggression predicting additional variance in partial absenteeism over and above the effects of physical aggression. Study 3 extended the model to include academic performance as an outcome in a sample of female college students (n = 122) in dating relationships. Controlling for the women's conscientiousness, psychological aggression predicted lower academic performance after accounting for the effects of physical aggression. We discuss theoretical and practical implications of these results, as well as directions for future research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved).

DNA Methylation Signature of Childhood Chronic Physical Aggression in T Cells of Both Men and Women

PubMed Central

Guillemin, Claire; Provençal, Nadine; Suderman, Matthew; Côté, Sylvana M.; Vitaro, Frank; Hallett, Michael; Tremblay, Richard E.; Szyf, Moshe

2014-01-01

Background High frequency of physical aggression is the central feature of severe conduct disorder and is associated with a wide range of social, mental and physical health problems. We have previously tested the hypothesis that differential DNA methylation signatures in peripheral T cells are associated with a chronic aggression trajectory in males. Despite the fact that sex differences appear to play a pivotal role in determining the development, magnitude and frequency of aggression, most of previous studies focused on males, so little is known about female chronic physical aggression. We therefore tested here whether or not there is a signature of physical aggression in female DNA methylation and, if there is, how it relates to the signature observed in males. Methodology/Principal Findings Methylation profiles were created using the method of methylated DNA immunoprecipitation (MeDIP) followed by microarray hybridization and statistical and bioinformatic analyses on T cell DNA obtained from adult women who were found to be on a chronic physical aggression trajectory (CPA) between 6 and 12 years of age compared to women who followed a normal physical aggression trajectory. We confirmed the existence of a well-defined, genome-wide signature of DNA methylation associated with chronic physical aggression in the peripheral T cells of adult females that includes many of the genes similarly associated with physical aggression in the same cell types of adult males. Conclusions This study in a small number of women presents preliminary evidence for a genome-wide variation in promoter DNA methylation that associates with CPA in women that warrant larger studies for further verification. A significant proportion of these associations were previously observed in men with CPA supporting the hypothesis that the epigenetic signature of early life aggression in females is composed of a component specific to females and another common to both males and females. PMID:24475181

Do aggressive people play violent computer games in a more aggressive way? Individual difference and idiosyncratic game-playing experience.

PubMed

Peng, Wei; Liu, Ming; Mou, Yi

2008-04-01

ABSTRACT This study investigates whether individual difference influences idiosyncratic experience of game playing. In particular, we examine the relationship between the game player's physical-aggressive personality and the aggressiveness of the player's game playing in violence-oriented video games. Screen video stream of 40 individual participants' game playing was captured and content analyzed. Participants' physical aggression was measured before the game play. The results suggest that people with more physical-aggressive personality engage in a more aggressive style of playing, after controlling the differences of gender and previous gaming experience. Implications of these findings and direction for future studies are discussed.

Intellectual disability and co-occurring mental health and physical disorders in aggressive behaviour.

PubMed

Crocker, A G; Prokić, A; Morin, D; Reyes, A

2014-11-01

Mental and physical health problems are more prevalent among individuals with an intellectual disability (ID) than in the general population. Studies suggest that there may be significant associations between these co-occurring disorders and aggressive behaviour, but few studies have taken into account multiple mental and physical problems, as well as their level of severity. The main goal of this study was to identify the associations between different types of aggressive behaviour and various types of physical and mental health problems. These associations were explored through a cross-sectional study of 296 adult men and women with mild or moderate ID living in the community and receiving ID services. Information was gathered through interviews with ID participants, case managers and file review. The results show that individuals with ID who have more mental and physical health problems have higher odds of displaying aggressive behaviour than those with fewer and less severe physical health problems. These results can help guide future prevention and intervention strategies for persons with ID who display aggressive behaviour or who are at risk of become aggressive. © 2013 MENCAP and International Association of the Scientific Study of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Forming groups of aggressive sows based on a predictive test of aggression does not affect overall sow aggression or welfare.

PubMed

Verdon, Megan; Morrison, R S; Hemsworth, P H

2018-05-01

This experiment examined the effects of group composition on sow aggressive behaviour and welfare. Over 6 time replicates, 360 sows (parity 1-6) were mixed into groups (10 sows per pen, 1.8 m 2 /sow) composed of animals that were predicted to be aggressive (n = 18 pens) or groups composed of animals that were randomly selected (n = 18 pens). Predicted aggressive sows were selected based on a model-pig test that has been shown to be related to the aggressive behaviour of parity 2 sows when subsequently mixed in groups. Measurements were taken on aggression delivered post-mixing, and aggression delivered around feeding, fresh skin injuries and plasma cortisol concentrations at days 2 and 24 post-mixing. Live weight gain, litter size (born alive, total born, stillborn piglets), and farrowing rate were also recorded. Manipulating the group composition based on predicted sow aggressiveness had no effect (P > 0.05) on sow aggression delivered at mixing or around feeding, fresh injuries, cortisol, weight gain from day 2 to day 24, farrowing rate, or litter size. The lack of treatment effects in the present experiment could be attributed to (1) a failure of the model-pig test to predict aggression in older sows in groups, or (2) the dependence of the expression of the aggressive phenotype on factors such as social experience and characteristics (e.g., physical size and aggressive phenotype) of pen mates. This research draws attention to the intrinsic difficulties associated with predicting behaviour across contexts, particularly when the behaviour is highly dependent on interactions with conspecifics, and highlights the social complexities involved in the presentation of a behavioural phenotype. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Physical Health Symptoms Among Women Seeking Help for Relationship Aggression

PubMed Central

Taft, Casey T.; Vogt, Dawne S.; Mechanic, Mindy B.; Resick, Patricia A.

2010-01-01

This study examined associations between intimate partner aggression and physical health symptoms among a sample of help-seeking women experiencing relationship aggression (N = 388). Using a structural equation modeling framework, the authors found posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms to fully mediate the associations of both physical and psychological aggression with physical health symptoms. The influence of PTSD symptoms on physical health symptoms was partially mediated by anger/irritability. Results were consistent with studies from other trauma groups suggesting that PTSD is pivotal with respect to explaining the effects of trauma on health. PMID:17874920

The Neurocognition of Conduct Disorder Behaviors: Specificity to Physical Aggression and Theft After Controlling for ADHD Symptoms

PubMed Central

Barker, Edward D.; Tremblay, Richard E.; van Lier, Pol A.C.; Vitaro, Frank; Nagin, Daniel S.; Assaad, Jean-Marc; Séguin, Jean R.

2012-01-01

There is growing evidence that among the different conduct disorder (CD) behaviors, physical aggression, but not theft, links to low neurocognitive abilities. Specifically, physical aggression has consistently been found to be negatively related to neurocognitive abilities, whereas theft has been shown to be either positively or not related to neurocognition. The specificity of these links needs further examination because attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) links to both physical aggression and neurocognitive variation. The development of self-reported physical aggression and theft, from age 11 to 17 years, was studied in a prospective at-risk male cohort via a dual process latent growth curve model. Seven neurocognitive tests at age 20 were regressed on the growth parameters of physical aggression and theft. The links between neurocognition and the growth parameters of physical aggression and theft were adjusted for ADHD symptoms at ages 11 and 15 (parent, child and teacher reports). Results indicated that verbal abilities were negatively related to physical aggression while they were positively associated with theft. However, inductive reasoning was negatively associated with increases in theft across adolescence. Symptoms of ADHD accounted for part of the neurocognitive test links with physical aggression but did not account for the associations with theft. These differences emphasize the importance of examining specific CD behaviors to better understand their neurodevelopmental mechanisms. They also suggest that youth who engage in different levels of physical aggression or theft behaviors may require different preventive and corrective interventions. PMID:21046606

The neurocognition of conduct disorder behaviors: specificity to physical aggression and theft after controlling for ADHD symptoms.

PubMed

Barker, Edward D; Tremblay, Richard E; van Lier, Pol A C; Vitaro, Frank; Nagin, Daniel S; Assaad, Jean-Marc; Séguin, Jean R

2011-01-01

There is growing evidence that among the different conduct disorder (CD) behaviors, physical aggression, but not theft, links to low neurocognitive abilities. Specifically, physical aggression has consistently been found to be negatively related to neurocognitive abilities, whereas theft has been shown to be either positively or not related to neurocognition. The specificity of these links needs further examination because attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) links to both physical aggression and neurocognitive variation. The development of self-reported physical aggression and theft, from age 11 to 17 years, was studied in a prospective at-risk male cohort via a dual process latent growth curve model. Seven neurocognitive tests at age 20 were regressed on the growth parameters of physical aggression and theft. The links between neurocognition and the growth parameters of physical aggression and theft were adjusted for ADHD symptoms at ages 11 and 15 (parent, child and teacher reports). Results indicated that verbal abilities were negatively related to physical aggression while they were positively associated with theft. However, inductive reasoning was negatively associated with increases in theft across adolescence. Symptoms of ADHD accounted for part of the neurocognitive test links with physical aggression but did not account for the associations with theft. These differences emphasize the importance of examining specific CD behaviors to better understand their neurodevelopmental mechanisms. They also suggest that youth who engage in different levels of physical aggression or theft behaviors may require different preventive and corrective interventions. © 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Physical and Psychological Aggression in Dating Relationships of Spanish Adolescents: Motives and Consequences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fernandez-Fuertes, Andres A.; Fuertes, Antonio

2010-01-01

Objectives: The purpose of the study was to examine three aspects of romantic relationships of Spanish adolescents: the prevalence of verbal-emotional and physical aggressive behaviors, correlates of dating violence perpetration (both verbal-emotional and physical aggression), and consequences of violence for victims' well-being. Method: A…

Social and physical aggression trajectories from childhood through late adolescence: Predictors of psychosocial maladjustment at age 18.

PubMed

Ehrenreich, Samuel E; Beron, Kurt J; Underwood, Marion K

2016-03-01

This research examined whether following social and physical aggression trajectories across Grades 3-12 predicted psychological maladjustment. Teachers rated participants' (n = 287, 138 boys) aggressive behavior at the end of each school year. Following the 12th grade, psychosocial outcomes were measured: rule-breaking behaviors, internalizing symptoms, and narcissistic and borderline personality features. Following the highest social aggression trajectory predicted rule-breaking behavior; the medium social aggression trajectory was not a significant predictor of any outcome. Following the highest physical aggression trajectory predicted rule-breaking, internalizing symptoms, and narcissism, whereas the medium physical aggression trajectory predicted rule-breaking and internalizing symptoms. (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

Social and physical aggression trajectories from childhood through late adolescence: Predictors of psychosocial maladjustment at age 18

PubMed Central

Ehrenreich, Samuel E.; Beron, Kurt J.; Underwood, Marion K.

2016-01-01

This research examined whether following social and physical aggression trajectories across grades 3–12 predicted psychological maladjustment. Teachers rated participants’ (n=287, 138 boys) aggressive behavior at the end of each school year. Following the 12th grade, psychosocial outcomes were measured: rule-breaking behaviors, internalizing symptoms, and narcissistic and borderline personality features. Following the highest social aggression trajectory predicted rule-breaking behavior; the medium social aggression trajectory was not a significant predictor of any outcome. Following the highest physical aggression trajectory predicted rule-breaking, internalizing symptoms and narcissism, whereas the medium physical aggression trajectory predicted rule-breaking and internalizing symptoms. PMID:26891018

Interplay of normative beliefs and behavior in developmental patterns of physical and relational aggression in adolescence: a four-wave longitudinal study

PubMed Central

Krahé, Barbara; Busching, Robert

2014-01-01

In a longitudinal study with N = 1,854 adolescents from Germany, we investigated patterns of change and gender differences in physical and relational aggression in relation to normative beliefs about these two forms of aggression. Participants, whose mean age was 13 years at T1, completed self-report measures of physically and relationally aggressive behavior and indicated their normative approval of both forms of aggression at four data waves separated by 12-month intervals. Boys scored higher than did girls on both forms of aggression, but the gender difference was more pronounced for physical aggression. Physical aggression decreased and relational aggression increased over the four data waves in both gender groups. The normative acceptance of both forms of aggression decreased over time, with a greater decrease for the approval of physical aggression. In both gender groups, normative approval of relational aggression prospectively predicted relational aggression across all data waves, and the normative approval of physical aggression predicted physically aggressive behavior at the second and third data waves. A reciprocal reinforcement of aggressive norms and behavior was found for both forms of aggression. The findings are discussed as supporting a social information processing perspective on developmental patterns of change in physical and relational aggression in adolescence. PMID:25360124

Interplay of normative beliefs and behavior in developmental patterns of physical and relational aggression in adolescence: a four-wave longitudinal study.

PubMed

Krahé, Barbara; Busching, Robert

2014-01-01

In a longitudinal study with N = 1,854 adolescents from Germany, we investigated patterns of change and gender differences in physical and relational aggression in relation to normative beliefs about these two forms of aggression. Participants, whose mean age was 13 years at T1, completed self-report measures of physically and relationally aggressive behavior and indicated their normative approval of both forms of aggression at four data waves separated by 12-month intervals. Boys scored higher than did girls on both forms of aggression, but the gender difference was more pronounced for physical aggression. Physical aggression decreased and relational aggression increased over the four data waves in both gender groups. The normative acceptance of both forms of aggression decreased over time, with a greater decrease for the approval of physical aggression. In both gender groups, normative approval of relational aggression prospectively predicted relational aggression across all data waves, and the normative approval of physical aggression predicted physically aggressive behavior at the second and third data waves. A reciprocal reinforcement of aggressive norms and behavior was found for both forms of aggression. The findings are discussed as supporting a social information processing perspective on developmental patterns of change in physical and relational aggression in adolescence.

[Physical activity as a factor reducing aggressive behaviour in adolescents in gymnasium school age].

PubMed

Rotter, Iwona; Kotwas, Artur; Kemicer-Chmielewska, Ewa; Watral, Aleksandra

Violence among adolescents is one of the most serious problems, and has significantly increased in recent years. Studies conducted in 2011 on aggression and violence in schools reported that the most widespread form of offence is verbal aggression. As many as 63% of students had experience of being ridiculed, humiliated or offended. According to research, 33% of students suffered from physical aggression (PA). The aim of the study to evaluate the relationship between physical activity and the incidence of aggressive behaviour in adolescents of lower -secondary school age. The study was conducted in autumn 2013, in West Pomerania province in Poland, among 807 students of a lower -secondary school. A diagnostic survey method with a standardized questionnaire (Aggression Questionnaire) by H. Buss and M. Perry of 1992 (Amity version) was used. Statistical analysis was performed in Statistica Pl version 10 using the Kruskal–Wallis test and the U Mann–Whitney test with a significance level of p ≤ 0.05. The Kruskal–Wallis test showed only a statistically significant difference between the groups surveyed in relation to the frequency of attendance at additional sports activities and the level of PA (p = 0.02). Subjects who engage in team sports show a higher tendency for physical aggression than those engaged in individual sports. Taking into account the higher level of PA in adolescents performing sport 3–4 times a week compared to physically inactive and very active adolescents (more than 5 times a week), it may be presumed that sport attracts people with high physical aggression tendencies. Only with strong involvement in sport is the level of aggression reduced. There is a need for research on the personality of young athletes, which would give credence to this thesis.

Parenting styles and hormone levels as predictors of physical and indirect aggression in boys and girls.

PubMed

Pascual-Sagastizabal, Eider; Azurmendi, Aitziber; Braza, Francisco; Vergara, Ana I; Cardas, Jaione; Sánchez-Martín, José R

2014-01-01

This study examines the relationship between parenting style, androgen levels, and measures of physical and indirect aggression. Peer ratings of aggression were obtained from 159 eight-year-old children (89 boys and 70 girls). Parenting styles (authoritative, authoritarian or permissive) were assessed using the Parenting Styles and Dimensions Questionnaire (PSDQ).Saliva samples were obtained from children and assayed for testosterone and androstenedione concentrations. A regression analysis revealed that high testosterone levels were associated with a higher level of physical aggression in boys with authoritarian mothers. Testosterone was also found to moderate the relationship between father's authoritarian parenting and physical aggression in girls, with both moderate and high levels being significant. In relation to indirect aggression, moderate and high levels of testosterone were associated with higher levels of this type of aggression in girls with permissive mothers. Our results highlight the importance of taking into account the interaction of biological and psychosocial variables when investigating aggressive behavior. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Aggressive-antisocial boys develop into physically strong young men.

PubMed

Isen, Joshua D; McGue, Matthew K; Iacono, William G

2015-04-01

Young men with superior upper-body strength typically show a greater proclivity for physical aggression than their weaker male counterparts. The traditional interpretation of this phenomenon is that young men calibrate their attitudes and behaviors to their physical formidability. Physical strength is thus viewed as a causal antecedent of aggressive behavior. The present study is the first to examine this phenomenon within a developmental framework. We capitalized on the fact that physical strength is a male secondary sex characteristic. In two longitudinal cohorts of children, we estimated adolescent change in upper-body strength using the slope parameter from a latent growth model. We found that males' antisocial tendencies temporally precede their physical formidability. Boys, but not girls, with greater antisocial tendencies in childhood attained larger increases in physical strength between the ages of 11 and 17. These results support sexual selection theory, indicating an adaptive congruence between male-typical behavioral dispositions and subsequent physical masculinization during puberty. © The Author(s) 2015.

Patterns of Physical and Relational Aggression in a School-Based Sample of Boys and Girls

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Crapanzano, Ann Marie; Frick, Paul J.; Terranova, Andrew M.

2010-01-01

The current study investigated the patterns of aggressive behavior displayed in a sample of 282 students in the 4th through 7th grades (M age = 11.28; SD = 1.82). Using cluster analyses, two distinct patterns of physical aggression emerged for both boys and girls with one aggressive cluster showing mild levels of reactive aggression and one group…

[The mediating role of anger in the relationship between automatic thoughts and physical aggression in adolescents].

PubMed

Yavuzer, Yasemin; Karataş, Zeynep

2013-01-01

This study aimed to examine the mediating role of anger in the relationship between automatic thoughts and physical aggression in adolescents. The study included 224 adolescents in the 9th grade of 3 different high schools in central Burdur during the 2011-2012 academic year. Participants completed the Aggression Questionnaire and Automatic Thoughts Scale in their classrooms during counseling sessions. Data were analyzed using simple and multiple linear regression analysis. There were positive correlations between the adolescents' automatic thoughts, and physical aggression, and anger. According to regression analysis, automatic thoughts effectively predicted the level of physical aggression (b= 0.233, P < 0.001)) and anger (b= 0.325, P < 0.001). Analysis of the mediating role of anger showed that anger fully mediated the relationship between automatic thoughts and physical aggression (Sobel z = 5.646, P < 0.001). Anger fully mediated the relationship between automatic thoughts and physical aggression. Providing adolescents with anger management skills training is very important for the prevention of physical aggression. Such training programs should include components related to the development of an awareness of dysfunctional and anger-triggering automatic thoughts, and how to change them. As the study group included adolescents from Burdur, the findings can only be generalized to groups with similar characteristics.

Parents’ Aggressive Influences and Children's Aggressive Problem Solutions with Peers

PubMed Central

Duman, Sarah; Margolin, Gayla

2009-01-01

This study examined children's aggressive and assertive solutions to hypothetical peer scenarios in relation to parents’ responses to similar hypothetical social scenarios and parents’ actual marital aggression. The study included 118 9−10 year old children, and their mothers and fathers. Children's aggressive solutions correlated with same-sex parents’ actual marital aggression. For children with mothers who exhibit low actual marital aggression, mothers’ aggressive solutions to hypothetical situations corresponded with children's tendencies to propose aggressive but not assertive solutions. In a 3-way interaction, fathers’ aggressive solutions to peer scenarios and marital aggression, combined, exacerbated girls’ aggressive problem solving, but had the opposite effect for boys. Discussion addresses the complexity, particularly with respect to parent and child gender combinations, in understanding parents’ aggressive influences on children's peer relationships. PMID:17206880

Political skill: A proactive inhibitor of workplace aggression exposure and an active buffer of the aggression-strain relationship.

PubMed

Zhou, Zhiqing E; Yang, Liu-Qin; Spector, Paul E

2015-10-01

In the current study we examined the role of 4 dimensions of political skill (social astuteness, interpersonal influence, networking ability, and apparent sincerity) in predicting subsequent workplace aggression exposure based on the proactive coping framework. Further, we investigated their buffering effects on the negative outcomes of experienced workplace aggression based on the transactional stress model. Data were collected from nurses at 3 time points: before graduation (Time 1, n = 346), approximately 6 months after graduation (Time 2, n = 214), and approximately 12 months after graduation (Time 3, n = 161). Results showed that Time 1 interpersonal influence and apparent sincerity predicted subsequent physical aggression exposure. Exposure to physical and/or psychological workplace aggression was related to increased anger and musculoskeletal injury, and decreased job satisfaction and career commitment. Further, all dimensions of political skill but networking ability buffered some negative effects of physical aggression, and all dimensions but social astuteness buffered some negative effects of psychological aggression. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

Interpersonal aggression victimization within casual sexual relationships and experiences.

PubMed

Klipfel, Katherine M; Claxton, Shannon E; van Dulmen, Manfred H M

2014-02-01

The frequent occurrence of aggression within committed romantic relationships is well documented. However, little is known about experiences of interpersonal aggression within casual sexual relationships and experiences. This study aimed to describe the occurrence of emotional, physical, and sexual aggression victimization within committed romantic relationships, casual dating relationships, friends-with-benefit relationships, booty-calls, and one-night stands. College students (N = 172) provided data regarding the lifetime occurrence of emotional, physical, and sexual aggression across different forms of casual sexual relationships and experiences (friends-with-benefits, booty-call, casual dating, one-night stands, committed relationships). Emotional, physical, and sexual subtypes of aggression were reported across all casual sexual relationships and experiences. While a higher percentage of individuals who had been involved in committed relationships reported experiencing at least one form of aggression (approximately 69%), prevalence of at least one form of aggression ranged from approximately 31% to 36% for the various casual sexual relationships/experiences. Across relationships/experiences, emotional and sexual aggression were more common than physical aggression. The findings from this study indicate that emotional, physical, and sexual aggression occur across types of relationships and experiences. Thus, the current study underscores the importance of considering casual dating, friends-with-benefits, booty-calls, and one-night stands when assessing interpersonal aggression.

The socializing effect of classroom aggression on the development of aggression and social rejection: A two-wave multilevel analysis.

PubMed

Rohlf, Helena; Krahé, Barbara; Busching, Robert

2016-10-01

The current study examined the moderating effect of classroom aggression on the development of individual aggression and on the path from individual aggression to social rejection over time. The study included 1,284 elementary school children and consisted of two data waves 10months apart. At both time points, teachers assessed the children's physical and relational aggression and their social rejection status. Multi-level analyses revealed that the classroom level of relational aggression moderated the link between individual relational aggression at T1 and T2 (b=-0.18, 95% CI [-0.32, -0.05], p<.01) and the link between T1 relational aggression and T2 social rejection (b=-0.12, 95% CI [-0.23, -0.003], p<.01). Being in a classroom where relational aggression was prevalent increased relational aggression among children with a low level of relational aggression at T1. Furthermore, a high individual level of relational aggression predicted greater social rejection in classrooms with a low level of relational aggression. Children were mainly influenced by their same-gender peers. Boys as a group had a greater influence than girls on their peers of either gender in the domain of relational aggression, whereas girls as a group had a greater influence in the domain of physical aggression. The contributions of analyzing cross-level interaction to understanding the developmental patterns of aggression and social rejection in middle childhood are discussed. Copyright © 2016 Society for the Study of School Psychology. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Early Correlates of Preschool Aggressive Behavior According to Type of Aggression and Measurement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Juliano, Mariel; Stetson Werner, Rebecca; Wright Cassidy, Kimberly

2006-01-01

This study investigated both relational and physical aggression in preschool children, explored potential differences in informant reporting and child sex on these subtypes, and examined relationships between types of aggressive behaviors and other types of negative and positive social behaviors. Naturalistic observations of social behavior,…

Parent Physical Punishment and Child Aggression in a Singapore Chinese Preschool Sample

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ngee Sim, Tick; Ping Ong, Lue

2005-01-01

We examine how parental physical punishment (caning and slapping) and child aggression are related, and possible moderation by authoritative control and rejection. A sample of 286 Singapore Chinese preschoolers ages 4-6 reported on rejection; their parents reported on control, caning, and slapping; and their teachers rated child aggression.…

Peer group self-identification as a predictor of relational and physical aggression among high school students.

PubMed

Pokhrel, Pallav; Sussman, Steven; Black, David; Sun, Ping

2010-05-01

Adolescent peer group self-identification refers to adolescents' affiliation with reputation-based peer groups such as "Goths" or "Jocks." These groups tend to vary on normative characteristics, including the group members' attitudes and behaviors. This article examined whether adolescents' baseline peer group self-identification predicted their self-reported relational and physical aggression 1 year later. Self-report data were collected from 1614 students from 9 regular and 9 continuation (alternative) high schools in Southern California, at baseline and 1-year follow-up. Subjects' mean baseline age was 15.21 years (SD = 1.18) and 51.6% of the subjects were female. Findings indicated that compared with self-identified "Regular" or "Normal" students, adolescents who identified with high-risk peer groups (eg, "Druggies,"Goths") tended to report higher relational and physical aggression 1 year later, controlling for baseline aggression and demographic variables. In addition, adolescents' self-identification with high-status peer groups (eg, "Jocks,"Populars") was predictive of higher relational aggression 1 year later. Gender and school type (ie, regular vs continuation) were not found to moderate these effects. It appears that peer group self-identification is a salient predictor of physical and relational aggression across gender and school type. Adolescents who identify with high-risk peer groups tend to report higher levels of physical as well as relational aggression in the future. In addition, adolescents who affiliate with elite groups tend to become more relationally aggressive over time. School-based prevention programs targeting aggression may benefit from addressing the impacts of peer group self-identification on adolescents' aggressive behavior.

Family Correlates of Children's Social and Physical Aggression with Peers: Negative Interparental Conflict Strategies and Parenting Styles

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Underwood, Marion K.; Beron, Kurt J.; Gentsch, Joanna K.; Galperin, Mikal B.; Risser, Scott D.

2008-01-01

This investigation examines whether negative interparental conflict strategies (stonewalling, triangulation, verbal aggression, and physical aggression) and parenting styles are related to social and physical aggression with peers for children followed longitudinally from age 9 to 10 (N = 256). Parents reported on negative conflict strategies and…

Direct and mediated effects of nativity and other indicators of acculturation on Hispanic mothers' use of physical aggression.

PubMed

Altschul, Inna; Lee, Shawna J

2011-11-01

This study used data from 845 foreign-born (n = 328) and native-U.S. born (n = 517) Hispanic mothers who participated in the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (FFCWS) to examine four indicators of acculturation--nativity, years lived in the United States, religious attendance, and endorsement of traditional gender norms--as predictors of maternal physical aggression directed toward young children. The authors also examined whether psychosocial risk factors associated with child maltreatment and acculturation--maternal alcohol use, depression, parenting stress, and intimate partner aggression and violence--mediate relationships between acculturation and maternal aggression. Foreign-born Hispanic mothers had significantly lower rates of physical aggression than native-born Hispanic mothers. In path modeling results, U.S. nativity, along with maternal alcohol use, parenting stress, and child aggressive behavior, emerged as the strongest risk factors for maternal physical aggression. Among the four acculturation indicators, only foreign birth was directly associated with lower maternal aggression. Study findings suggest immigrant status is a unique protective factor that contributes to lower levels of physical aggression among Hispanic mothers.

Interparental Violence and Maternal Mood Disorders as Predictors of Adolescent Physical Aggression within the Family

PubMed Central

Narayan, Angela J.; Chen, Muzi; Martinez, Pedro P.; Gold, Philip W.; Klimes-Dougan, Bonnie

2015-01-01

Although a wealth of research has examined the effects of parental mood disorders on offspring maladjustment, studies have not identified whether elevated interparental violence (IPV) may be an exacerbating influence in this pathway. This study examined levels of physical IPV perpetration and victimization in mothers with unipolar depression or Bipolar Disorder (BD) and the processes by which maternal physical IPV moderated adolescents’ physical aggression in families with maternal mood disorders. Mothers with lifetime mood disorders were predicted to have elevated IPV compared to well mothers, and maternal IPV was expected to moderate the association between lifetime mood disorders and adolescent aggression. Participants included 61 intact families with maternal depression (n = 24), BD (n = 13), or well mothers (n = 24) and two siblings (ages 10 to 18 years). Using the Conflict Tactics Scale, mothers reported on IPV perpetration and victimization, and adolescents reported on physical aggression. Mothers with BD reported significantly higher IPV perpetration, but not victimization, than depressed or well mothers. An interaction between maternal BD and IPV perpetration was a significant predictor of adolescent aggression. Main effects of maternal IPV victimization and interaction effects of maternal depression and either type of IPV on adolescent aggression were not significant. Adolescents of mothers who have BD and perpetrate IPV may be particularly vulnerable to being aggressive. Prevention and policy efforts to deter transmission of aggression in high-risk families should target families with maternal BD and intervene at the level of conflict resolution within the family. PMID:27541378

Aggression Can be Contagious: Longitudinal Associations between Proactive Aggression and Reactive Aggression Among Young Twins

PubMed Central

Dickson, Daniel J.; Richmond, Ashley; Brendgen, Mara; Vitaro, Frank; Laursen, Brett; Dionne, Ginette; Boivin, Michel

2015-01-01

The present study examined sibling influence over reactive and proactive aggression in a sample of 452 same-sex twins (113 male dyads, 113 female dyads). Between and within siblings influence processes were examined as a function of relative levels of parental coercion and hostility to test the hypothesis that aggression contagion between twins occurs only among dyads who experience parental coerciveness. Teacher reports of reactive and proactive aggression were collected for each twin in kindergarten (M = 6.04 years; SD = 0.27) and in first grade (M = 7.08 years; SD = 0.27). Families were divided into relatively low, average, and relatively high parental coercion-hostility groups on the basis of maternal reports collected when the children were 5 years old. In families with relatively high levels of parental coercion-hostility, there was evidence of between-sibling influence, such that one twin’s reactive aggression at age 6 predicted increases in the other twin’s reactive aggression from ages 6 to 7, and one twin’s proactive aggression at age 6 predicted increases in the other twin’s proactive aggression from ages 6 to 7. There was also evidence of within-sibling influence such that a child’s level of reactive aggression at age 6 predicted increases in the same child’s proactive aggression at age 7, regardless of parental coercion-hostility. The findings provide new information about the etiology of reactive and proactive aggression and individual differences in their developmental interplay. PMID:25683448

Aggression can be contagious: Longitudinal associations between proactive aggression and reactive aggression among young twins.

PubMed

Dickson, Daniel J; Richmond, Ashley D; Brendgen, Mara; Vitaro, Frank; Laursen, Brett; Dionne, Ginette; Boivin, Michel

2015-01-01

The present study examined sibling influence over reactive and proactive aggression in a sample of 452 same-sex twins (113 male dyads, 113 female dyads). Between and within siblings influence processes were examined as a function of relative levels of parental coercion and hostility to test the hypothesis that aggression contagion between twins occurs only among dyads who experience parental coerciveness. Teacher reports of reactive and proactive aggression were collected for each twin in kindergarten (M = 6.04 years; SD = 0.27) and in first grade (M = 7.08 years; SD = 0.27). Families were divided into relatively low, average, and relatively high parental coercion-hostility groups on the basis of maternal reports collected when the children were 5 years old. In families with relatively high levels of parental coercion-hostility, there was evidence of between-sibling influence, such that one twin's reactive aggression at age 6 predicted increases in the other twin's reactive aggression from ages 6 to 7, and one twin's proactive aggression at age 6 predicted increases in the other twin's proactive aggression from ages 6 to 7. There was also evidence of within-sibling influence such that a child's level of reactive aggression at age 6 predicted increases in the same child's proactive aggression at age 7, regardless of parental coercion-hostility. The findings provide new information about the etiology of reactive and proactive aggression and individual differences in their developmental interplay. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Two Sides of the Same Coin? The Relations between Prosocial and Physically Aggressive Behaviors

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McGinley, Meredith; Carlo, Gustavo

2007-01-01

The direct and indirect relations between six types of prosocial behavior and physical aggression were examined. Data were gathered from 252 college students (M age = 21.67 years; 184 women) who completed measures of sympathy, prosocial behavior, and physical aggression. Structural equation modeling revealed that sympathy fully mediated the…

Temperament, Parenting, and South Korean Early Adolescents' Physical Aggression: A Five-Wave Longitudinal Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lee, Julie

2014-01-01

Objective: This study examined the growth pattern in physical aggression over a five-year period among South Korean early adolescents and the effects of temperament (anger/frustration and emotion regulation) and parenting (harsh parenting and parental monitoring) on early adolescents' physical aggression. Design: A five-year longitudinal design…

Using a Vulnerability-Stress-Adaptation Framework to Predict Physical Aggression Trajectories in Newlywed Marriage

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Langer, Amie; Lawrence, Erika; Barry, Robin A.

2008-01-01

The authors used a vulnerability-stress-adaptation framework to examine personality traits and chronic stress as predictors of the developmental course of physical aggression in the early years of marriage. Additionally, personality traits and physical aggression were examined as predictors of the developmental course of chronic stress. Data from…

School Aggression and Dispositional Aggression among Middle School Boys

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ballard, Mary E.; Rattley, Kelvin T.; Fleming, Willie C.; Kidder-Ashley, Pamela

2004-01-01

We examined the relationship between dispositional (trait) aggression and administrative reports of school aggression among 100 adolescent male participants from an urban middle school. Aggression was fairly common among the sample; 58 boys had a record of school aggression, and many of those were repeat offenders. Our hypothesis that those higher…

Relational Aggression in Middle Childhood: Predictors and Adolescent Outcomes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Spieker, Susan J.; Campbell, Susan B.; Vandergrift, Nathan; Pierce, Kim M.; Cauffman, Elizabeth; Susman, Elizabeth J.; Roisman, Glenn I.

2012-01-01

This study examined gender differences in the level and developmental course of relational aggression in middle childhood, as well as early predictors and outcomes of relational aggression, after controlling for concurrent physical aggression. Relational (RAgg) and Physical aggression (PAgg) scores for 558 boys and 545 girls at the ages of eight…

Peer Group Self-Identification as a Predictor of Relational and Physical Aggression Among High School Students

PubMed Central

Pokhrel, Pallav; Sussman, Steven; Black, David; Sun, Ping

2011-01-01

BACKGROUND Adolescent peer group self-identification refers to adolescents’ affiliation with reputation-based peer groups such as “Goths” or “Jocks.” These groups tend to vary on normative characteristics, including the group members’ attitudes and behaviors. This article examined whether adolescents’ baseline peer group self-identification predicted their self-reported relational and physical aggression 1 year later. METHODS Self-report data were collected from 1614 students from 9 regular and 9 continuation (alternative) high schools in Southern California, at baseline and 1-year follow-up. Subjects’ mean baseline age was 15.21 years (SD = 1.18) and 51.6% of the subjects were female. RESULTS Findings indicated that compared with self-identified “Regular” or “Normal” students, adolescents who identified with high-risk peer groups (eg, “Druggies,” “Goths”) tended to report higher relational and physical aggression 1 year later, controlling for baseline aggression and demographic variables. In addition, adolescents’ self-identification with high-status peer groups (eg, “Jocks,” “Populars”) was predictive of higher relational aggression 1 year later. Gender and school type (ie, regular vs continuation) were not found to moderate these effects. CONCLUSIONS It appears that peer group self-identification is a salient predictor of physical and relational aggression across gender and school type. Adolescents who identify with high-risk peer groups tend to report higher levels of physical as well as relational aggression in the future. In addition, adolescents who affiliate with elite groups tend to become more relationally aggressive over time. School-based prevention programs targeting aggression may benefit from addressing the impacts of peer group self-identification on adolescents’ aggressive behavior. PMID:20529198

The nature of human aggression.

PubMed

Archer, John

2009-01-01

Human aggression is viewed from four explanatory perspectives, derived from the ethological tradition. The first consists of its adaptive value, which can be seen throughout the animal kingdom, involving resource competition and protection of the self and offspring, which has been viewed from a cost-benefit perspective. The second concerns the phylogenetic origin of aggression, which in humans involves brain mechanisms that are associated with anger and inhibition, the emotional expression of anger, and how aggressive actions are manifest. The third concerns the origin of aggression in development and its subsequent modification through experience. An evolutionary approach to development yields conclusions that are contrary to the influential social learning perspective, notably that physical aggression occurs early in life, and its subsequent development is characterized by learned inhibition. The fourth explanation concerns the motivational mechanisms controlling aggression: approached from an evolutionary background, these mechanisms range from the inflexible reflex-like responses to those incorporating rational decision-making.

CONCEPT ANALYSIS: AGGRESSION

PubMed Central

Liu, Jianghong

2006-01-01

The concept of aggression is important to nursing because further knowledge of aggression can help generate a better theoretical model to drive more effective intervention and prevention approaches. This paper outlines a conceptual analysis of aggression. First, the different forms of aggression are reviewed, including the clinical classification and the stimulus-based classification. Then the manifestations and measurement of aggression are described. Finally, the causes and consequences of aggression are outlined. It is argued that a better understanding of aggression and the causal factors underlying it are essential for learning how to prevent negative aggression in the future. PMID:15371137

Sense of control and adolescents' aggression: The role of aggressive cues.

PubMed

Guo, Xucheng; Egan, Vincent; Zhang, Jianxin

2016-12-01

The misperception of aggressive cues is considered a risk factor for inducing adolescent aggression. Poor coping with life stress is also considered a major influence on aggression. The current study examined the relationship between subjective sense of control and adolescent aggression, considering influences upon the perception of these aggressive cues. In Study 1, 60 participants took part in a 2 (sense of control: high sense of control vs. low sense of control) × 2 (aggressive cue: aggressive vs. neutral) between-subjects contextual experiment. The result found that a lower sense of control led to an increase in adolescents' aggression; only in the low-sense-of-control condition did exposure to aggressive cues boost aggression. In Study 2, the catalytic effect of aggressive cues was further explored by an experiment in which 40 adolescents were randomly assigned to a low- or high-sense-of-control condition to test the importance of aggressive cues. The results suggest that adolescents in the low-sense-of-control condition show a higher salience for aggressive cues. © 2016 The Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.

Differentiating corporal punishment from physical abuse in the prediction of lifetime aggression.

PubMed

King, Alan R; Ratzak, Abrianna; Ballantyne, Sage; Knutson, Shane; Russell, Tiffany D; Pogalz, Colton R; Breen, Cody M

2018-05-01

Corporal punishment and parental physical abuse often co-occur during upbringing, making it difficult to differentiate their selective impacts on psychological functioning. Associations between corporal punishment and a number of lifetime aggression indicators were examined in this study after efforts to control the potential influence of various forms of co-occurring maltreatment (parental physical abuse, childhood sexual abuse, sibling abuse, peer bullying, and observed parental violence). College students (N = 1,136) provided retrospective self-reports regarding their history of aggression and levels of exposure to childhood corporal punishment and maltreatment experiences. Analyses focused on three hypotheses: 1) The odds of experiencing childhood physical abuse would be higher among respondents reporting frequent corporal punishment during upbringing; 2) Corporal punishment scores would predict the criterion aggression indices after control of variance associated with childhood maltreatment; 3) Aggression scores would be higher among respondents classified in the moderate and elevated corporal punishment risk groups. Strong support was found for the first hypothesis since the odds of childhood physical abuse recollections were higher (OR = 65.3) among respondents who experienced frequent (>60 total disciplinary acts) corporal punishment during upbringing. Partial support was found for the second and third hypotheses. Dimensional and categorical corporal punishment scores were associated significantly with half of the criterion measures. These findings support efforts to dissuade reliance on corporal punishment to manage child behavior. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Subjective aggression during alcohol and cannabis intoxication before and after aggression exposure.

PubMed

De Sousa Fernandes Perna, E B; Theunissen, E L; Kuypers, K P C; Toennes, S W; Ramaekers, J G

2016-09-01

Alcohol and cannabis use have been implicated in aggression. Alcohol consumption is known to facilitate aggression, whereas a causal link between cannabis and aggression has not been clearly demonstrated. This study investigated the acute effects of alcohol and cannabis on subjective aggression in alcohol and cannabis users, respectively, following aggression exposure. Drug-free controls served as a reference. It was hypothesized that aggression exposure would increase subjective aggression in alcohol users during alcohol intoxication, whereas it was expected to decrease subjective aggression in cannabis users during cannabis intoxication. Heavy alcohol (n = 20) and regular cannabis users (n = 21), and controls (n = 20) were included in a mixed factorial study. Alcohol and cannabis users received single doses of alcohol and placebo or cannabis and placebo, respectively. Subjective aggression was assessed before and after aggression exposure consisting of administrations of the point-subtraction aggression paradigm (PSAP) and the single category implicit association test (SC-IAT). Testosterone and cortisol levels in response to alcohol/cannabis treatment and aggression exposure were recorded as secondary outcome measures. Subjective aggression significantly increased following aggression exposure in all groups while being sober. Alcohol intoxication increased subjective aggression whereas cannabis decreased the subjective aggression following aggression exposure. Aggressive responses during the PSAP increased following alcohol and decreased following cannabis relative to placebo. Changes in aggressive feeling or response were not correlated to the neuroendocrine response to treatments. It is concluded that alcohol facilitates feelings of aggression whereas cannabis diminishes aggressive feelings in heavy alcohol and regular cannabis users, respectively.

Bullying, Physical Aggression, Gender-Atypicality, and Sexual Orientation in Samoan Males.

PubMed

Semenyna, Scott W; Vasey, Paul L

2017-07-01

Bullying is characterized by the repeated attempts of a group or individual to gain social advantage by the use of relational, verbal, or physical aggression against a target, especially when there is a perceived or actual power imbalance (Espelage & Swearer, 2003). One consistent finding is that gay (i.e., androphilic) males report higher rates of victimization due to bullying in adolescence than their heterosexual (i.e., gynephilic) counterparts. Western data indicate that gender-atypical behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, is a key predictor of victimization due to bullying. Androphilic males generally display childhood gender-atypicality, including reduced levels of physical aggression, which may cause bullies to perceive them as "easy" targets. In order to test the associations between sexual orientation, childhood gender-atypicality, and recalled victimization due to bullying, a sample of Samoan gynephilic men (n = 100) were compared to a group of Samoan transgender androphilic males (n = 103), known as fa'afafine. Although the fa'afafine reported far more childhood gender-atypicality, the two groups did not differ significantly on measures of physical aggression or their reported rates of victimization due to bullying. Additionally, greater physical aggression, not gender-atypicality, was the only significant predictor of being bullied in both men and fa'afafine. These results suggest that there is nothing inherent in sexual orientation or childhood gender-atypicality that would potentiate victimization from bullying. Instead, the cultural context in which a bully functions influences the extent to which these are "acceptable" reasons to target certain individuals.

Preschool Gender-Typed Play Behavior at Age 3.5 Years Predicts Physical Aggression at Age 13 Years.

PubMed

Kung, Karson T F; Li, Gu; Golding, Jean; Hines, Melissa

2018-05-01

Gender differences in play behavior and physical aggression have been consistently reported. Theoretical perspectives concerning evolutionary, social, and social-cognitive mechanisms suggest that male-typical play behavior during childhood increases subsequent physical aggression. The evidence supporting these connections is limited, however. The present study investigated the association between gender-typed play behavior in early childhood and physical aggression in early adolescence using a sample drawn from a longitudinal, population study, the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children. Based on gender-typed play behavior as measured by the Pre-School Activities Inventory at age 3.5 years, samples of masculine (64 boys, 60 girls), feminine (80 boys, 66 girls), and randomly selected control children (55 boys, 67 girls) were recruited at age 13 years and administered the Reinisch Aggression Inventory. After controlling for a range of sociodemographic variables, maternal characteristics, and behavioral problems, including hyperactivity and conduct problems at age 3.5, significant group differences in physical aggression at age 13 were found among children classified as masculine, control, and feminine at age 3.5. Masculine children exhibited significantly more physical aggression than control children or feminine children, and control children exhibited significantly more physical aggression than feminine children. The association between gender-typed play behavior and physical aggression was not moderated by sex. These results suggest that the degree of childhood gender-typed play behavior independently predicts the degree of physical aggression at adolescence in boys and in girls.

Prevalence and Psychosocial Factors of Aggression Among Youth

PubMed Central

Sharma, Manoj Kumar; Marimuthu, Palaniappan

2014-01-01

Background: Youth indulgence themselves in various aggressive behaviors leading to significant psychosocial dysfunctions. The present study assesses the prevalence of aggression among youth and to assess the risk factors of aggression among youth. Materials and Methods: Anger Data sheet, Resilience Scale and Buss-Perry Aggression Scale, were administered on 5476 participants using survey design. Data was collected from different communities (college, residential, apartments and workplace) of Bangalore, Jammu, Indore, Kerala, Rajasthan, Sikkim and Delhi. 47% were female and 53% were male. The mean age of the sample was 20.2 years. Comparative analysis was carried out by Pearson correlation coefficient and Chi-square was also carried out. Results: About 17.7% of the youth has high mean aggression score on Buss-Perry Aggression Scale. Males have high mean score on aggression than females. Males experienced more verbal aggression, physical aggression and anger than females. Younger age group (16-19 years) experienced more aggression than older age group (20-26 years). The risk factors of the youth aggressions were identified as physical abuse in childhood, substance abuse such as alcohol and tobacco, negative peer influence, family violence, academic disturbance, psychological problems attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder, suspicious, loneliness, mood disturbance, negative childhood experience and TV and media. Conclusion: The study document, the presence of correlates of risk factors of aggression among youth and implies usages of management strategies to help them to handle aggression. PMID:24701010

The Effects of Alcohol Problems, PTSD, and Combat Exposure on Nonphysical and Physical Aggression Among Iraq and Afghanistan War Veterans

PubMed Central

Stappenbeck, Cynthia A.; Hellmuth, Julianne C.; Simpson, Tracy; Jakupcak, Matthew

2014-01-01

Aggression among combat veterans is of great concern. Although some studies have found an association between combat exposure and aggressive behavior following deployment, others conclude that aggression is more strongly associated with symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and that alcohol misuse may influence this association. Many of these studies have assessed aggression as a single construct, whereas the current study explored both nonphysical aggression only and physical aggression in a sample of Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans (N = 337; 91% male). We found that alcohol problems interacted with PTSD symptom severity to predict nonphysical aggression only. At low levels of PTSD symptoms, veterans with alcohol problems were more likely to perpetrate nonphysical aggression only, as compared with no aggression, than veterans without an alcohol problem. There was no difference in the likelihood of nonphysical aggression only between those with and without alcohol problems at high levels of PTSD symptoms. The likelihood of nonphysical aggression only, as compared with no aggression, was also greater among younger veterans. Greater combat exposure and PTSD symptom severity were associated with an increased likelihood of perpetrating physical aggression, as compared with no aggression. Ethnic minority status and younger age were also associated with physical aggression, as compared with no aggression. Findings suggest that a more detailed assessment of veterans’ aggressive behavior, as well as their alcohol problems and PTSD symptoms, by researchers and clinicians is needed in order to determine how best to intervene. PMID:25225593

Interparental violence and maternal mood disorders as predictors of adolescent physical aggression within the family.

PubMed

Narayan, Angela J; Chen, Muzi; Martinez, Pedro P; Gold, Philip W; Klimes-Dougan, Bonnie

2015-05-01

Although a wealth of research has examined the effects of parental mood disorders on offspring maladjustment, studies have not identified whether elevated interparental violence (IPV) may be an exacerbating influence in this pathway. This study examined levels of physical IPV perpetration and victimization in mothers with unipolar depression or Bipolar Disorder (BD) and the processes by which maternal physical IPV moderated adolescents' physical aggression in families with maternal mood disorders. Mothers with lifetime mood disorders were predicted to have elevated IPV compared to well mothers, and maternal IPV was expected to moderate the association between lifetime mood disorders and adolescent aggression. Participants included 61 intact families with maternal depression (n = 24), BD (n = 13), or well mothers (n = 24) and two siblings (ages 10 to 18 years). Using the Conflict Tactics Scale, mothers reported on IPV perpetration and victimization, and adolescents reported on physical aggression. Mothers with BD reported significantly higher IPV perpetration, but not victimization, than depressed or well mothers. An interaction between maternal BD and IPV perpetration was a significant predictor of adolescent aggression. Main effects of maternal IPV victimization and interaction effects of maternal depression and either type of IPV on adolescent aggression were not significant. Adolescents of mothers who have BD and perpetrate IPV may be particularly vulnerable to being aggressive. Prevention and policy efforts to deter transmission of aggression in high-risk families should target families with maternal BD and intervene at the level of conflict resolution within the family. Aggr. Behav. 41:253-266, 2015. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Thoughts on hate and aggression.

PubMed

Prelinger, Ernst

2004-01-01

The phenomenon of hate is explored from two perspectives: in terms of intensive bodily arousal and mobilization, and as a form of active but paralyzed aggression. Aggression, in this context, is viewed not in terms of discharges of drive energies but rather as reinforced effort aimed at the removal or destruction of barriers that impede the organism's movement, in real or symbolic space. Winnicott (1950) already had emphasized how the basic fact of the child's motility, its activity, lies at the source of what becomes aggression. Encounter with 'reality' brings interference with free, unrestricted movement at first in actual, physical space, then gradually within the representational world. Inasmuch as such additional mobilization finds intrapsychic representation which, in turn, comes to be coupled with an 'injured' response from a loved or valued object, an intrapsychic representation of what the person experiences as his own aggressiveness emerges. Aggression thus derives from accumulating 'inevitable' collisions between adaptive motility and objects (real and symbolic barriers, obstacles) in the way. Aggression plays its part in the development of object relations. If aggressive mobilizations are sufficiently interfered with to block any further movement but continue to be stimulated in pursuing valued actual or symbolic goals, hate emerges as a form of active but paralyzed aggression. Selections from two patients' material illustrate these issues clinically.

Association of Childhood Chronic Physical Aggression with a DNA Methylation Signature in Adult Human T Cells

PubMed Central

Guillemin, Claire; Vitaro, Frank; Côté, Sylvana M.; Hallett, Michael; Tremblay, Richard E.; Szyf, Moshe

2014-01-01

Background Chronic physical aggression (CPA) is characterized by frequent use of physical aggression from early childhood to adolescence. Observed in approximately 5% of males, CPA is associated with early childhood adverse environments and long-term negative consequences. Alterations in DNA methylation, a covalent modification of DNA that regulates genome function, have been associated with early childhood adversity. Aims To test the hypothesis that a trajectory of chronic physical aggression during childhood is associated with a distinct DNA methylation profile during adulthood. Methods We analyzed genome-wide promoter DNA methylation profiles of T cells from two groups of adult males assessed annually for frequency of physical aggression between 6 and 15 years of age: a group with CPA and a control group. Methylation profiles covering the promoter regions of 20 000 genes and 400 microRNAs were generated using MeDIP followed by hybridization to microarrays. Results In total, 448 distinct gene promoters were differentially methylated in CPA. Functionally, many of these genes have previously been shown to play a role in aggression and were enriched in biological pathways affected by behavior. Their locations in the genome tended to form clusters spanning millions of bases in the genome. Conclusions This study provides evidence of clustered and genome-wide variation in promoter DNA methylation in young adults that associates with a history of chronic physical aggression from 6 to 15 years of age. However, longitudinal studies of methylation during early childhood will be necessary to determine if and how this methylation variation in T cells DNA plays a role in early development of chronic physical aggression. PMID:24691403

Aggression By Whom–Aggression Toward Whom: Behavioral Predictors of Same- and Other-Gender Aggression in Early Childhood

PubMed Central

Hanish, Laura D.; Sallquist, Julie; DiDonato, Matthew; Fabes, Richard A.; Martin, Carol Lynn

2012-01-01

This study assessed girls’ and boys’ dominance-related behaviors (aggressive, commanding, submissive, and neutral behaviors) as they naturally occurred during interactions with male and female peers and evaluated the possibility that such behaviors elicit aggression from peers. Using a focal observational procedure, young girls’ and boys’ (N = 170; 54% boys) naturally occurring dominance-related behaviors and male and female peers’ aggressive responses to those behaviors were recorded multiple times each week across the academic year. Findings suggested that same-gender aggression occurred at similar rates as other-gender aggression once tendencies toward gender segregated play were controlled. Additionally, there were both gender-based similarities and differences in children’s use of dominance-related behaviors in peer interactions and as antecedents for peers’ aggression. The findings have implications for the literatures on aggression and gendered peer interactions. PMID:22369337

Marital Psychological and Physical Aggression and Children’s Mental and Physical Health: Direct, Mediated, and Moderated Effects

PubMed Central

El-Sheikh, Mona; Cummings, E. Mark; Kouros, Chrystyna D.; Elmore-Staton, Lori; Buckhalt, Joseph

2010-01-01

Relations between marital aggression (psychological and physical) and children’s health were examined. Children’s emotional insecurity was assessed as a mediator of these relations, with distinctions made between marital aggression against mothers and fathers and ethnicity (African American or European American), socioeconomic status, and child gender examined as moderators of effects. Participants were 251 community-recruited families, with multiple reporters of each construct. Aggression against either parent yielded similar effects for children. Children’s emotional insecurity mediated the relation between marital aggression and children’s internalizing, externalizing, and posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms. No differences were found in these pathways for African American and European American families or as a function of socioeconomic status or child gender. PMID:18229991

Agreeableness and alcohol-related aggression: the mediating effect of trait aggressivity.

PubMed

Miller, Cameron A; Parrott, Dominic J; Giancola, Peter R

2009-12-01

This study investigated the mediating effect of trait aggressivity on the relation between agreeableness and alcohol-related aggression in a laboratory setting. Participants were 116 healthy male social drinkers between 21 and 30 years of age. Agreeableness and trait aggressivity were measured using the Big Five Inventory and the Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire, respectively. Following the consumption of an alcohol or no-alcohol control beverage, participants completed a modified version of the Taylor Aggression Paradigm, in which electric shocks were received from and administered to a fictitious opponent during a competitive task. Aggression was operationalized as the proportion of the most extreme shocks delivered to the fictitious opponent under conditions of low and high provocation. Results indicated that lower levels of agreeableness were associated with higher levels of trait aggressivity. In turn, higher levels of trait aggressivity predicted extreme aggression in intoxicated, but not sober, participants under low, but not high, provocation. Findings highlight the importance of examining determinants of intoxicated aggression within a broader theoretical framework of personality.

Aggression in Women: Behavior, Brain and Hormones.

PubMed

Denson, Thomas F; O'Dean, Siobhan M; Blake, Khandis R; Beames, Joanne R

2018-01-01

We review the literature on aggression in women with an emphasis on laboratory experimentation and hormonal and brain mechanisms. Women tend to engage in more indirect forms of aggression (e.g., spreading rumors) than other types of aggression. In laboratory studies, women are less aggressive than men, but provocation attenuates this difference. In the real world, women are just as likely to aggress against their romantic partner as men are, but men cause more serious physical and psychological harm. A very small minority of women are also sexually violent. Women are susceptible to alcohol-related aggression, but this type of aggression may be limited to women high in trait aggression. Fear of being harmed is a robust inhibitor of direct aggression in women. There are too few studies and most are underpowered to detect unique neural mechanisms associated with aggression in women. Testosterone shows the same small, positive relationship with aggression in women as in men. The role of cortisol is unclear, although some evidence suggests that women who are high in testosterone and low in cortisol show heightened aggression. Under some circumstances, oxytocin may increase aggression by enhancing reactivity to provocation and simultaneously lowering perceptions of danger that normally inhibit many women from retaliating. There is some evidence that high levels of estradiol and progesterone are associated with low levels of aggression. We highlight that more gender-specific theory-driven hypothesis testing is needed with larger samples of women and aggression paradigms relevant to women.

An Experimental Test of Parenting Practices as a Mediator of Early Childhood Physical Aggression

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brotman, Laurie Miller; O'Neal, Colleen R.; Huang, Keng-Yen; Gouley, Kathleen Kiely; Rosenfelt, Amanda; Shrout, Patrick E.

2009-01-01

Background: Parenting practices predict early childhood physical aggression. Preventive interventions that alter parenting practices and aggression during early childhood provide the opportunity to test causal models of early childhood psychopathology. Although there have been several informative preventive intervention studies that test mediation…

Female Aggression and Violence: A Case Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Martin, Penelope E.

2012-01-01

Aggression and violence among adolescent females has received extension attention throughout the nation. Girls often employ relationally aggressive behaviors to resolve conflict, which often leads to physical aggression. The purpose of this study was to examine a girl fight from multiple perspectives to gain a better understanding of the causes…

Normative beliefs about aggression and cyber aggression among young adults: a longitudinal investigation.

PubMed

Wright, Michelle F; Li, Yan

2013-01-01

This longitudinal study examined normative beliefs about aggression (e.g., face-to-face, cyber) in relation to the engagement in cyber aggression 6 months later among 126 (69 women) young adults. Participants completed electronically administered measures assessing their normative beliefs, face-to-face and cyber aggression at Time 1, and cyber aggression 6 months later (Time 2). We found that men reported more cyber relational and verbal aggression when compared to women. After controlling for each other, Time 1 face-to-face relational aggression was positively related to Time 2 cyber relational aggression, whereas Time 1 face-to-face verbal aggression was positively related to Time 2 cyber verbal aggression. Normative beliefs regarding cyber aggression was positively related to both forms of cyber aggression 6 months later, after controlling for normative beliefs about face-to-face aggression. Furthermore, a significant two-way interaction between Time 1 cyber relational aggression and normative beliefs about cyber relational aggression was found. Follow-up analysis showed that Time 1 cyber relational aggression was more strongly related to Time 2 cyber relational aggression when young adults held higher normative beliefs about cyber relational aggression. A similar two-way interaction was found for cyber verbal aggression such that the association between Time 1 and Time 2 cyber verbal aggression was stronger at higher levels of normative beliefs about cyber verbal aggression. Results are discussed in terms of the social cognitive and behavioral mechanisms associated with the engagement of cyber aggression. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Infant Parasympathetic and Sympathetic Activity during Baseline, Stress and Recovery: Interactions with Prenatal Adversity Predict Physical Aggression in Toddlerhood.

PubMed

Suurland, J; van der Heijden, K B; Huijbregts, S C J; van Goozen, S H M; Swaab, H

2018-05-01

Exposure to prenatal adversity is associated with aggression later in life. Individual differences in autonomic nervous system (ANS) functioning, specifically nonreciprocal activation of the parasympathetic (PNS) and sympathetic (SNS) nervous systems, increase susceptibility to aggression, especially in the context of adversity. Previous work examining interactions between early adversity and ANS functioning in infancy is scarce and has not examined interaction between PNS and SNS. This study examined whether the PNS and SNS moderate the relation between cumulative prenatal risk and early physical aggression in 124 children (57% male). Cumulative risk (e.g., maternal psychiatric disorder, substance (ab)use, and social adversity) was assessed during pregnancy. Parasympathetic respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) and sympathetic pre-ejection period (PEP) at baseline, in response to and during recovery from emotional challenge were measured at 6 months. Physical aggression and non-physical aggression/oppositional behavior were measured at 30 months. The results showed that cumulative prenatal risk predicted elevated physical aggression and non-physical aggression/oppositional behavior in toddlerhood; however, the effects on physical aggression were moderated by PNS and SNS functioning. Specifically, the effects of cumulative risk on physical aggression were particularly evident in children characterized by low baseline PNS activity and/or by nonreciprocal activity of the PNS and SNS, characterized by decreased activity (i.e., coinhibition) or increased activity (i.e., coactivation) of both systems at baseline and/or in response to emotional challenge. These findings extend our understanding of the interaction between perinatal risk and infant ANS functioning on developmental outcome.

Muscarine- and carbachol-induced aggressions: fear and irritable kinds of aggressions.

PubMed

Beleslin, D B; Samardzić, R

1977-12-28

In unaneasthetized and unrestrained cats, muscarine and carbachol were injected into the cerebral ventricles. The kind of aggressive behaviour depended on the cholinomimetic drug and was classified as fear and an irritable kind of aggression. Muscarine induced the fear kind of aggression. The aggressive behaviour was usually preceded by attempts to escape and the attack was relevant to the situation. For the attack the presence of some threatening agent was needed. The aggression was accompanied by intense motor but less autonomic activation. On the other hand, carbachol induced an irritable kind of aggression and had the following characteristics: for the attack the presence of some threatening agent was not needed; the attack was not relevant to the situation; the aggression was not preceded by attempts to escape; and the aggressive behaviour was accompanied by intense motor and autonomic activation. It is concluded that cholinoceptive mechanisms are involved in the control of aggressive behaviour.

Implicit cognitive aggression among young male prisoners: Association with dispositional and current aggression.

PubMed

Ireland, Jane L; Adams, Christine

2015-01-01

The current study explores associations between implicit and explicit aggression in young adult male prisoners, seeking to apply the Reflection-Impulsive Model and indicate parity with elements of the General Aggression Model and social cognition. Implicit cognitive aggressive processing is not an area that has been examined among prisoners. Two hundred and sixty two prisoners completed an implicit cognitive aggression measure (Puzzle Test) and explicit aggression measures, covering current behaviour (DIPC-R) and aggression disposition (AQ). It was predicted that dispositional aggression would be predicted by implicit cognitive aggression, and that implicit cognitive aggression would predict current engagement in aggressive behaviour. It was also predicted that more impulsive implicit cognitive processing would associate with aggressive behaviour whereas cognitively effortful implicit cognitive processing would not. Implicit aggressive cognitive processing was associated with increased dispositional aggression but not current reports of aggressive behaviour. Impulsive implicit cognitive processing of an aggressive nature predicted increased dispositional aggression whereas more cognitively effortful implicit cognitive aggression did not. The article concludes by outlining the importance of accounting for implicit cognitive processing among prisoners and the need to separate such processing into facets (i.e. impulsive vs. cognitively effortful). Implications for future research and practice in this novel area of study are indicated. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Facial Attractiveness as a Moderator of the Association between Social and Physical Aggression and Popularity in Adolescents

PubMed Central

Rosen, Lisa H.; Underwood, Marion K.

2010-01-01

This study examined the relations between facial attractiveness, aggression, and popularity in adolescence to determine whether facial attractiveness would buffer against the negative effects of aggression on popularity. We collected ratings of facial attractiveness from standardized photographs, and teachers provided information on adolescents’ social aggression, physical aggression, and popularity for 143 seventh graders (70 girls). Regression analyses indicated that facial attractiveness moderated the relations between both types of aggression and popularity. Aggression was associated with a reduction in popularity for adolescents low on facial attractiveness. However, popularity did not decrease as a function of aggression for adolescents high on facial attractiveness. Aggressors with high facial attractiveness may experience fewer negative consequences to their social standing, thus contributing to higher overall rates of aggression in school settings. PMID:20609852

Paternal and maternal psychological and physical aggression and children's anxiety in China.

PubMed

Wang, Meifang; Wang, Xinxin; Liu, Li

2016-01-01

The goal of this research was to examine the unique relationships between paternal and maternal psychological aggression (PA) and physical aggression (corporal punishment [CP] and severe physical abuse [SPA]) and children's anxiety in China. A total of 1,971 father-mother dyads completed the Chinese version of Parent-Child Conflict Tactics Scales (CTSPC) and the Chinese version of Spence Children's Anxiety Scale for Parents (SCAS-P). Results indicated that when paternal and maternal PA, CP, and SPA were considered simultaneously, parental PA and maternal CP were both significantly predictive of children's anxiety, whereas SPA had no significant effects on children's anxiety. Specifically, both paternal and maternal PA were the most unique predictors of children's anxiety among parental psychological and physical aggression, whereas the effects of maternal CP and paternal CP were different, with maternal CP having a stronger effect on children's anxiety compared with paternal CP. The findings indicated that appropriate prevention and intervention efforts are needed to target parental PA and maternal CP. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Aggression in Women: Behavior, Brain and Hormones

PubMed Central

Denson, Thomas F.; O’Dean, Siobhan M.; Blake, Khandis R.; Beames, Joanne R.

2018-01-01

We review the literature on aggression in women with an emphasis on laboratory experimentation and hormonal and brain mechanisms. Women tend to engage in more indirect forms of aggression (e.g., spreading rumors) than other types of aggression. In laboratory studies, women are less aggressive than men, but provocation attenuates this difference. In the real world, women are just as likely to aggress against their romantic partner as men are, but men cause more serious physical and psychological harm. A very small minority of women are also sexually violent. Women are susceptible to alcohol-related aggression, but this type of aggression may be limited to women high in trait aggression. Fear of being harmed is a robust inhibitor of direct aggression in women. There are too few studies and most are underpowered to detect unique neural mechanisms associated with aggression in women. Testosterone shows the same small, positive relationship with aggression in women as in men. The role of cortisol is unclear, although some evidence suggests that women who are high in testosterone and low in cortisol show heightened aggression. Under some circumstances, oxytocin may increase aggression by enhancing reactivity to provocation and simultaneously lowering perceptions of danger that normally inhibit many women from retaliating. There is some evidence that high levels of estradiol and progesterone are associated with low levels of aggression. We highlight that more gender-specific theory-driven hypothesis testing is needed with larger samples of women and aggression paradigms relevant to women. PMID:29770113

The Effect of Child Physical Abuse and Neglect on Aggressive, Withdrawn, and Prosocial Behavior.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Prino, Claudia T.; Peyrot, Mark

1994-01-01

This study investigated aggressive, withdrawn, and prosocial behavior in 21 physically abused, 26 nonabused-neglected, and 21 nonabused-nonneglected children, ages 5-8. No single dimension adequately discriminated children in each of the three groups. Full discrimination was achieved only when aggressive, withdrawn, and prosocial behaviors were…

Multilevel Correlates of Childhood Physical Aggression and Prosocial Behavior

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Romano, Elisa; Tremblay, Richard E.; Boulerice, Bernard; Swisher, Raymond

2005-01-01

The study identified independent individual, family, and neighborhood correlates of children's physical aggression and prosocial behavior. Participants were 2,745-11-year olds nested in 1,982 families, which were themselves nested in 96 Canadian neighborhoods. Hierarchical linear modeling showed that the total variation explained by the…

"Just how graphic are graphic novels?" An examination of aggression portrayals in manga and associations with aggressive behavior in adolescents.

PubMed

Coyne, Sarah M; Callister, Mark; Stockdale, Laura; Coutts, Holly; Collier, Kevin M

2015-01-01

Manga, a type of graphic novel, represent a widely popular literary genre worldwide and are one of the fastest growing areas of the publishing arena aimed at adolescents in the United States. However, to our knowledge, there has been almost no empirical research examining content or effects of reading manga. This article consists of 2 studies. Study 1 represents a content analysis of aggressive behavior in best-selling manga aimed at adolescents. Results revealed that aggression was common and was often portrayed in ways that may influence subsequent behavior. Study 2 examined the relationship between reading manga and aggressive behavior in 223 adolescents. Manga readers were more physically aggressive than non-manga readers and also reported more peer relationships with lonely individuals and smaller groups. In addition, reading manga with particularly high levels of aggression was associated with physical aggression even after controlling for media violence exposure in other media. Implications regarding these findings are discussed.

The Relationship Between Emotion Regulation, Executive Functioning, and Aggressive Behaviors.

PubMed

Holley, Sarah R; Ewing, Scott T; Stiver, Jordan T; Bloch, Lian

2015-06-30

Emotion regulation deficits and executive functioning deficits have independently been shown to increase vulnerability toward engaging in aggressive behaviors. The effects of these risk factors, however, have not been evaluated in relation to one another. This study evaluated the degree to which each was associated with aggressive behaviors in a sample of 168 undergraduate students. Executive functioning (cognitive inhibition and mental flexibility) was assessed with a Stroop-like neuropsychological task. Emotion regulation and aggressive behaviors were assessed via self-report inventories. Results showed main effects for both emotion regulation and executive functioning, as well as a significant interaction, indicating that those who scored lowest in both domains reported engaging in aggressive behaviors the most frequently. When different types of aggression were examined, this interaction was only significant for acts of physical aggression, not for acts of verbal aggression. Therefore, for physical aggression, emotion regulation and executive functioning exerted a moderating effect on one another. The implications are that, at least for acts of physical aggression, relatively strong capabilities in either domain may buffer against tendencies to engage in aggressive behaviors. Thus, both emotion regulation skills and executive functioning abilities may be valuable targets for interventions aiming to reduce aggressive behaviors. © The Author(s) 2015.

Physical and Relational Aggression in Young Children: The Role of Mother-Child Interactional Synchrony

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ambrose, Holly N.; Menna, Rosanne

2013-01-01

This study examined the relationships between the quality of parent-child interactions, specifically interactional synchrony (IS), and physical and relational aggression in young children. Seventy-three children (3-6 years; 44 males, 29 females) and their mothers participated in this study. The children's level of aggression was assessed through…

Facial attractiveness as a moderator of the association between social and physical aggression and popularity in adolescents.

PubMed

Rosen, Lisa H; Underwood, Marion K

2010-08-01

This study examined the relations between facial attractiveness, aggression, and popularity in adolescence to determine whether facial attractiveness would buffer against the negative effects of aggression on popularity. We collected ratings of facial attractiveness from standardized photographs, and teachers provided information on adolescents' social aggression, physical aggression, and popularity for 143 seventh graders (70 girls). Regression analyses indicated that facial attractiveness moderated the relations between both types of aggression and popularity. Aggression was associated with a reduction in popularity for adolescents low on facial attractiveness. However, popularity did not decrease as a function of aggression for adolescents high on facial attractiveness. Aggressors with high facial attractiveness may experience fewer negative consequences to their social standing, thus contributing to higher overall rates of aggression in school settings. Copyright 2010 Society for the Study of School Psychology. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Developmental Trajectories of Physical and Indirect Aggression from Late Childhood to Adolescence: Sex Differences and Outcomes in Emerging Adulthood

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cleverley, Kristin; Szatmari, Peter; Vaillancourt, Tracy; Boyle, Michael; Lipman, Ellen

2012-01-01

Objective: Two common subtypes of aggression (physical and indirect) have been shown to develop concurrently throughout childhood and to uniquely predict maladjustment. However, nothing is known about psychiatric outcomes of joint trajectories of physical aggression (PA) and indirect aggression (IA) in emerging adulthood. Method: Trajectories of…

Abusive early child rearing and early childhood aggression.

PubMed

Herrenkohl, R C; Russo, M J

2001-02-01

Childhood aggression is significant for children, their families, and the society because aggressive children often become violent adolescents. This article examines the relationship between maltreatment and early childhood aggression. Data are from a longitudinal study of maltreated and nonmaltreated children assessed as preschoolers and again at school age. The dependent variable is the child's teacher's rating of aggression at school age. The independent variables are from preschool and school age observations of the mother-child interaction and the mother's report of physical discipline practices. Using structural equation modeling, harshness of interaction at preschool age but not school age and severity of physical discipline at school age but not preschool age, relate to aggression at school age. Results suggest a difference in the developmental stage at which different features of harsh child rearing exert their influence. Strategies for intervening to prevent the development of childhood aggression are suggested.

Effects of physical education, extracurricular sports activities, and leisure satisfaction on adolescent aggressive behavior: A latent growth modeling approach

PubMed Central

Park, Sanghyun; Chiu, Weisheng

2017-01-01

The present study aimed to investigate the longitudinal influence of physical education classes, extracurricular sports activities, and leisure satisfaction on aggressive behavior among South Korean adolescents. Data were drawn from the Korea Youth Panel Survey. We used latent growth curve modeling to explain the growth trajectory of adolescent aggressive behaviors and a multi-group analysis to investigate gender differences in aggressive behavior. The results indicated that adolescents’ aggressive behavior significantly changed with age. There were significant gender-based differences in the level of and changes in aggressive behavior over time. Both extracurricular sports activities and leisure satisfaction had significant influences on the changes in adolescents’ aggressive behavior with age, whereas physical education classes did not. PMID:28410365

Effects of physical education, extracurricular sports activities, and leisure satisfaction on adolescent aggressive behavior: A latent growth modeling approach.

PubMed

Park, Sanghyun; Chiu, Weisheng; Won, Doyeon

2017-01-01

The present study aimed to investigate the longitudinal influence of physical education classes, extracurricular sports activities, and leisure satisfaction on aggressive behavior among South Korean adolescents. Data were drawn from the Korea Youth Panel Survey. We used latent growth curve modeling to explain the growth trajectory of adolescent aggressive behaviors and a multi-group analysis to investigate gender differences in aggressive behavior. The results indicated that adolescents' aggressive behavior significantly changed with age. There were significant gender-based differences in the level of and changes in aggressive behavior over time. Both extracurricular sports activities and leisure satisfaction had significant influences on the changes in adolescents' aggressive behavior with age, whereas physical education classes did not.

Maternal prenatal smoking, parental antisocial behavior, and early childhood physical aggression.

PubMed

Huijbregts, Stephan C J; Séguin, Jean R; Zoccolillo, Mark; Boivin, Michel; Tremblay, Richard E

2008-01-01

This study investigated joint effects of maternal prenatal smoking and parental history of antisocial behavior on physical aggression between ages 17 and 42 months in a population sample of children born in Québec (N = 1,745). An analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed significant main effects of maternal prenatal smoking and a significant interaction between maternal prenatal smoking and mother's history of antisocial behavior in the prediction of children's probability to display high and rising physical aggression. The interaction indicated that the effects of heavy smoking during pregnancy (> or =10 cigarettes/day) were greater when the mother also had a serious history of antisocial behavior. The effects remained significant after the introduction of control variables (e.g., hostile-reactive parenting, family functioning, parental separation/divorce, family income, and maternal education). Another significant interaction not accounted for by control variables was observed for maternal prenatal smoking and family income, indicating more serious effects of maternal prenatal smoking under relatively low-income, conditions. Both interactions indicate critical adversities that, in combination with maternal prenatal smoking, have supra-additive effects on (the development of) physical aggression during early childhood. These findings may have implications for the selection of intervention targets and strategies.

[Motives and interpersonal functions of aggression].

PubMed

Ohbuchi, K

1987-06-01

including physical or psychological annoyance, the other person's disobedience, perceived injustice, and a threat to one's social identity. Whether one's aggression is performed or not depends on a number of intra- and inter-personal determinants, particularly on social cognitive processes such as attribution, inference, prediction and other judgements.

Finger length ratio (2D:4D) correlates with physical aggression in men but not in women.

PubMed

Bailey, Allison A; Hurd, Peter L

2005-03-01

Finger length ratio (2D:4D) is a sexually dimorphic trait. Men have relatively shorter second digits (index fingers) than fourth digits (ring fingers). Smaller, more masculine, digit ratios are thought to be associated with either higher prenatal testosterone levels or greater sensitivity to androgens, or both. Men with more masculine finger ratios are perceived as being more masculine and dominant by female observers, and tend to perform better in a number of physical sports. We hypothesized that digit ratio would correlate with propensity to engage in aggressive behavior. We examined the relationship between trait aggression, assayed using a questionnaire, and finger length ratio in both men and women. Men with lower, more masculine, finger length ratios had higher trait physical aggression scores (r(partial) = -0.21, N = 134, P = 0.028). We found no correlation between finger length ratio and any form of aggression in females. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that testosterone has an organizational effect on adult physical aggression in men.

Associations between Personality and Physical Aggression in Chinese and U.S. Adolescents: The Mediating Role of Temper

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wang, Jennifer M.; Hartl, Amy C.; Laursen, Brett; Booth-LaForce, Cathryn; Rubin, Kenneth H.

2016-01-01

Youth aggression is a serious global issue, but research identifying personality traits associated with aggression has focused on adults. Little is known about whether similar associations exist during adolescence; even less is known about these associations across cultures. This study examined links between personality and physical aggression in…

Child Abuse and Aggression among Seriously Emotionally Disturbed Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ford, Julian D.; Fraleigh, Lisa A.; Connor, Daniel F.

2010-01-01

Abused children may be at risk for problems with aggression. In a sample of 397 seriously emotionally disturbed children, reactive aggression was associated with documented history of physical abuse but not sexual abuse. Girls were equally likely to be classified as reactively aggressive regardless of physical abuse history, but boys with physical…

Patient initiated aggression - prevalence and impact for general practice staff.

PubMed

Herath, Pushpani; Forrest, Laura; McRae, Ian; Parker, Rhian

2011-06-01

Patient initiated aggression toward general practice staff can cause distress among staff, however, it is unknown how frequently practice staff experience patient aggression in the workplace. The aim of this study is to determine the national prevalence of patient aggression toward general practice staff. A clustered cross sectional survey involving general practice staff working in Australia. A questionnaire was posted to 1109 general practices nationally and 217 questionnaires were completed and returned (19.6% response rate). It was found that verbal aggression is commonly experienced by practice staff, particularly receptionists, whereas physical aggression is infrequent. Staff working in larger practices experience more verbal aggression and property damage or theft and it was reported that verbal aggression has a greater impact on staff wellbeing than physical aggression. This study provides some national evidence of the prevalence of patient aggression toward general practice staff. This may inform the development of policy and procedures.

The impact of parenthood on physical aggression: Evidence from criminal data.

PubMed

Boothroyd, Lynda G; Cross, Catharine P

2016-11-01

Evolutionary approaches to sex differences in physical aggression weigh the potential benefits of aggression against the likely costs to inclusive fitness, with some authors focusing on the damage physical injury would do to female inclusive fitness, and others on the extent to which success in physical competition may particularly enhance male fitness. This study tested a hypothesis derived from these approaches: that parents would be less physically aggressive than non-parents because of the damage any physical injury would do to their inclusive fitness. Analysis was carried out using the United States federal sentencing records for 1994-1999 (22,344 individuals). The proportion of theft convictions which were violent (robbery; vs. larceny) was significantly greater for men than women (odds ratio 7.7). As predicted, non-parents were significantly more likely to be violent than parents (odds ratio 1.6). Parenthood had a similar effect on relative rates of violence in men and women, although the baseline was considerably higher for men. There was also a significant effect in men of marital status, which interacted with parental status such that parenthood was only associated with a reduction in rates of violence in males recorded as partnered. The results are interpreted in terms of both evolutionary theory and recent work on the hormonal impacts of marriage and parenthood. Aggr. Behav. 42:577-584, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Disentangling functions of online aggression: The Cyber-Aggression Typology Questionnaire (CATQ).

PubMed

Runions, Kevin C; Bak, Michal; Shaw, Thérèse

2017-01-01

Aggression in online contexts has received much attention over the last decade, yet there is a need for measures identifying the proximal psychological drivers of cyber-aggressive behavior. The purpose of this study was to present data on the newly developed Cyber-Aggression Typology Questionnaire (CATQ) designed to distinguish between four distinct types of cyber-aggression on dimensions of motivational valence and self-control. A sample 314 undergraduate students participated in the study. The results confirmed the predicted four-factor structure providing evidence for distinct and independent impulsive-aversive, controlled-aversive, impulsive-appetitive, and controlled-appetitive cyber-aggression types. Further analyses with the Berlin Cyberbullying Questionnaire, Reactive Proactive Aggression Questionnaire, and the Behavior Inhibition and Activation Systems Scale provide support for convergent and divergent validity. Understanding the motivations facilitating cyber-aggressive behavior could aid researchers in the development of new prevention and intervention strategies that focus on individual differences in maladaptive proximal drivers of aggression. Aggr. Behav. 43:74-84, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Experiences of physical and relational victimization in children with ADHD: The role of social problems and aggression.

PubMed

McQuade, Julia D; Breslend, Nicole L; Groff, Destin

2018-04-16

The social risk factors for physical and relational peer victimization were examined within a mixed-gender sample of children with and without attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Participants were 124 children (ages 8-12 years; 48% boys), with 47% exhibiting sub-clinical or clinical elevations in ADHD symptoms. ADHD and oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) symptom counts were assessed based on parent- and teacher-reports; parents rated children's social problems and teachers rated children's use of physical and relational aggression and experiences of physical and relational victimization. A multiple mediator model was used to test whether there were indirect effects of ADHD or ODD symptoms on physical and relational victimization through social problems, physical aggression, or relational aggression. At the bivariate level, ADHD and ODD symptoms were both significantly associated with higher rates of physical and relational victimization. In the mediational model, there were significant indirect effects of ADHD symptoms on relational victimization via social problems, of ODD on relational victimization via relational aggression, and of ODD symptoms on physical victimization via physical aggression. Results suggest that there are distinct risk factors implicated in the physical and relational victimization of youth with ADHD and that the co-occurrence of ODD symptoms is important to assess. Clinical implications for addressing victimization in children with ADHD are discussed. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Spiny lobsters use urine-borne olfactory signaling and physical aggressive behaviors to influence social status of conspecifics.

PubMed

Shabani, Shkelzen; Kamio, Michiya; Derby, Charles D

2009-08-01

Decapod crustaceans, like many other animals, engage in agonistic behaviors that enhance their ability to compete for resources with conspecifics. These agonistic behaviors include the release of chemical signals as well as physical aggressive and submissive behaviors. In this study, we report that Caribbean spiny lobsters, Panulirus argus, use both urine-borne chemical signaling and physical aggressive behaviors during interactions with conspecifics, and that these agonistic behaviors can influence the behavior and eventual social status of the interactants. Spiny lobsters that engaged primarily in physical aggressive behaviors became dominant, whereas spiny lobsters that received these physical aggressive behaviors responded with avoidance behaviors and became subordinates. Dominant animals frequently released urine during social interactions, more than when they were not in contact with subordinates and more than when they were not paired with another animal. Subordinates released urine significantly less often than dominants, and no more than when not paired. Preventing release of urine by catheterizing the animals resulted in an increase in the number and duration of physical interactions, and this increase was primarily driven by dominants initiating interactions through physical aggressive behaviors. Introducing urine from one of the catheterized animals into an aquarium reduced physical aggressive behavior by dominant animals to normal levels. Urine-borne signals alone were capable of inducing avoidance behaviors from solitary spiny lobsters in both laboratory and field conditions. We conclude that urine serves as a chemical signal that communicates social status to the interactants. Ablation experiments showed that that these urine signals are detected primarily by aesthetasc sensilla of the olfactory pathway.

Different Factor Structures for Women’s Aggression and Victimization Among Women Who Used Aggression Against Male Partners

PubMed Central

Swan, Suzanne C.; Gambone, Laura J.; Van Horn, M. Lee; Snow, David L.; Sullivan, Tami P.

2013-01-01

Theories and measures of women’s aggression in intimate relationships are only beginning to be developed. This study provides a first step in conceptualizing the measurement of women’s aggression by examining how well three widely used measures perform in assessing women’s perpetration of and victimization by aggression in their intimate relationships with men (i.e., the Conflict Tactics Scales 2; Straus, Hamby, & Warren, 2003, the Sexual Experiences Survey; Koss, Gidycz, & Wisniewski, 1987, and the Psychological Maltreatment of Women Inventory; Tolman, 1999). These constructs were examined in a diverse sample of 412 African American, Latina, and White women who had all recently used physical aggression against a male intimate partner. The factor structures and psychometric properties of perpetration and victimization models using these measures were compared. Results indicate that the factor structure of women’s perpetration differs from that of women’s victimization in theoretically meaningful ways. In the victimization model, all factors performed well in contributing to the measurement of the latent victimization construct. In contrast, the perpetration model performed well in assessing women’s physical and psychological aggression, but performed poorly in assessing women’s sexual aggression, coercive control, and jealous monitoring. Findings suggest that the power and control model of intimate partner violence may apply well to women’s victimization, but not as well to their perpetration. PMID:23012348

Normative Development of Physical Aggression from 8 to 26 Months

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Naerde, Ane; Ogden, Terje; Janson, Harald; Zachrisson, Henrik Daae

2014-01-01

This study investigated the normative use and developmental course of physical aggression (PA), defined as use of physical force such as hitting, biting, and kicking, from 8 to 26 months and predictors thereof. We used data from the Behavior Outlook Norwegian Developmental Study, comprising 1,159 children (559 girls and 600 boys). Both mothers and…

Attachment Styles and Aggression in Physically Abused and Neglected Children.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Finzi, Ricky; Ram, Anca; Har-Even, Dov; Shnit, Dan; Weizman, Abraham

2001-01-01

Compared physically abused (n=41) and neglected (n=38) children with nonabused, nonneglected children (n=35) aged 6 to 12 years in terms of their attachment styles and their levels of aggression. Findings show that physically abused children are at risk of antisocial behavior and suspicion toward others, and neglected children are at risk of…

Attributional bias and reactive aggression.

PubMed

Hudley, C; Friday, J

1996-01-01

This article looks at a cognitive behavioral intervention designed to reduce minority youths' (Latino and African-American boys) levels of reactive peer-directed aggression. The BrainPower Program trains aggressive boys to recognize accidental causation in ambiguous interactions with peers. The objective of this research is to evaluate the effectiveness of this attribution retraining program in reducing levels of reactive, peer-directed aggression. This research hypothesizes that aggressive young boys' tendency to attribute hostile intentions to others in ambiguous social interactions causes display of inappropriate, peer-directed aggression. A reduction in attributional bias should produce a decrease in reactive physical and verbal aggression directed toward peers. A 12-session, attributional intervention has been designed to reduce aggressive students' tendency to infer hostile intentions in peers following ambiguous peer provocations. The program trains boys to (1) accurately perceive and categorize the available social cues in interactions with peers, (2) attribute negative outcomes of ambiguous causality to accidental or uncontrollable causes, and (3) generate behaviors appropriate to these retrained attributions. African-American and Latino male elementary-school students (N = 384), in grades four-six, served as subjects in one of three groups: experimental attribution retraining program, attention training, and no-attention control group. Three broad categories of outcome data were collected: teacher and administrator reports of behavior, independent observations of behavior, and self-reports from participating students. Process measures to assess implementation fidelity include videotaped training sessions, observations of intervention sessions, student attendance records, and weekly team meetings. The baseline data indicated that students who were evenly distributed across the four sites were not significantly different on the baseline indicators: student

Children's aggressive responses to neutral peer behavior: a form of unprovoked reactive aggression.

PubMed

Kempes, Maaike; Matthys, Walter; de Vries, Han; van Engeland, Herman

2010-04-30

Previous studies that operationalized reactive aggression using behavioral observations in general populations have not taken into account the type of stimulus that elicits reactive aggression. In the present study we define a specific form of reactive aggression, i.e., reactive aggression in response to neutral behavior of a peer, which we will call unprovoked reactive aggression. We were specifically interested in children with severe aggressive behavior problems, since they may respond with reactive aggression even though the opponent did not clearly provoke them, but instead showed neutral behavior. Children with a disruptive behavior disorder (DBD) and normal control (NC) children participated in separate play sessions in which they played with a normal peer (NP). Children with DBD showed more unprovoked reactive aggression than NC children, during a cooperative game. Moreover, for children with DBD, unprovoked reactive aggressive behavior in this game correlated with parent-rated reactive aggression. Results of this study suggest that an unprovoked reactive form of aggression can be identified in children with DBD. Copyright (c) 2008. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.

Personal and Venue Characteristics Associated With the Practice of Physical and Sexual Aggression in Brazilian Nightclubs.

PubMed

Fung, Elizabeth C; Santos, Mariana G R; Sanchez, Zila M; Surkan, Pamela J

2018-06-01

Violence among young adults is an increasing public health concern, especially in the context of nightlife, such as around nightclubs and bars. Nightlife is associated with alcohol, drugs, and increased violence, but little is known about personal and environmental factors related to physical aggression and sexual violence in nightclubs. This study aimed to determine personal and environmental risk factors for physical and sexual aggression in nightclubs in São Paulo, Brazil. Data were collected among nightclub patrons through use of a portal survey at the entrances and exits of 31 nightclubs. Men and women over 18 years old were systematically sampled while waiting in entrance lines. At the entrance, participants provided information about sociodemographic characteristics, drug use, alcohol use, and other risky behaviors during the prior 12 months. Upon exiting the nightclub, participants were asked about drug use, alcohol use, aggressive behaviors, and other risky behaviors that occurred while in the nightclub. Each participant was offered a breathalyzer test when entering and exiting the nightclub. Participants who used drugs in the nightclub, planned to have sex after leaving the club, or were younger in age were more likely to commit an act of physical aggression. Participants who attended nightclubs playing eclectic music, drank before arriving at the nightclub, and had elevated breath alcohol concentration at the entrance or exit were more likely to commit an act of sexual aggression. Study findings point to specific risk factors and can inform the development of social environmental prevention strategies to prevent physical and sexual aggression within nightclubs.

Parents' Aggressive Influences and Children's Aggressive Problem Solutions with Peers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Duman, Sarah; Margolin, Gayla

2007-01-01

This study examined children's aggressive and assertive solutions to hypothetical peer scenarios in relation to parents' responses to similar hypothetical social scenarios and parents' actual marital aggression. The study included 118 children ages 9 to 10 years old and their mothers and fathers. Children's aggressive solutions correlated with…

Family Violence and Children’s Behavior Problems: Independent Contributions of Intimate Partner and Child-Directed Physical Aggression

PubMed Central

Gustafsson, Hanna C.; Barnett, Melissa A.; Towe-Goodman, Nissa R.; Mills-Koonce, W. Roger; Cox, Martha J.

2014-01-01

Using data from a diverse sample of 581 families living in predominantly low-income, rural communities, the current study sought to investigate the longitudinal associations among father-perpetrated intimate partner violence (IPV) and child-directed physical aggression perpetrated by the mother. The unique contributions of each of these types of family violence on children’s behavioral problems at school entry were also examined. Results confirm bidirectional associations between father-perpetrated IPV and maternal physical aggression directed toward the child, and indicate that both types of physical aggression contribute to child behavior problems at school entry. PMID:25431522

Prospective associations between peer victimization and aggression.

PubMed

Ostrov, Jamie M

2010-01-01

The current study involved a short-term longitudinal study of young children (M = 44.56 months, SD = 11.88, N = 103) to test the prospective associations between peer victimization and aggression subtypes. Path analyses documented that teacher-reported physical victimization was uniquely associated with increases in observed physical aggression over time. The path model also revealed that teacher-reported relational victimization was uniquely associated with statistically significant increases in observed relational aggression over time. Ways in which these findings extend the extant developmental literature are discussed. © 2010 The Author. Child Development © 2010 Society for Research in Child Development, Inc.

The Influence of Classroom Aggression and Classroom Climate on Aggressive-Disruptive Behavior

PubMed Central

Thomas, Duane E.; Bierman, Karen L.; Powers, CJ

2011-01-01

Research suggests that early classroom experiences influence the socialization of aggression. Tracking changes in the aggressive behavior of 4179 children from kindergarten to second-grade (ages 5–8) this study examined the impact of two important features of the classroom context–aggregate peer aggression and climates characterized by supportive teacher-student interactions. The aggregate aggression scores of children assigned to first-grade classrooms predicted the level of classroom aggression (assessed by teacher ratings) and quality of classroom climate (assessed by observers) that emerged by the end of grade 1. HLM analyses revealed that first-grade classroom aggression and quality of classroom climate made independent contributions to changes in student aggression, as students moved from kindergarten to second grade. Implications for policy and practice are discussed. PMID:21434887

Does sexual selection explain human sex differences in aggression?

PubMed

Archer, John

2009-08-01

I argue that the magnitude and nature of sex differences in aggression, their development, causation, and variability, can be better explained by sexual selection than by the alternative biosocial version of social role theory. Thus, sex differences in physical aggression increase with the degree of risk, occur early in life, peak in young adulthood, and are likely to be mediated by greater male impulsiveness, and greater female fear of physical danger. Male variability in physical aggression is consistent with an alternative life history perspective, and context-dependent variability with responses to reproductive competition, although some variability follows the internal and external influences of social roles. Other sex differences, in variance in reproductive output, threat displays, size and strength, maturation rates, and mortality and conception rates, all indicate that male aggression is part of a sexually selected adaptive complex. Physical aggression between partners can be explained using different evolutionary principles, arising from the conflicts of interest between males and females entering a reproductive alliance, combined with variability following differences in societal gender roles. In this case, social roles are particularly important since they enable both the relatively equality in physical aggression between partners from Western nations, and the considerable cross-national variability, to be explained.

Social goals, aggression, peer preference, and popularity: longitudinal links during middle school.

PubMed

Ojanen, Tiina; Findley-Van Nostrand, Danielle

2014-08-01

Social goals are associated with behaviors and adjustment among peers. However, it remains unclear whether goals predict adolescent social development. We examined prospective associations among goals, physical and relational aggression, social preference, and popularity during middle school (N = 384 participants, ages 12-14 years). Agentic (status, power) goals predicted increased relational aggression and communal (closeness) goals predicted decreased physical aggression. Popularity predicted increases and preference predicted decreases in both forms of aggression. Goals moderated longitudinal links between aggression and popularity: Aggression predicted increases in popularity and vice versa for youth with higher agentic goals, and popularity predicted increases in physical aggression for youth with higher agentic and lower communal goals. Implications for research on social goals, aggression, and popularity are discussed. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved.

Characterizing Aggressive Behavior with the Impulsive/Premeditated Aggression Scale among Adolescents with Conduct Disorder

PubMed Central

Mathias, Charles W.; Stanford, Matthew S.; Marsh, Dawn M.; Frick, Paul J.; Moeller, F. Gerard; Swann, Alan C.; Dougherty, Donald M.

2007-01-01

This study extends the use of the Impulsive/Premeditated Aggression Scale for subtyping aggressive behavior among adolescents with Conduct Disorder. Of the Conduct Disorder symptoms, aggression has the strongest prognostic and treatment implications. While aggression is a complex construct, convergent evidence supports a dichotomy of impulsive and premeditated aggressive subtypes that are qualitatively different from one another in terms of phenomenology and neurobiology. Previous attempts at measuring subtypes of aggression in children and adults are not clearly generalizable to adolescents. Sixty-six adolescents completed a questionnaire for characterizing aggression (Impulsive/Premeditated Aggression Scale), along with standard measures of personality and general functioning. Principal components analysis demonstrated two stable factors of aggression with good internal consistency and construct validity. Compared to the premeditated aggression factor, the impulsive aggression factor was associated with a broader range of personality, thought, emotional, and social problems. As in the adult and child literature, characterization of aggressive behavior into two subtypes appears to be relevant to understanding individual differences among adolescents with Conduct Disorder. PMID:17383014

Neural Correlates of Aggressive Behavior in Real Time: a Review of fMRI Studies of Laboratory Reactive Aggression

PubMed Central

Keedy, Sarah; Berman, Mitchell E.; Lee, Royce; Coccaro, Emil F.

2017-01-01

Purpose of review Aggressive behavior has adaptive value in many natural environments; however, it places substantial burden and costs on human society. For this reason, there has long been interest in understanding the neurobiological basis of aggression. This interest, and the flourishing of neuroimaging research in general, has spurred the development of a large and growing scientific literature on the topic. As a result, a neural circuit model of aggressive behavior has emerged that implicates interconnected brain regions that are involved in emotional reactivity, emotion regulation, and cognitive control. Recent findings Recently, behavioral paradigms that simulate provocative interactions have been adapted to neuroimaging protocols, providing an opportunity to directly probe the involvement of neural circuits in an aggressive interaction. Here we review neuroimaging studies of simulated aggressive interactions in research volunteers. We focus on studies that use a well-validated laboratory paradigm for reactive physical aggression and examine the neural correlates of provocation, retaliation, and evaluating punishment of an opponent. Summary Overall, the studies reviewed support the involvement of neural circuits that support emotional reactivity, emotion regulation, and cognitive control in aggressive behavior. Based on a synthesis of this literature, future research directions are discussed. PMID:29607288

The influence of classroom aggression and classroom climate on aggressive-disruptive behavior.

PubMed

Thomas, Duane E; Bierman, Karen L; Powers, C J

2011-01-01

Research suggests that early classroom experiences influence the socialization of aggression. Tracking changes in the aggressive behavior of 4,179 children from kindergarten to second-grade (ages 5-8), this study examined the impact of 2 important features of the classroom context--aggregate peer aggression and climates characterized by supportive teacher-student interactions. The aggregate aggression scores of children assigned to first-grade classrooms predicted the level of classroom aggression (assessed by teacher ratings) and quality of classroom climate (assessed by observers) that emerged by the end of Grade 1. Hierarchical linear model analyses revealed that first-grade classroom aggression and quality of classroom climate made independent contributions to changes in student aggression, as students moved from kindergarten to second grade. Implications for policy and practice are discussed. © 2011 The Authors. Child Development © 2011 Society for Research in Child Development, Inc.

Differential DNA Methylation Regions in Cytokine and Transcription Factor Genomic Loci Associate with Childhood Physical Aggression

PubMed Central

Provençal, Nadine; Suderman, Matthew J.; Caramaschi, Doretta; Wang, Dongsha; Hallett, Michael; Vitaro, Frank

2013-01-01

Background Animal and human studies suggest that inflammation is associated with behavioral disorders including aggression. We have recently shown that physical aggression of boys during childhood is strongly associated with reduced plasma levels of cytokines IL-1α, IL-4, IL-6, IL-8 and IL-10, later in early adulthood. This study tests the hypothesis that there is an association between differential DNA methylation regions in cytokine genes in T cells and monocytes DNA in adult subjects and a trajectory of physical aggression from childhood to adolescence. Methodology/Principal Findings We compared the methylation profiles of the entire genomic loci encompassing the IL-1α, IL-6, IL-4, IL-10 and IL-8 and three of their regulatory transcription factors (TF) NFkB1, NFAT5 and STAT6 genes in adult males on a chronic physical aggression trajectory (CPA) and males with the same background who followed a normal physical aggression trajectory (control group) from childhood to adolescence. We used the method of methylated DNA immunoprecipitation with comprehensive cytokine gene loci and TF loci microarray hybridization, statistical analysis and false discovery rate correction. We found differentially methylated regions to associate with CPA in both the cytokine loci as well as in their transcription factors loci analyzed. Some of these differentially methylated regions were located in known regulatory regions whereas others, to our knowledge, were previously unknown as regulatory areas. However, using the ENCODE database, we were able to identify key regulatory elements in many of these regions that indicate that they might be involved in the regulation of cytokine expression. Conclusions We provide here the first evidence for an association between differential DNA methylation in cytokines and their regulators in T cells and monocytes and male physical aggression. PMID:23977113

Parenting styles and bullying. The mediating role of parental psychological aggression and physical punishment.

PubMed

Gómez-Ortiz, Olga; Romera, Eva María; Ortega-Ruiz, Rosario

2016-01-01

Studies concerning parenting styles and disciplinary practices have shown a relationship between both factors and bullying involvement in adolescence. The scarce available evidence suggests that abusive disciplinary practices increase teenagers' vulnerability to abuse in school or the likelihood of them becoming abusers of their peers in the same context. However, there is a lack of knowledge about the indirect effect of parenting styles in adolescents' bullying involvement through disciplinary practices, although a relationship between parenting styles and disciplinary practices has been shown. The aim of this research was to determine the mediating role of punitive parental discipline (physical punishment and psychological aggression) between the dimensions of parents' parenting styles and their children's involvement in bullying victimization and aggression. We used a sample comprising 2060 Spanish high school students (47.9% girls; mean age=14.34). Structural equation modeling was performed to analyze the data. The results confirmed the mediating role of parental discipline between the parenting practices analyzed and students' aggression and victimization. Significant gender-related differences were found for aggression involvement, where boys were for the most part linked to psychological aggression disciplinary practices and girls to physical punishment. Victimization directly correlated with parental psychological aggression discipline behavior across both sexes. In conclusion, the results seem to suggest that non-democratic parenting styles favor the use of punitive discipline, which increases the risk of adolescents' bullying involvement. Therefore, intervention programs must involve parents to make them aware about the important role they play in this process and to improve their parenting styles. Crown Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Parental Physical and Psychological Aggression: Psychological Symptoms in Young Adults

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Miller-Perrin, Cindy L.; Perrin, Robin D.; Kocur, Jodie L.

2009-01-01

Objective: The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the relationship between various levels of parent-child physical violence and psychological symptoms reported by college students, while controlling for demographic variables, severity and frequency of violence, and co-occurrence of parental psychological aggression. Method: Participants…

A Daily Process Examination of the Temporal Association Between Alcohol Use and Verbal and Physical Aggression in Community Couples

PubMed Central

Testa, Maria; Derrick, Jaye L.

2014-01-01

Alcohol use has been associated with intimate partner aggression perpetration and victimization; however, much of the evidence is based on survey research. Few studies have addressed the proximal effects of drinking episodes on the subsequent occurrence of partner aggression. The current study used daily diary methodology to consider the daily and temporal association between drinking episodes and episodes of partner verbal and physical aggression among a community sample of married and cohabiting couples (N = 118). Male and female partners each provided 56 days of independent daily reports of drinking and partner conflict episodes, including verbal and physical aggression, using interactive voice response technology. Dyadic data analyses, guided by the actor-partner interdependence model, were conducted using hierarchical generalized linear modeling with multivariate outcomes. Daily analyses revealed that alcohol consumption was associated with perpetration of verbal and physical aggression the same day, but not with victimization. Temporal analyses revealed that the likelihood of perpetrating verbal and physical aggression, and the likelihood of being verbally and physically victimized, increased significantly when alcohol was consumed in the previous four hours. Findings did not differ according to gender of perpetrator or victim, and the interaction between perpetrator and victim's alcohol use was not significant in any analysis. The study provides clear evidence that, within a sample of community couples without substance-use disorders or other psychopathology, alcohol consumption by men and women contributes to the occurrence of partner aggression episodes. PMID:24341618

Physiological stress reactivity and physical and relational aggression: the moderating roles of victimization, type of stressor, and child gender.

PubMed

Murray-Close, Dianna; Crick, Nicki R; Tseng, Wan-Ling; Lafko, Nicole; Burrows, Casey; Pitula, Clio; Ralston, Peter

2014-08-01

The purpose of the present investigation was to examine the association between physiological reactivity to peer stressors and physical and relational aggression. Potential moderation by actual experiences of peer maltreatment (i.e., physical and relational victimization) and gender were also explored. One hundred ninety-six children (M = 10.11 years, SD = 0.64) participated in a laboratory stress protocol during which their systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, and skin conductance reactivity to recounting a relational stressor (e.g., threats to relationships) and an instrumental stressor (e.g., threats to physical well-being, dominance, or property) were assessed. Teachers provided reports of aggression and victimization. In both boys and girls, physical aggression was associated with blunted physiological reactivity to relational stress and heightened physiological reactivity to instrumental stress, particularly among youth higher in victimization. In girls, relational aggression was most robustly associated with blunted physiological reactivity to relational stressors, particularly among girls exhibiting higher levels of relational victimization. In boys, relational aggression was associated with heightened physiological reactivity to both types of stressors at higher levels of peer victimization and blunted physiological reactivity to both types of stressors at lower levels of victimization. Results underscore the shared and distinct emotional processes underlying physical and relational aggression in boys and girls.

The displaced aggression questionnaire.

PubMed

Denson, Thomas F; Pedersen, William C; Miller, Norman

2006-06-01

Previous measures of aggressive personality have focused on direct aggression (i.e., retaliation toward the provoking agent). An original self-report measure of trait displaced aggression is presented. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses provided support for a 3-factor conceptualization of the construct. These analyses identified an affective dimension (angry rumination), a cognitive dimension (revenge planning), and a behavioral dimension (general tendency to engage in displaced aggression). The trait measure demonstrated good internal consistency and test-retest reliability as well as convergent and discriminant construct validity. Unlike other related personality measures, trait displaced aggression significantly predicted indirect indicators of real-world displaced aggression (i.e., self-reported domestic abuse and road rage) as well as laboratory displaced aggression in 2 experiments. Copyright 2006 APA, all rights reserved.

Hearing regulates Drosophila aggression.

PubMed

Versteven, Marijke; Vanden Broeck, Lies; Geurten, Bart; Zwarts, Liesbeth; Decraecker, Lisse; Beelen, Melissa; Göpfert, Martin C; Heinrich, Ralf; Callaerts, Patrick

2017-02-21

Aggression is a universal social behavior important for the acquisition of food, mates, territory, and social status. Aggression in Drosophila is context-dependent and can thus be expected to involve inputs from multiple sensory modalities. Here, we use mechanical disruption and genetic approaches in Drosophila melanogaster to identify hearing as an important sensory modality in the context of intermale aggressive behavior. We demonstrate that neuronal silencing and targeted knockdown of hearing genes in the fly's auditory organ elicit abnormal aggression. Further, we show that exposure to courtship or aggression song has opposite effects on aggression. Our data define the importance of hearing in the control of Drosophila intermale aggression and open perspectives to decipher how hearing and other sensory modalities are integrated at the neural circuit level.

Aggression in the work environment of physiotherapists.

PubMed

Szczegielniak, Anna; Skowronek, Anna; Krysta, Krzysztof; Krupka-Matuszczyk, Irena

2012-09-01

Aggression in the medical environment can take on different forms. It can be inflicted both by patients and workmates and may also cause a rise of aggressive behavior performed by the physiotherapists themselves. The aim of the study was to evaluate possible danger that may occur in the working environment of physiotherapists as well as to assess the correlation between such factors as the length of professional experience and exposure to the aggression inflicted by patients and workmates in the workplace with the level of aggression occurring within the professional group of physiotherapists. The study was conducted among 50 physiotherapists from Opole and the Silesian Voivodships in Poland. Two types of questionnaires were used: the author's own questionnaire, assessing exposure of the physiotherapists to aggression in the workplace, and the Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire. The results were analyzed with the Statistica 8.0 application. 60% of participants suffered from patients' verbal aggression, 8% from physical aggression and 26% from the patients' emotional self-aggression at least twice a month. The study showed a minor correlation between the duration of the length of professional experience and the level of hostility (r=0.2; p>0.05). There is a considerable impact of negative emotions present in relations with workmates at the workplace causing mainly increase of general aggression among physiotherapists and hostility. Similarly, negative emotions that may appear in relations between psychiatrists and patients show a positive correlation with the level of general aggression developed by doctors. It can be observed that there is a huge impact of the impulsive behaviour and attitude (presented both by patients and workmates in the workplaces) on the appearance of aggressive actions by physiotherapists (especially anger and hostility). Further research in this field is needed.

Processes Underlying Children's Adjustment in Families Characterized by Physical Aggression.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Onyskiw, Judee; Hayduk, Leslie A.

2001-01-01

The hypothesis that physical aggression in the family affects children's adjustment through both observational learning/modeling and through its impact on parenting was tested, via LISREL, using data from a sample of Canadian children (N=11,221). Results showed observational learning and disrupted parenting provide reasonable explanations of…

Hearing regulates Drosophila aggression

PubMed Central

Versteven, Marijke; Vanden Broeck, Lies; Geurten, Bart; Zwarts, Liesbeth; Decraecker, Lisse; Beelen, Melissa; Göpfert, Martin C.; Heinrich, Ralf; Callaerts, Patrick

2017-01-01

Aggression is a universal social behavior important for the acquisition of food, mates, territory, and social status. Aggression in Drosophila is context-dependent and can thus be expected to involve inputs from multiple sensory modalities. Here, we use mechanical disruption and genetic approaches in Drosophila melanogaster to identify hearing as an important sensory modality in the context of intermale aggressive behavior. We demonstrate that neuronal silencing and targeted knockdown of hearing genes in the fly’s auditory organ elicit abnormal aggression. Further, we show that exposure to courtship or aggression song has opposite effects on aggression. Our data define the importance of hearing in the control of Drosophila intermale aggression and open perspectives to decipher how hearing and other sensory modalities are integrated at the neural circuit level. PMID:28115690

Gender Differences in Predictors of Self-Reported Physical Aggression: Exploring Theoretically Relevant Dimensions among Adolescents from Santiago, Chile

PubMed Central

Fries, Lauren; Grogan-Kaylor, Andrew; Bares, Cristina; Han, Yoonsun; Delva, Jorge

2013-01-01

Research findings remain unclear on whether different factors predict aggression for adolescent men and women. Given that aggression research is rarely conducted with Latin American populations, the current study used multiple imputation and linear regression to assess gender differences in levels and predictors of self-reported physical aggression among a community sample of young (ages 11 through 17) men (n=504) and women (n = 471) from Santiago, Chile. Results revealed that adolescent women reported engaging in higher levels of physical aggression than men. The variables found to be significantly associated with higher levels of reported aggression—younger age, less family involvement, less parental control, less positive relationships with caregivers, having more friends who act out and use substances, having fewer friends committed to learning, presence of dating violence, and more exposure to neighborhood crime—were not moderated by gender, implying that similar factors are related to aggression in adolescent men and women from Chile. Implications for prevention and intervention efforts to address high-risk adolescents and reduce aggression among Chilean youth are discussed. PMID:24392266

Using Narrated Literacy-Based Behavioural Interventions to Decrease Episodes of Physical Aggression in Elementary Students with Disabilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Anderson, Shelley; Bucholz, Jessica L.; Hazelkorn, Michael; Cooper, Margaret A.

2016-01-01

This study was designed to examine the effects of literacy-based behavioural interventions (Bucholz et al., 2008) to decrease acts of physical aggression with kindergarten and first grade students. The study used a multiple baseline design across three participants. The results showed a decrease in acts of physical aggression by students with…

The frontal lobe and aggression

PubMed Central

Séguin, Jean R.

2014-01-01

Frontal lesions often lead to psychosocial problems. It is not surprising that frontal lobe dysfunctions have been proposed to underlie antisocial behaviour in individuals without apparent lesions. However, physical aggression and violence have never been systematically related to acquired lesions. Whereas, traditional neuropsychological testing identifies problems in cognitive and emotional information processing, recent brain-imaging studies have revealed both the frontal structural and functional underpinnings of antisocial behaviour. Careful characterization of antisocial behaviour subtypes seems to indicate that cognitive-neuropsychological function is systematically poor in physical aggression and hyperactivity. Recent refinements point to biological and genetic moderators of that association. PMID:24976846

Preschool Children's Beliefs about the Acceptability of Relational and Physical Aggression

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Swit, Cara S.; McMaugh, Anne; Warburton, Wayne A.

2016-01-01

This research examined differences in beliefs about the acceptability of aggression and behavioral responses to aggression of preschool-aged children. Two groups, identified from teacher ratings, participated in the research. One group of children exhibited relationally aggressive behaviors, and a comparison group was identified with…

Adolescents' Decisions About Verbal and Physical Aggression: An Application of the Theory of Reasoned Action.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roberto, Anthony J.; Meyer, Gary; Boster, Franklin J.; Roberto, Heather L.

2003-01-01

Examines the ability of the theory of reasoned action to explain and predict adolescents' verbal (i.e., insulting) and physical (i.e., fighting) aggression, as well as behaviors that encourage aggression such as watching a fight or telling others about a fight that is going to happen. Reveals that attitudes and subjective norms predicted…

Exposure to violent video games and aggression in German adolescents: a longitudinal analysis.

PubMed

Möller, Ingrid; Krahé, Barbara

2009-01-01

The relationship between exposure to violent electronic games and aggressive cognitions and behavior was examined in a longitudinal study. A total of 295 German adolescents completed the measures of violent video game usage, endorsement of aggressive norms, hostile attribution bias, and physical as well as indirect/relational aggression cross-sectionally, and a subsample of N=143 was measured again 30 months later. Cross-sectional results at T1 showed a direct relationship between violent game usage and aggressive norms, and an indirect link to hostile attribution bias through aggressive norms. In combination, exposure to game violence, normative beliefs, and hostile attribution bias predicted physical and indirect/relational aggression. Longitudinal analyses using path analysis showed that violence exposure at T1 predicted physical (but not indirect/relational) aggression 30 months later, whereas aggression at T1 was unrelated to later video game use. Exposure to violent games at T1 influenced physical (but not indirect/relational) aggression at T2 via an increase of aggressive norms and hostile attribution bias. The findings are discussed in relation to social-cognitive explanations of long-term effects of media violence on aggression. Copyright 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

The Prison Adjusted Measure of Aggression (PAMA): Psychometric characteristics of a new tool measuring change in aggressive behaviors in correctional settings.

PubMed

Kerekes, Nóra; Apelqvist, Susanne; Fielding, Cecilia; Anckarsäter, Henrik; Nilsson, Thomas

2018-05-01

There is a need for instruments that can be used in correctional settings to measure changes in aggressive behaviors over a limited time period. This study aimed to validate an instrument (the Prison Adjusted Measure of Aggression, PAMA) that assesses specifically the past month's aggressive behaviors and is adapted for use in correctional facilities. The psychometric properties of the self-rated and interview versions of the PAMA were explored and compared to those of two well-established measures of aggression: The Staff Observation Aggression Scale (SOAS); and the self-rate Aggression Questionnaire-Revised Swedish Version (AQ-RSV). The study group comprised 93 male and 59 female inmates, who were followed for two months. During the study, the prevalence of aggressive acts was observed and reported by SOAS. On two occasions, at monthly intervals, subjects reported their own aggressive behaviors using AQ-RSV and the self-report version of the PAMA; also, a psychologist conducted interviews according to PAMA. This study's main finding was that the self-rated version of PAMA is a valid measure of different types and dimensions of aggression (physical and verbal aggression, hostility) and has acceptable psychometric properties. Therefore, PAMA could potentially be of value for use in correctional services evaluating aggression managing treatment interventions. Copyright © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

One-sided and mutually aggressive couples: Differences in attachment, conflict prevalence, and coping.

PubMed

Burk, William J; Seiffge-Krenke, Inge

2015-12-01

This study investigated concurrent links between adolescent romantic couples' reports of aggression (relational and physical) and relationship functioning (e.g., attachment security, conflict prevalence, coping strategies, jealousy, and affiliative and romantic relationship quality) using a pattern-oriented approach. The sample included 194 romantic partner dyads (Mage=16.99 years for females and Mage=18.41 years for males). A hierarchical cluster analysis identified five distinct subgroups of dyads based on male and female reports of relational and physical aggression, ranging from nonaggressive couples (42%), to those characterized by aggressive females (18%), aggressive males (14%), physically aggressive females (20%), and mutually aggressive females and males (6%). Clusters in which one partner was perceived as either relationally or physically aggressive were characterized by higher rates of conflict, less adaptive coping, and more jealousy (particularly in males). The mutually aggressive couples showed the least adaptive relationship functioning, with high rates of conflict, a deficit in reflection and emotion regulation in conflict situations, and a lack of affiliative relationship qualities. The discussion focuses on the formative character of aggression in these early romantic relations, the aggravating impact of mutual aggression on relationship functioning, and the gender-specific functions of aggression in relationships characterized by unilateral aggression. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Family Functioning and High Risk Adolescents' Aggressive Behavior: Examining Effects by Ethnicity.

PubMed

Henneberger, Angela K; Varga, Shannon M; Moudy, Alyssa; Tolan, Patrick H

2016-01-01

The relationship between family functioning and adolescents' physical aggression has been well established, but whether these relationships might differ by ethnicity has received less attention. Ethnic variations may be important for targeting prevention programs to specific youth and families. This study examined the longitudinal relationship between family cohesion, parental monitoring, and physical aggression using data from the Multisite Violence Prevention Project sample of high-risk youth (elevated aggression). Participants were 1,232 high-risk middle school students (65% male; 70% African American; 15% Hispanic). Meaningful demographic variations were identified. After controlling for intervention condition and study site, family cohesion was significantly negatively related to physical aggression, more so for Hispanic youth. Parental monitoring was negatively associated with physical aggression for African American youth only. Our findings point to the importance of developing culturally sensitive family interventions to prevent physical aggression in middle school.

Early risk pathways to physical versus relational peer aggression: The interplay of externalizing behavior and corporal punishment varies by child sex.

PubMed

Zulauf, Courtney A; Sokolovsky, Alexander W; Grabell, Adam S; Olson, Sheryl L

2018-03-01

Children who aggress against their peers may use physical or relational forms, yet little research has looked at early childhood risk factors and characteristics that uniquely predict high levels of relational versus physical aggression in preadolescence. Accordingly, the main aim of our study was to link early corporal punishment and externalizing behavior to children's physical and relational peer aggression during preadolescence and to examine how these pathways differed by sex. Participants were 193, 3-year-old boys (39%) and girls who were reassessed following the transition to kindergarten (5.5 years) and preadolescence (10.5 years). A series of autoregressive, cross-lagged path analyses were conducted to examine the relationships between child externalizing problems and corporal punishment at ages 3 and 5.5 years, and their association with physical and relational aggression at age 10.5. Multiple group analysis was used to determine whether pathways differed by sex. Three developmental pathways were identified: (i) direct associations between stable childhood externalizing problems and later physical aggression; (ii) a direct pathway from early corporal punishment to preadolescent relational and physical peer aggression; and (iii) an indirect pathway from early corporal punishment to later physical aggression via continuing externalizing problems in middle childhood. Child sex moderated the nature of these pathways, as well as the direction of association between risk and outcome variables. These data advance our understanding of the etiology of distinct forms of peer aggression and highlight the potential for more efficacious prevention and intervention efforts in the early childhood years. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The company they keep: drinking group attitudes and male bar aggression.

PubMed

Dumas, Tara M; Graham, Kathryn; Wells, Samantha

2015-05-01

The purpose of this study was to assess (a) similarities in self-reported bar-aggression-related attitudes and behaviors among members of young male groups recruited on their way to bars and (b) group-level variables associated with individual members' self-reported likelihood of perpetrating physical bar aggression in the past year, controlling for individual attitudes. Young, male, natural drinking groups recruited on their way to a bar district Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights (n = 167, 53 groups) completed an online survey that measured whether they had perpetrated physical aggression at a bar in the past year and constructs associated with bar aggression, including attitudes toward male bar aggression and frequency of heavy episodic drinking in the past year. Intraclass correlations and chi-square tests demonstrated significant within-group similarity on bar-aggression-related attitudes and behaviors (ps < .01). Hierarchical linear modeling revealed that group attitudes toward bar aggression were significantly associated with individuals' likelihood of perpetrating physical bar aggression, controlling for individual attitudes (p < .01); however, the link between group heavy episodic drinking and self-reported bar aggression was nonsignificant in the full model. This study suggests that the most important group influence on young men's bar aggression is the attitudes of other group members. These attitudes were associated with group members' likelihood of engaging in bar aggression over and above individuals' own attitudes. A better understanding of how group attitudes and behavior affect the behavior of individual group members is needed to inform aggression-prevention programming.

Psychopharmacological treatment of aggression in schizophrenic patients.

PubMed

Brieden, T; Ujeyl, M; Naber, D

2002-05-01

Aggressive behavior is frequently observed in schizophrenic patients. More than 50 % of all psychiatric patients and 10 % of schizophrenic patients show aggressive symptoms varying from threatening behavior and agitation to assault. The pharmacological treatment of acute, persisting and repetitive aggression is a serious problem for other patients and staff members. Not only is violent behavior from mentally ill patients the most detrimental factor in their stigmatization, aggression is also a considerable direct source of danger for the patients themselves. Based on rather limited evidence, a wide variety of medications for the pharmacological treatment of aggression has been recommended: typical and atypical antipsychotics, benzodiazepines, mood stabilizers, beta-blockers and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). Most clinical information on treating aggression has been collected for atypical neuroleptics, particularly for clozapine. Several retrospective and open studies indicate its efficacy. Treatment duration of 6 months is recommended to induce a stable reduction of physical and verbal aggression. Severe side effects have very rarely been seen. At the moment, clozapine seems to be the first choice in aggression treatment. Within the last few years, about 10 articles were published showing that this is the most effective antiaggressive agent in the treatment of aggression and agitation in psychiatric patients, independent of psychiatric diagnosis. However, clozapine, like all the other substances used, does not have an established indication for the treatment of aggressive symptoms. Noncompliance with medication makes it difficult to choose the right preparation for the medication: tablets, liquids, intramuscular injections and readily soluble "FDDFs" are available. Ethical, juridical and methodological problems prevent controlled studies from establishing a reference in the treatment of aggression in mentally ill patients. This review summarizes

Relations between Childraising Styles and Aggressiveness in Adolescents

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

De la Torre-Cruz, M. J.; García-Linares, M. C.; Casanova-Arias, P. F.

2014-01-01

Introduction: Physical and aggressive behavior which children and adolescents show toward peers is associated to parenting styles. The aim of this research was to examine the relation between perceived parenting styles (from mothers and fathers) and the level of physical and verbal aggressive behavior, anger and hostility showed towards the peers.…

Developmental continuity and change in physical, verbal, and relational aggression and peer victimization from childhood to adolescence.

PubMed

Ettekal, Idean; Ladd, Gary W

2017-09-01

To investigate the developmental course of aggression and peer victimization in childhood and adolescence, distinct subgroups of children were identified based on similarities and differences in their physical, verbal and relational aggression, and victimization. Developmental continuity and change were assessed by examining transitions within and between subgroups from Grades 1 to 11. This longitudinal study consisted of 482 children (50% females) and was based on peer report data on multiple forms of aggression and peer victimization. Using person-centered methods including latent profile and latent transition analyses, most of the identified subgroups were distinguishable by their frequencies (i.e., levels) of aggression and victimization, rather than forms (physical, verbal, and relational), with the exception of 1 group that appeared to be more form-specific. Across subgroups, multiple developmental patterns emerged characterized as early and late-onset, social interactional continuity, desistance, and heterotypic pathways. Collectively, these pathways support the perspective that the development of aggression and peer victimization in childhood and adolescence is characterized by heterogeneity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Proactive and reactive sibling aggression and adjustment in adolescence.

PubMed

Tucker, Corinna Jenkins; Van Gundy, Karen T; Wiesen-Martin, Desireé; Hiley Sharp, Erin; Rebellon, Cesar J; Stracuzzi, Nena F

2015-03-01

Existing research on aggression tends to narrowly focus on peers; less is known about sibling aggression, most likely due to its historical acceptance. Aggression is characterized by its forms (i.e., physical vs. social or relational aggression) and its functions (i.e., the motivations behind the aggressive act and categorized as proactive vs. reactive aggression). We use data from a two-wave study of middle (n = 197; M age = 12.63 years at Wave 1) and older (n = 159; M age = 16.50 years at Wave 1) adolescents to assess the extent to which proactive and reactive functions of sibling aggression make unique or conditional contributions to adolescent adjustment (i.e., depression, delinquency, and substance use). We find that proactive sibling aggression increases risk for problem substance use and delinquent behavior, reactive sibling aggression increases risk for depressed mood and delinquent behavior, and such results are observed even with statistical adjustments for sociodemographic and family variables, stressful life events, and prior adjustment. Few conditional effects of proactive or reactive sibling aggression by sex or grade are observed; yet, for all three outcomes, the harmful effects of reactive sibling aggression are strongest among adolescents who report low levels of proactive sibling aggression. The results speak to the importance of understanding the proactive and reactive functions of sibling aggressive behaviors for adolescent adjustment. © The Author(s) 2014.

Girls Just Being Girls? Mediating Relational Aggression and Victimization

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Radliff, Kisha M.; Joseph, Laurice M.

2011-01-01

Although physical aggression has received much attention in the literature, relational aggression has only been explored in the past decade or so. This is problematic given that relational aggression is increasingly prevalent among middle school girls and has become a cause for alarm, as this phenomenon leads to several negative psychological,…

Interplay between Friends' Aggression and Friendship Quality in the Development of Child Aggression during the Early School Years

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Salvas, Marie-Claude; Vitaro, Frank; Brendgen, Mara; Lacourse, Eric; Boivin, Michel; Tremblay, Richard E.

2011-01-01

The aim of this study was to investigate the unique and combined role of friendship quality and friends' aggression in regard to the persistence of young children's physical aggression from kindergarten to grade 2. The sample included 1555 children (808 girls) assessed annually using teacher ratings. Two theoretical perspectives (i.e., the social…

Effects of parental verbal aggression on children's self-esteem and school marks.

PubMed

Solomon, C R; Serres, F

1999-04-01

The aim of the study was to distinguish the effects of verbal aggression from those of physical aggression and investigate whether parental verbal violence has negative effects on children's self-esteem and academic achievements. One hundred and forty-four 10-year-old children completed the Harter Self-perception Profile for Children questionnaire and a questionnaire concerning their mothers' and fathers' verbal aggression towards them and their use of physical punishment. The researchers used school records to obtain the subjects' marks in French (their native language) and Mathematics. Six children had never been the targets of either verbal aggression or physical punishment. Thirty-four children had been subjected to both types of aggression. Verbal aggression alone was found to be in significant negative correlation with three of six components of self-esteem. Verbal aggression alone was also found to be in significant negative correlation with French marks. In addition children who had been subject to greater verbal aggression had lower self-esteem and lower marks in French than children who had been subject to lesser verbal aggression. They were also significantly negatively affected in a fourth component of self-esteem. Parental verbal aggression alone as separate and distinct from physical punishment contributes to lowering children's self-esteem and school achievements. Given the extent of the use of verbal aggression by ordinary parents the authors suggested a need for parent education on the topic of positive methods of child rearing.

The effects of pathological gaming on aggressive behavior.

PubMed

Lemmens, Jeroen S; Valkenburg, Patti M; Peter, Jochen

2011-01-01

Studies have shown that pathological involvement with computer or video games is related to excessive gaming binges and aggressive behavior. Our aims for this study were to longitudinally examine if pathological gaming leads to increasingly excessive gaming habits, and how pathological gaming may cause an increase in physical aggression. For this purpose, we conducted a two-wave panel study among 851 Dutch adolescents (49% female) of which 540 played games (30% female). Our analyses indicated that higher levels of pathological gaming predicted an increase in time spent playing games 6 months later. Time spent playing violent games specifically, and not just games per se, increased physical aggression. Furthermore, higher levels of pathological gaming, regardless of violent content, predicted an increase in physical aggression among boys. That this effect only applies to boys does not diminish its importance, because adolescent boys are generally the heaviest players of violent games and most susceptible to pathological involvement.

The Effects of Pathological Gaming on Aggressive Behavior

PubMed Central

Valkenburg, Patti M.; Peter, Jochen

2010-01-01

Studies have shown that pathological involvement with computer or video games is related to excessive gaming binges and aggressive behavior. Our aims for this study were to longitudinally examine if pathological gaming leads to increasingly excessive gaming habits, and how pathological gaming may cause an increase in physical aggression. For this purpose, we conducted a two-wave panel study among 851 Dutch adolescents (49% female) of which 540 played games (30% female). Our analyses indicated that higher levels of pathological gaming predicted an increase in time spent playing games 6 months later. Time spent playing violent games specifically, and not just games per se, increased physical aggression. Furthermore, higher levels of pathological gaming, regardless of violent content, predicted an increase in physical aggression among boys. That this effect only applies to boys does not diminish its importance, because adolescent boys are generally the heaviest players of violent games and most susceptible to pathological involvement. PMID:20549320

Social Aggression on Television and Its Relationship to Children's Aggression in the Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Martins, Nicole; Wilson, Barbara J.

2012-01-01

A survey was conducted with over 500 children in grades K-5 to examine whether exposure to socially aggressive content was related to children's use of social aggression. The results of the survey revealed a significant relationship between exposure to televised social aggression and increased social aggression at school, but only for girls and…

Family Functioning and High Risk Adolescents’ Aggressive Behavior: Examining Effects by Ethnicity

PubMed Central

Varga, Shannon M.; Moudy, Alyssa; Tolan, Patrick H.

2014-01-01

The relationship between family functioning and adolescents’ physical aggression has been well established, but whether these relationships might differ by ethnicity has received less attention. Ethnic variations may be important for targeting prevention programs to specific youth and families. This study examined the longitudinal relationship between family cohesion, parental monitoring, and physical aggression using data from the Multisite Violence Prevention Project sample of high-risk youth (elevated aggression). Participants were 1,232 high-risk middle school students (65% male; 70% African American; 15% Hispanic). Meaningful demographic variations were identified. After controlling for intervention condition and study site, family cohesion was significantly negatively related to physical aggression, more so for Hispanic youth. Parental monitoring was negatively associated with physical aggression for African American youth only. Our findings point to the importance of developing culturally sensitive family interventions to prevent physical aggression in middle school. PMID:25416227

Force versus fury: Sex differences in the relationships among physical and psychological threat potential, the facial width-to-height ratio, and judgements of aggressiveness.

PubMed

MacDonell, Elliott T; Geniole, Shawn N; McCormick, Cheryl M

2018-06-07

Individuals with larger facial width-to-height ratios (FWHRs) are judged as more threatening, and engage in more threat-related behavior, than do individuals with smaller FWHRs. Here we identified components of threat potential that are related to the FWHR. In Study 1, the FWHR was correlated positively with physical threat potential (bicep size) in women and with both physical and psychological (anger proneness) threat potential in men. Behavioral aggression was measured in a subset of these participants using the Point Subtraction Aggression Paradigm (costly aggression) and a Money Allocation Task (non-costly aggression). Psychological (but not physical) threat potential predicted non-costly aggression and physical (but not psychological) threat potential predicted costly aggression. In Study 2, a separate set of participants judged the anger proneness, strength, or aggressiveness of male participants photographed in Study 1. Participants' judgements of all three characteristics were associated with the FWHR, and there were sex differences in how aggressiveness was conceptualized (for women, aggressiveness was associated with anger proneness, for men, aggressiveness was associated with strength). These results are consistent with the hypothesis that the FWHR may be an adaptation to cue the threat potential of men. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Cruel intentions on television and in real life: can viewing indirect aggression increase viewers' subsequent indirect aggression?

PubMed

Coyne, Sarah M; Archer, John; Eslea, Mike

2004-07-01

Numerous studies have shown that viewing violence in the media can influence an individual's subsequent aggression, but none have examined the effect of viewing indirect aggression. This study examines the immediate effect of viewing indirect and direct aggression on subsequent indirect aggression among 199 children ages 11 to 14 years. They were shown an indirect, direct, or no-aggression video and their subsequent indirect aggression was measured by negative evaluation of a confederate and responses to a vignette. Participants viewing indirect or direct aggression gave a more negative evaluation of and less money to a confederate than participants viewing no-aggression. Participants viewing indirect aggression gave less money to the confederate than those viewing direct aggression. Participants viewing indirect aggression gave more indirectly aggressive responses to an ambiguous situation and participants viewing direct aggression gave more directly aggressive responses. This study provides the first evidence that viewing indirect aggression in the media can have an immediate impact on subsequent aggression.

Experiences with Dating Aggression and Sexual Coercion among Polish College Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Doroszewicz, Krystyna; Forbes, Gordon B.

2008-01-01

Dating aggression and sexual coercion were studied in Polish college women (n = 100) and men ( n = 101) using the Revised Conflict Tactics Scales (Straus, Hamby, Boney-McCoy, & Sugarman, 1996). Rates of psychological and physical aggression, sexual coercion, and injury were compared for men and women. Rates of physical aggression, sexual…

Thalamic modulation of aggression.

PubMed

Andy, O J; Giurintano, L; Giurintano, S; McDonald, T

1975-01-01

This experiment extends Pavlov's method of contrasts for 8 components of aggression were quantitatively evaluated in 11 freely moving adult cats. Aggression was elicited from the perifornix septohypothalamic areas by a series of progressively increasing and decreasing stimulation parameters. Three levels of thalamic stimulation (low, medium, and high) were combined with the perifornix stimulations. High level thalamic stimulation tended to facilitate the aggressive response elicited by low level perifornix stimulation. Thalamic lesions attenuated the aggression response, especially those elicited during high level perifornix stimulation. It was suggested that within the hypothalamic induced aggression circuitry the center median nucleus modulates the excitatory state of the system. The discussion concerns anatomic and physiologic pathways through which the center median nucleus may modulate the sensory, motor, and affective-autonomic subsystems into a well integrated aggressive state. These experimental findings are supported by the clinically established treatment of aggression by stereotaxic lesions placed in the center median nucleus.

Developmental trajectories of physical aggression: prediction of overt and covert antisocial behaviors from self- and mothers' reports

PubMed Central

Di Giunta, Laura; Pastorelli, Concetta; Eisenberg, Nancy; Gerbino, Maria; Castellani, Valeria; Bombi, Anna Silvia

2010-01-01

Physical aggression declines for the majority of children from preschool to elementary school. Although this desistance generally continues during adolescence and early adulthood, a small group of children maintain a high level of physical aggression over time and develop other serious overt and covert antisocial behaviors. Typically, researchers have examined relations of developmental changes in physical aggression to later violence with teachers' or mothers' reports on surveys. Little is known about the degree to which children's self-reported physical aggression predicts later antisocial behavior. The longitudinal study in this article had a staggered, multiple cohort design. Measures of physical aggression were collected through self- and mother reports from age 11–14 years, which were used to construct trajectory groups (attrition was 6 and 14% from age 11–14, respectively, for self- and mother reports). Overt and covert antisocial behaviors were self-reported at age 18–19 years (attrition was 36% from age 11 to 18–19). Four trajectory groups (low stable, 11%; moderate-low declining, 34%; moderate declining, 39%; high stable, 16%) were identified from self-reports, whereas three trajectories (low declining, 33%; moderate declining, 49%; high stable, 18%) were identified from mothers' ratings. We examined the prediction of overt and covert antisocial behaviors in early adulthood from the high stable and the moderate declining trajectories. According to both informants, higher probability of belonging to the high stable group was associated with higher overt and covert antisocial behavior, whereas higher probability of belonging to the moderate declining group was associated with higher covert antisocial behavior. Our results support the value of children's as well as mothers' reports of children's aggression for predicting different types of serious antisocial behavior in adulthood. PMID:20878197

Developmental trajectories of physical aggression: prediction of overt and covert antisocial behaviors from self- and mothers' reports.

PubMed

Di Giunta, Laura; Pastorelli, Concetta; Eisenberg, Nancy; Gerbino, Maria; Castellani, Valeria; Bombi, Anna Silvia

2010-12-01

Physical aggression declines for the majority of children from preschool to elementary school. Although this desistance generally continues during adolescence and early adulthood, a small group of children maintain a high level of physical aggression over time and develop other serious overt and covert antisocial behaviors. Typically, researchers have examined relations of developmental changes in physical aggression to later violence with teachers' or mothers' reports on surveys. Little is known about the degree to which children's self-reported physical aggression predicts later antisocial behavior. The longitudinal study in this article had a staggered, multiple cohort design. Measures of physical aggression were collected through self- and mother reports from age 11-14 years, which were used to construct trajectory groups (attrition was 6 and 14% from age 11-14, respectively, for self- and mother reports). Overt and covert antisocial behaviors were self-reported at age 18-19 years (attrition was 36% from age 11 to 18-19). Four trajectory groups (low stable, 11%; moderate-low declining, 34%; moderate declining, 39%; high stable, 16%) were identified from self-reports, whereas three trajectories (low declining, 33%; moderate declining, 49%; high stable, 18%) were identified from mothers' ratings. We examined the prediction of overt and covert antisocial behaviors in early adulthood from the high stable and the moderate declining trajectories. According to both informants, higher probability of belonging to the high stable group was associated with higher overt and covert antisocial behavior, whereas higher probability of belonging to the moderate declining group was associated with higher covert antisocial behavior. Our results support the value of children's as well as mothers' reports of children's aggression for predicting different types of serious antisocial behavior in adulthood.

Does Humor Explain Why Relationally Aggressive Adolescents Are Popular?

PubMed Central

Bowker, Julie C.; Etkin, Rebecca G.

2013-01-01

The association between relational aggression and popularity during early adolescence is well established. Yet, little is known about why, exactly, relationally aggressive young adolescents are able to achieve and maintain high popular status among peers. The present study investigated the mediating role of humor in the association between relational aggression and popularity during early adolescence. Also considered was whether the association between relational aggression and humor varies according to adolescents’ gender and their friends’ levels of relational aggression. Participants were 265 sixth-grade students (48% female; 41% racial/ethnic minority; Mage = 12.04 years) who completed peer nomination and friendship measures in their classrooms at two time points (Wave 1: February; Wave 2: May). The results indicated that Wave 1 relational aggression was related to Wave 1 and 2 popularity indirectly through Wave 1 humor, after accounting for the effects of Wave 1 physical aggression, ethnicity, and gender. Additional analyses showed that relational aggression and humor were related significantly only for boys and for young adolescents with highly relationally aggressive friends. The results support the need for further research on humor and aggression during early adolescence and other mechanisms by which relationally aggressive youth achieve high popular status. PMID:24136377

Aggression in children with behavioural/emotional difficulties: seeing aggression on television and video games.

PubMed

Mitrofan, Oana; Paul, Moli; Weich, Scott; Spencer, Nicholas

2014-11-18

Mental health professionals are often asked to give advice about managing children's aggression. Good quality evidence on contributory environmental factors such as seeing aggression on television and in video games is relatively lacking, although societal and professional concerns are high. This study investigated possible associations between seeing aggression in such media and the aggressive behaviour of children attending specialist outpatient child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS). In this mixed methods study, forty-seven British children aged 7-11 years with behavioural/emotional difficulties attending CAMHS and their carers participated in a survey; twenty purposively-selected children and a parent/carer of theirs participated in a qualitative study, involving semi-structured interviews, analysed using the Framework Analysis Approach; findings were integrated. Children attending CAMHS exhibit clinically significant aggression, of varying types and frequency. They see aggression in multiple real and virtual settings. Verbal aggression was often seen, frequently exhibited and strongly associated with poor peer relationships and low prosocial behaviour. Children did not think seeing aggression influences their own behaviour but believed it influences others. Carers regarded aggression as resulting from a combination of inner and environmental factors and seeing aggression in real-life as having more impact than television/video games. There is yet no definitive evidence for or against a direct relationship between aggression seen in the media and aggression in children with behavioural/emotional difficulties. Future research should take an ecological perspective, investigating individual, developmental and environmental factors. Carers, professional organisations and policy makers should address aggression seen in all relevant area of children's lives, primarily real-life and secondly virtual environments.

The lived experience of girl-to-girl aggression in marginalized girls.

PubMed

Zenz Adamshick, Pamela

2010-04-01

Girl-to-girl aggression is increasingly being recognized as a health problem, and the number of teenage girls involved in serious fighting is on the rise. Research on the experiences of girl-to-girl aggression in marginalized girls who are out of the mainstream because of poor relationship skills and physical aggression is notably absent, yet this group is at heightened risk for persistent violence. In this study I used the interpretive phenomenological approach to study the lived experience of girl-to-girl aggression in girls who were marginalized and attending an alternative school because of physically aggressive behavior. Data were collected over a 4-month period by means of in-depth interviews and field notes. For this population, girl-to-girl aggression provided self-protection, expressed girls' identity, and was also a means to finding attachment, connection, and friendship. These findings have multidisciplinary implications for interventions with physically aggressive girls, including mentoring programs, in-school support groups, and exploration of a paradigm shift in the use of alternative schools.

From hitting to tattling to gossip: an evolutionary rationale for the development of indirect aggression.

PubMed

Ingram, Gordon P D

2014-04-29

Adult humans are characterized by low rates of intra-group physical aggression. Since children tend to be more physically aggressive, an evolutionary developmental account shows promise for explaining how physical aggression is suppressed in adults. I argue that this is achieved partly through extended dominance hierarchies, based on indirect reciprocity and linguistic transmission of reputational information, mediated by indirectly aggressive competition. Reviewing the literature on indirect and related forms of aggression provides three pieces of evidence for the claim that evolutionarily old impulses towards physical aggression are socialized into indirect aggression in humans: (i) physical aggression falls in early childhood over the same age range at which indirect aggression increases; (ii) the same individuals engage in both direct and indirect aggression; and (iii) socially dominant individuals practice indirect aggression more frequently. Consideration of the developmental course of indirect aggression is complemented by analysis of similar developments in verbal behaviors that are not always thought of as aggressive, namely tattling and gossip. An important puzzle concerns why indirect aggression becomes more covert, and tattling more derogated, in preadolescence and adolescence. This may be due to the development of new strategies aimed at renegotiating social identity and friendship alliances in the peer group.

Childhood Hyperactivity, Physical Aggression and Criminality: A 19-Year Prospective Population-Based Study

PubMed Central

Pingault, Jean-Baptiste; Côté, Sylvana M.; Lacourse, Eric; Galéra, Cédric; Vitaro, Frank; Tremblay, Richard E.

2013-01-01

Background Research shows that children with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder are at elevated risk of criminality. However, several issues still need to be addressed in order to verify whether hyperactivity in itself plays a role in the prediction of criminality. In particular, co-occurrence with other behaviors as well as the internal heterogeneity in ADHD symptoms (hyperactivity and inattention) should be taken into account. The aim of this study was to assess the unique and interactive contributions of hyperactivity to the development of criminality, whilst considering inattention, physical aggression and family adversity. Methodology/Principal Findings We monitored the development of a population-based sample of kindergarten children (N = 2,741). Hyperactivity, inattention, and physical aggression were assessed annually between the ages of 6 and 12 years by mothers and teachers. Information on the presence, the age at first charge and the type of criminal charge was obtained from official records when the participants were aged 25 years. We used survival analysis models to predict the development of criminality in adolescence and adulthood: high childhood hyperactivity was highly predictive when bivariate analyses were used; however, with multivariate analyses, high hyperactivity was only marginally significant (Hazard Ratio: 1.38; 95% CI: 0.94–2.02). Sensitivity analyses revealed that hyperactivity was not a consistent predictor. High physical aggression was strongly predictive (Hazard Ratio: 3.44; 95% CI: 2.43–4.87) and its role was consistent in sensitivity analyses and for different types of crime. Inattention was not predictive of later criminality. Conclusions/Significance Although the contribution of childhood hyperactivity to criminality may be detected in large samples using multi-informant longitudinal designs, our results show that it is not a strong predictor of later criminality. Crime prevention should instead target children with

Nursing and aggression in the workplace: a systematic review.

PubMed

Edward, Karen-leigh; Ousey, Karen; Warelow, Philip; Lui, Steve

Personal experiences of aggression or violence in the workplace lead to serious consequences for nurses, their patients, patient care and the organisation as a whole. While there is a plethora of research on this topic, no review is available that identifies types of aggression encountered, individuals perceived to be most at risk and coping strategies for victims. The aim of this systematic review was to examine occupational anxiety related to actual aggression in the workplace for nurses. Databases (MEDLINE, CINAHL and PsycINFO) were searched, resulting in 1543 titles and abstracts. After removal of duplicates and non-relevant titles, 137 papers were read in full. Physical aggression was found to be most frequent in mental health, nursing homes and emergency departments while verbal aggression was more commonly experienced by general nurses. Nurses exposed to verbal or physical abuse often experienced a negative psychological impact post incident.

Deviant Peer Affiliation as an Explanatory Mechanism in the Association between Corporal Punishment and Physical Aggression: a Longitudinal Study among Chinese Adolescents.

PubMed

Zhu, Jianjun; Yu, Chengfu; Bao, Zhenzhou; Jiang, Yanping; Zhang, Wei; Chen, Yuanyuan; Qiu, Boyu; Zhang, Jianjun

2017-11-01

Previous research has focused primarily on corporal punishment as a cause and adolescents' physical aggression as an outcome. However, there is a large gap in knowledge of the potentially bidirectional association and explanatory mechanism underlying the association between corporal punishment and physical aggression. The current study, using a longitudinal design across three time points (the fall semester of 7th grade, the fall of 8th grade, and the fall of 9th grade), aimed to a) examine the reciprocal processes between corporal punishment and physical aggression, and b) explore whether deviant peer affiliation may explain such reciprocal connections. Only adolescents participating in all the three time points were included in this study, resulting in a final sample of 342 adolescents (175 boys, 167 girls) who completed questionnaires regarding corporal punishment, deviant peer affiliation, and aggression. Gender, age and socioeconomic status were controlled for in the analyses. Autoregressive cross-lagged models showed that the results did not support the direct reciprocal effect between corporal punishment and physical aggression among Chinese adolescents. A direct longitudinal link from corporal punishment to physical aggression was found, however, the inverse association was not significant. Moreover, regarding the longitudinal underlying process, in one direction, corporal punishment at 7th grade predicted higher levels of deviant peer affiliation at 8th grade. In turn, higher deviant peer affiliation at 8th grade predicted increased physical aggression at 9th grade. At the same time, in the other direction, adolescent physical aggression at 7th grade significantly predicted deviant peer affiliation at 8th grade. In turn, higher deviant peer affiliation at 8th grade predicted decreased corporal punishment at 9th grade. Identifying the direct and underlying reciprocal processes between corporal punishment and adolescent physical aggression has important

Desensitization to Media Violence: Links With Habitual Media Violence Exposure, Aggressive Cognitions, and Aggressive Behavior

PubMed Central

Krahé, Barbara; Möller, Ingrid; Huesmann, L. Rowell; Kirwil, Lucyna; Felber, Juliane; Berger, Anja

2015-01-01

This study examined the links between desensitization to violent media stimuli and habitual media violence exposure as a predictor and aggressive cognitions and behavior as outcome variables. Two weeks after completing measures of habitual media violence exposure, trait aggression, trait arousability, and normative beliefs about aggression, undergraduates (N = 303) saw a violent film clip and a sad or a funny comparison clip. Skin conductance level (SCL) was measured continuously, and ratings of anxious and pleasant arousal were obtained after each clip. Following the clips, participants completed a lexical decision task to measure accessibility of aggressive cognitions and a competitive reaction time task to measure aggressive behavior. Habitual media violence exposure correlated negatively with SCL during violent clips and positively with pleasant arousal, response times for aggressive words, and trait aggression, but it was unrelated to anxious arousal and aggressive responding during the reaction time task. In path analyses controlling for trait aggression, normative beliefs, and trait arousability, habitual media violence exposure predicted faster accessibility of aggressive cognitions, partly mediated by higher pleasant arousal. Unprovoked aggression during the reaction time task was predicted by lower anxious arousal. Neither habitual media violence usage nor anxious or pleasant arousal predicted provoked aggression during the laboratory task, and SCL was unrelated to aggressive cognitions and behavior. No relations were found between habitual media violence viewing and arousal in response to the sad and funny film clips, and arousal in response to the sad and funny clips did not predict aggressive cognitions or aggressive behavior on the laboratory task. This suggests that the observed desensitization effects are specific to violent content. PMID:21186935

Desensitization to media violence: links with habitual media violence exposure, aggressive cognitions, and aggressive behavior.

PubMed

Krahé, Barbara; Möller, Ingrid; Huesmann, L Rowell; Kirwil, Lucyna; Felber, Juliane; Berger, Anja

2011-04-01

This study examined the links between desensitization to violent media stimuli and habitual media violence exposure as a predictor and aggressive cognitions and behavior as outcome variables. Two weeks after completing measures of habitual media violence exposure, trait aggression, trait arousability, and normative beliefs about aggression, undergraduates (N = 303) saw a violent film clip and a sad or a funny comparison clip. Skin conductance level (SCL) was measured continuously, and ratings of anxious and pleasant arousal were obtained after each clip. Following the clips, participants completed a lexical decision task to measure accessibility of aggressive cognitions and a competitive reaction time task to measure aggressive behavior. Habitual media violence exposure correlated negatively with SCL during violent clips and positively with pleasant arousal, response times for aggressive words, and trait aggression, but it was unrelated to anxious arousal and aggressive responding during the reaction time task. In path analyses controlling for trait aggression, normative beliefs, and trait arousability, habitual media violence exposure predicted faster accessibility of aggressive cognitions, partly mediated by higher pleasant arousal. Unprovoked aggression during the reaction time task was predicted by lower anxious arousal. Neither habitual media violence usage nor anxious or pleasant arousal predicted provoked aggression during the laboratory task, and SCL was unrelated to aggressive cognitions and behavior. No relations were found between habitual media violence viewing and arousal in response to the sad and funny film clips, and arousal in response to the sad and funny clips did not predict aggressive cognitions or aggressive behavior on the laboratory task. This suggests that the observed desensitization effects are specific to violent content.

Callous-Unemotional Traits, Proactive Aggression, and Treatment Outcomes of Aggressive Children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

PubMed Central

Blader, Joseph C.; Pliszka, Steven R.; Kafantaris, Vivian; Foley, Carmel A.; Crowell, Judith A.; Carlson, Gabrielle A.; Sauder, Colin; Margulies, David M.; Sinha, Christa; Sverd, Jeffrey; Matthews, Thomas L.; Bailey, Brigitte Y.; Daviss, W. Burleson

2013-01-01

Objective Stimulant treatment improves impulse control among children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Decreased aggression often accompanies stimulant pharmacotherapy, suggesting that impulsiveness is integral to their aggressive behavior. However, children with high callous-unemotional (CU) traits and proactive aggression may benefit less from ADHD pharmacotherapy because their aggressive behavior seems more purposeful and deliberate. This study’s objective was to determine if pretreatment CU traits and proactive aggression affect treatment outcomes among aggressive children with ADHD receiving stimulant monotherapy. Method We implemented a stimulant optimization protocol with 160 6- to 13-year-olds (mean [SD] age of 9.31 [2.02] years; 78.75% males) with ADHD, oppositional defiant or conduct disorder, and significant aggressive behavior. Family-focused behavioral intervention was provided concurrently. Primary outcome was the Retrospective Modified Overt Aggression Scale. The Antisocial Process Screening Device and the Aggression Scale, also completed by parents, measured CU traits and proactive aggression, respectively. Analyses examined moderating effects of CU traits and proactive aggression on outcomes. Results 82 children (51%) experienced remission of aggressive behavior. Neither CU traits nor proactive aggression predicted remission (CU traits: odds ratio=0.94, 95% CI=0.80–1.11; proactive aggression, odds ratio=1.05, 95% CI=0.86–1.29). Children whose overall aggression remitted showed decreases in CU traits (effect size=−0.379, 95% CI=−0.60 to −0.16) and proactive aggression (effect size=−0.463, 95% CI=−0.69 to −0.23). Conclusions Findings suggest that pretreatment CU traits and proactive aggression do not forecast worse outcomes for aggressive children with ADHD receiving optimized stimulant pharmacotherapy. With such treatment, CU traits and proactive aggression may decline alongside other behavioral improvements

The relationship between cultural individualism-collectivism and student aggression across 62 countries.

PubMed

Bergmüller, Silvia

2013-01-01

This study examined the relationship between countries' dominant cultural values (i.e., individualism and collectivism) and (a) school principals' perceptions of aggressive student behavior and (b) students' self-reports of being aggressively victimized in school. Data on student aggression and victimization were collected across 62 countries in nationally representative samples of fourth and eighth graders (N = 428,566) and their principals (N = 15,043) by the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 2007. Students were asked about three forms of aggressive victimization: physical, verbal, and relational; principals about two forms of aggressive student behavior: physical and verbal. Country-level regression analyses revealed that the level of cultural individualism, according to the individualism index (IDV) by Hofstede, Hofstede, and Minkov (2010), was not significantly related to either form of student-reported victimization. However, school principals reported aggressive student behavior more often the more individualist, and hence less collectivist, their country's culture. This relation was evident in the principals' reports on 4th and 8th grade students' aggressive behavior for both physical and verbal aggression. Multilevel analyses revealed that cultural individualism was still a powerful predictor of principal-reported aggressive student behavior after controlling for school and country characteristics. The discussion outlines reasons why principals' reports of aggressive student behavior are probably more valid indicators of student aggression than student self-reports of victimization, thereby supporting the hypothesis of culture-dependency of aggression. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Physical Punishment and the Development of Aggressive and Violent Behavior: A Review.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kandel, Elizabeth

The value of physical or corporal punishment is disputed among psychologists; most regard it as harmless, although a subgroup of researchers has controversially suggested that parental use of physical punishment may be causally related to the development of aggression. Thus, the psychological community appears to have separated into determined…

Counter-Aggression as a Function of Physical Aggression: Reciprocity for Harm Done.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Helm, Bob; And Others

Sixty males received either one, 5, or 9 electric shocks of varying magnitude from a confederate during a 10-trial probability estimation task. Following initial trials, subject and confederate reversed roles, and subjects were permitted equal opportunity to counter-aggress against the confederate. One-half the subjects had been forewarned of role…

The impact of husband physical aggression and alcohol use on marital functioning: does alcohol "excuse" the violence?

PubMed

Testa, M; Leonard, K E

2001-10-01

Alcohol has been posited to serve as an "excuse" for deviant behavior, including domestic violence. A recent study suggested that wives hold husbands less responsible for their aggressive behavior when husbands are problem drinkers. To replicate and extend this study, the independent and interactive effects of husband physical aggression and husband alcohol use on wives' marital satisfaction and thoughts of divorce were examined among newlywed couples (n = 387). Husband physical aggression had a significant negative effect on marital satisfaction and a significant positive effect on divorce ideation regardless of the measure of husband alcohol use employed. Alcohol dependence had a negative effect on satisfaction; however, in no case was there an interaction between alcohol and aggression. Results fail to replicate an earlier study supporting an excuse function of alcohol and suggest that alcohol does not mitigate the negative effects of domestic violence on marital functioning.

Aggression between siblings: Associations with the home environment and peer bullying.

PubMed

Tippett, Neil; Wolke, Dieter

2015-01-01

Sibling aggression is a common form of intra-familial aggression, yet has been largely neglected by research. Using an inclusive measure of sibling aggression, this study investigated, firstly, prevalence of sibling aggression and associations with family and household characteristics, and secondly, the relationship between sibling aggression and peer bullying. Participants were 4,237 adolescents from Wave 1 of Understanding Society. Four types of sibling aggression were measured: physical, verbal, stealing and teasing, and combined into composite measures of victimization and perpetration. Regression analysis identified associations with demographic characteristics, family and sibling composition, parent-child relationships and socioeconomic status and explored the link between sibling aggression and involvement in peer bullying. Using a broad definition, sibling aggression was found to be widespread, with 46% of all participants being victimized and 36% perpetrating aggression. Household and family characteristics, including a large family size, male siblings, and financial difficulties were associated with greater rates of sibling aggression. Parenting behavior showed the strongest relationship: harsh parenting increased the risk of sibling aggression while positive parenting protected against it. Sibling aggression was also homotypically related to involvement in peer bullying. Victimization by siblings significantly increased the odds of being a victim of peer bullying, and perpetrators of sibling aggression were more likely to be both peer bullies and bully-victims. Considering the adverse effects of sibling aggression on physical and mental health, the study provides pointers for efforts to reduce the risk of sibling aggression. Furthermore, the link with peer bullying suggests that school anti-bullying efforts should also take account of children's sibling relationships. Aggr. Behav. 41:14-24, 2015. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals

Alcohol Mixed with Energy Drink Use as an Event-Level Predictor of Physical and Verbal Aggression in Bar Conflicts.

PubMed

Miller, Kathleen E; Quigley, Brian M; Eliseo-Arras, Rebecca K; Ball, Natalie J

2016-01-01

Young adult use of alcohol mixed with caffeinated energy drinks (AmEDs) has been globally linked with increased odds of interpersonal aggression, compared with the use of alcohol alone. However, no prior research has linked these behaviors at the event level in bar drinking situations. The present study assessed whether AmED use is associated with the perpetration of verbal and physical aggression in bar conflicts at the event level. In Fall 2014, a community sample of 175 young adult AmED users (55% female) completed a web survey describing a recent conflict experienced while drinking in a bar. Use of both AmED and non-AmED alcoholic drinks in the incident were assessed, allowing calculation of our main predictor variable, the proportion of AmEDs consumed (AmED/total drinks consumed). To measure perpetration of aggression, participants reported on the occurrence of 6 verbal and 6 physical acts during the bar conflict incident. Linear regression analyses showed that the proportion of AmEDs consumed predicted scores for perpetration of both verbal aggression (β = 0.16, p < 0.05) and physical aggression (β = 0.19, p < 0.01) after controlling for gender, age, sensation-seeking and aggressive personality traits, aggressive alcohol expectancies, aggressogenic physical and social bar environments, and total number of drinks. Results of this study suggest that in alcohol-related bar conflicts, higher levels of young adult AmED use are associated with higher levels of aggression perpetration than alcohol use alone and that the elevated risk is not attributable to individual differences between AmED users and nonusers or to contextual differences in bar drinking settings. While future research is needed to identify motivations, dosages, and sequencing issues associated with AmED use, these beverages should be considered a potential risk factor in the escalation of aggressive bar conflicts. Copyright © 2016 by the Research Society on Alcoholism.

Borderline Personality and Externalized Aggression

PubMed Central

Sansone, Lori A.

2012-01-01

Individuals with borderline personality disorder are diagnostically and clinically characterized by self-harm behavior, as indicated by the criterion in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th Edition, Text Revision, “recurrent suicidal behavior, gestures, or threats, or self-mutilating behavior.” However, individuals with borderline personality disorder can display externalized aggressive behavior, as well. In an area characterized by considerably less research, empirical evidence indicates that individuals with borderline personality disorder may exhibit physical violence toward partners, physical violence toward known but nonintimate individuals, criminal behaviors that embody externalized violence (e.g., property damage), and, on very rare occasion, murderous behavior (either of family members or anonymous others through serial killing). Given this under-researched area, there are probably other types of externalized aggressive behaviors that have not been empirically revealed. However, externalized aggressive behaviors in individuals with borderline personality disorder clearly exist and need to be assessed in both psychiatric and primary care settings in an effort to promote safety of medical personnel and effective patient management. PMID:22567607

Adolescents' aggressive and prosocial behavior: associations with jealousy and social anxiety.

PubMed

Culotta, Carmen M; Goldstein, Sara E

2008-03-01

The authors examined how relational aggression, physical aggression, and proactive prosocial behavior were associated with jealousy and social anxiety in a diverse sample of 60 middle school students. After the authors controlled for gender and race, jealousy predicted relational aggression and proactive prosocial behavior, but it did not predict physical aggression. Additionally, social anxiety predicted proactive prosocial behavior. Adolescents who were more jealous in their peer relationships also tended to engage in relational aggression and proactive prosocial behavior, and adolescents who were more socially anxious also tended to be proactively prosocial. The authors discuss the implications of these findings and suggest directions for future research.

Is the use of physical discipline associated with aggressive behaviors in young children?

PubMed Central

Thompson, Richard; Kaczor, Kim; Lorenz, Douglas J.; Bennett, Berkeley L.; Meyers, Gabriel; Pierce, Mary Clyde

2016-01-01

Objectives To determine the association between use of physical discipline and parental report of physically aggressive child behaviors in a cohort of young children who were without indicators of current or past physical abuse Methods The data for this study were analyzed from an initial cohort of patients enrolled in a prospective, observational, multi-center PED-based study investigating bruising and familial psychosocial characteristics of children less than four years of age. Over a seven-month period, structured parental interviews were conducted regarding disciplinary practices, reported child behaviors, and familial psychosocial risk factors. Children with suspected physical abuse were excluded from this study. Trained study staff collected data using standardized questions. Consistent with grounded theory, qualitative coding by two independent individuals was performed using domains rooted in the data. Inter-rater reliability of the coding process was evaluated using the kappa statistic. Descriptive statistics were calculated and multiple logistic regression modeling performed. Results 372 parental interviews were conducted. Parents who reported using physical discipline were 2.8 [95% CI 1.7, 4.5] times more likely to report aggressive child behaviors of hitting/kicking and throwing. Physical discipline was utilized on 38% of children overall, and was 2.4 [95% CI 1.4, 4.1] times more likely to be utilized in families with any of the psychosocial risk factors examined. Conclusions Our findings indicated that the use of physical discipline was associated with higher rates of reported physically aggressive behaviors in early childhood as well as with the presence of familial psychosocial risk factors. PMID:26924534

The context of aggressive behavior in marriage: a longitudinal study of newlyweds.

PubMed

Frye, Nancy E; Karney, Benjamin R

2006-03-01

Under what circumstances are spouses more or less likely to engage in aggressive behaviors? To address this question, the current study drew on multiple longitudinal assessments of 1st-married newlyweds to examine correlates of within-subject variability in aggressive behavior. Controlling for marital satisfaction, the authors found that spouses were more likely to engage in physical aggression at times when they engaged in higher levels of psychological aggression. Additionally, husbands reporting higher levels of chronic stress were more likely to engage in physical aggression overall and were more likely to engage in physical aggression when they were experiencing higher than average levels of acute stress. These results highlight how demands and supports in the context external to a marriage may affect processes within the marriage. Copyright 2006 APA, all rights reserved.

Ability emotional intelligence and its relation to aggression across time and age groups.

PubMed

García-Sancho, Esperanza; Salguero, José M; Fernández-Berrocal, Pablo

2017-02-01

Emotional Intelligence (EI) has been associated with several indicators of psychosocial adjustment, including aggressive behavior, but the relevant research has been mostly cross-sectional, focused on adults, and limited to trait EI measures (García-Sancho, Salguero & Fernández-Berrocal, 2014; Mayer, Roberts & Barsade, ). The present work explored the relationship between Ability Emotional Intelligence (AEI) and aggression in both adults and adolescents using cross-sectional and longitudinal designs. We conducted two studies. Study 1 aimed to provide preliminary evidence about the relationship between AEI and aggression in adults. As literature has shown personality traits act as a strong predictor of aggression, study 1 also examined the potential incremental validity of AEI beyond personality traits in 474 undergraduate students (M = 22.76, SD = 5.13). The results indicated AEI explains a significant amount of unique variance for physical aggression, but not for verbal aggression after controlling personality traits. Study 2 aimed a longitudinal analysis of the relationship between EI and aggression in 151 adolescents (M = 14.74, SD = 0.84). AEI predicted physical aggression over time, but it did not predict verbal aggression. Results from both studies suggest a negative and significant relationship between AEI and physical aggression, however contrary our expectations, it did not for verbal aggression. These results highlight the important explanatory role of emotional abilities in physical aggressive conducts and the implications of these findings are discussed. © 2016 Scandinavian Psychological Associations and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Friendship conflict and the development of generalized physical aggression in the early school years: a genetically informed study of potential moderators.

PubMed

Salvas, Marie-Claude; Vitaro, Frank; Brendgen, Mara; Dionne, Ginette; Tremblay, Richard E; Boivin, Michel

2014-06-01

Several authors consider high and frequent conflicts between friends during childhood as a serious risk for subsequent conduct problems such as generalized physical aggression toward others (e.g., Kupersmidt, Burchinal, & Patterson, 1995; Sebanc, 2003). Although it seems logical to assume that friendship conflict could have some negative consequences on children's behaviors, some scholars have suggested that a certain amount of conflict between friends may actually promote social adjustment (e.g., Laursen & Pursell, 2009). The aim of this study was to investigate the role of friendship conflict in regard to the development of generalized physical aggression toward others in the early school years (i.e., from kindergarten to Grade 1), as well as the moderating role of relational (i.e., shared positive affect and dyadic conflict resolution skills) and personal (i.e., children's sex and genetic liability for aggression) characteristics in this context. The sample included 745 twins assessed through teacher, peer, child, and friend ratings in kindergarten and Grade 1. Friendship conflict in kindergarten was linearly related to an increase in boys' but not girls' generalized physical aggression. However, shared positive affect and conflict resolution skills mitigated the prospective associations between friendship conflict and generalized physical aggression. These results were independent of children's sex, genetic risk for physical aggression, and initial levels of generalized physical aggression in kindergarten. Fostering a positive relationship between friends at school entry may buffer against the risk associated with experiencing friendship conflict. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved.

Determinants of aggressive behavior: Interactive effects of emotional regulation and inhibitory control.

PubMed

Hsieh, I-Ju; Chen, Yung Y

2017-01-01

Aggressive behavior can be defined as any behavior intended to hurt another person, and it is associated with many individual and social factors. This study examined the relationship between emotional regulation and inhibitory control in predicting aggressive behavior. Seventy-eight participants (40 males) completed self-report measures (Negative Mood Regulation Scale and Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire), a stop signal task, and engaged in a modified version of Taylor Aggression Paradigm (TAP) exercise, in which the outcome was used as a measure of direct physical aggression. We used a hierarchical, mixed-model multiple regression analysis test to examine the effects of emotion regulation and inhibitory control on physical reactive aggression. Results indicated an interaction between emotion regulation and inhibitory control on aggression. For participants with low inhibitory control only, there was a significant difference between high and low emotion regulation on aggression, such that low emotion regulation participants registered higher aggression than high emotion regulation participants. This difference was not found among participants with high inhibitory control. These results have implications for refining and targeting training and rehabilitation programs aimed at reducing aggressive behavior.

Longitudinal Links between Executive Function, Anger, and Aggression in Middle Childhood.

PubMed

Rohlf, Helena L; Holl, Anna K; Kirsch, Fabian; Krahé, Barbara; Elsner, Birgit

2018-01-01

Previous research has indicated that executive function (EF) is negatively associated with aggressive behavior in childhood. However, there is a lack of longitudinal studies that have examined the effect of deficits in EF on aggression over time and taken into account different forms and functions of aggression at the same time. Furthermore, only few studies have analyzed the role of underlying variables that may explain the association between EF and aggression. The present study examined the prospective paths between EF and different forms (physical and relational) and functions (reactive and proactive) of aggression. The habitual experience of anger was examined as a potential underlying mechanism of the link between EF and aggression, because the tendency to get angry easily has been found to be both a consequence of deficits in EF and a predictor of aggression. The study included 1,652 children (between 6 and 11 years old at the first time point), who were followed over three time points (T1, T2, and T3) covering 3 years. At T1, a latent factor of EF comprised measures of planning, rated via teacher reports, as well as inhibition, set shifting, and working-memory updating, assessed experimentally. Habitual anger experience was assessed via parent reports at T1 and T2. The forms and functions of aggression were measured via teacher reports at all three time points. Structural equation modeling revealed that EF at T1 predicted physical, relational, and reactive aggression at T3, but was unrelated to proactive aggression at T3. Furthermore, EF at T1 was indirectly linked to physical aggression at T3, mediated through habitual anger experience at T2. The results indicate that deficits in EF influence the later occurrence of aggression in middle childhood, and the tendency to get angry easily mediates this relation.

Longitudinal Links between Executive Function, Anger, and Aggression in Middle Childhood

PubMed Central

Rohlf, Helena L.; Holl, Anna K.; Kirsch, Fabian; Krahé, Barbara; Elsner, Birgit

2018-01-01

Previous research has indicated that executive function (EF) is negatively associated with aggressive behavior in childhood. However, there is a lack of longitudinal studies that have examined the effect of deficits in EF on aggression over time and taken into account different forms and functions of aggression at the same time. Furthermore, only few studies have analyzed the role of underlying variables that may explain the association between EF and aggression. The present study examined the prospective paths between EF and different forms (physical and relational) and functions (reactive and proactive) of aggression. The habitual experience of anger was examined as a potential underlying mechanism of the link between EF and aggression, because the tendency to get angry easily has been found to be both a consequence of deficits in EF and a predictor of aggression. The study included 1,652 children (between 6 and 11 years old at the first time point), who were followed over three time points (T1, T2, and T3) covering 3 years. At T1, a latent factor of EF comprised measures of planning, rated via teacher reports, as well as inhibition, set shifting, and working-memory updating, assessed experimentally. Habitual anger experience was assessed via parent reports at T1 and T2. The forms and functions of aggression were measured via teacher reports at all three time points. Structural equation modeling revealed that EF at T1 predicted physical, relational, and reactive aggression at T3, but was unrelated to proactive aggression at T3. Furthermore, EF at T1 was indirectly linked to physical aggression at T3, mediated through habitual anger experience at T2. The results indicate that deficits in EF influence the later occurrence of aggression in middle childhood, and the tendency to get angry easily mediates this relation. PMID:29535615

Developmental Continuity and Change in Physical, Verbal, and Relational Aggression and Peer Victimization from Childhood to Adolescence

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ettekal, Idean; Ladd, Gary W.

2017-01-01

To investigate the developmental course of aggression and peer victimization in childhood and adolescence, distinct subgroups of children were identified based on similarities and differences in their physical, verbal and relational aggression, and victimization. Developmental continuity and change were assessed by examining transitions within and…

The General Aggression Model.

PubMed

Allen, Johnie J; Anderson, Craig A; Bushman, Brad J

2018-02-01

The General Aggression Model (GAM) is a comprehensive, integrative, framework for understanding aggression. It considers the role of social, cognitive, personality, developmental, and biological factors on aggression. Proximate processes of GAM detail how person and situation factors influence cognitions, feelings, and arousal, which in turn affect appraisal and decision processes, which in turn influence aggressive or nonaggressive behavioral outcomes. Each cycle of the proximate processes serves as a learning trial that affects the development and accessibility of aggressive knowledge structures. Distal processes of GAM detail how biological and persistent environmental factors can influence personality through changes in knowledge structures. GAM has been applied to understand aggression in many contexts including media violence effects, domestic violence, intergroup violence, temperature effects, pain effects, and the effects of global climate change. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Daily Associations among Anger Experience and Intimate Partner Aggression within Aggressive and Nonaggressive Community Couples

PubMed Central

Crane, Cory A.; Testa, Maria

2014-01-01

Anger is an empirically established precipitant to aggressive responding toward intimate partners. The current investigation examined the effects of anger, as experienced by both partners, as well as gender and previous aggression, on in vivo intimate partner aggression using a prospective daily diary methodology. Participants (N = 118 couples) individually provided 56 consecutive, daily reports of affective experience and partner aggression. Multilevel models were estimated using the Actor Partner Interdependence Model framework to analyze the daily associations between anger and partner aggression perpetration among male and female participants as moderated by aggression history. Results revealed that both Actor and Partner anger were generally associated with subsequently reported daily conflict. Further, increases in daily Partner anger were associated with corresponding increases in partner aggression among females who reported high anger and males, regardless of their own anger experience. Increases in Actor anger were associated with increases in daily partner aggression only among previously aggressive females. Previously aggressive males and females consistently reported greater perpetration than their nonaggressive counterparts on days of high Actor anger experience. Results emphasize the importance of both Actor and Partner factors in partner aggression and suggest that female anger may be a stronger predictor of both female-to-male and male-to-female partner aggression than male anger, when measured at the daily level. PMID:24866529

Maladaptive dependency schemas, posttraumatic stress hyperarousal symptoms, and intimate partner aggression perpetration.

PubMed

Kachadourian, Lorig K; Taft, Casey T; Holowka, Darren W; Woodward, Halley; Marx, Brian P; Burns, Anthony

2013-10-01

This study examined the associations between maladaptive dependency-related schemas, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) hyperarousal symptoms, and intimate-partner psychological and physical aggression in a sample of court-referred men (N = 174) participating in a domestic-abuser-intervention program. The men were largely African American; average age was 33.5 years. The extent to which hyperarousal symptoms moderated the association between dependency schemas and aggression was also examined. Maladaptive dependency-related schemas were positively associated with severe psychological, and mild and severe physical aggression perpetration. Hyperarousal symptoms were positively associated with mild and severe psychological aggression, and mild physical aggression perpetration. Multiple regression analyses showed a significant interaction for mild physical aggression: For those with high levels of hyperarousal symptoms, greater endorsement of maladaptive dependency schemas was associated with the perpetration of aggression (B = 0.98, p = .001). For those with low levels of hyperarousal symptoms, there was no association between dependency schemas and aggression (B = 0.04, ns). These findings suggest that focusing on problematic dependency and PTSD-hyperarousal symptoms in domestic-abuser-intervention programs may be helpful, and that examining related variables as possible moderators between dependency schemas and intimate aggression would be a fruitful area for future research. Published 2013. This article is a US Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.

Callous-unemotional traits, proactive aggression, and treatment outcomes of aggressive children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

PubMed

Blader, Joseph C; Pliszka, Steven R; Kafantaris, Vivian; Foley, Carmel A; Crowell, Judith A; Carlson, Gabrielle A; Sauder, Colin L; Margulies, David M; Sinha, Christa; Sverd, Jeffrey; Matthews, Thomas L; Bailey, Brigitte Y; Daviss, W Burleson

2013-12-01

Stimulant treatment improves impulse control among children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Decreased aggression often accompanies stimulant pharmacotherapy, suggesting that impulsiveness is integral to aggressive behavior in these children. However, children with high callous-unemotional (CU) traits and proactive aggression may benefit less from ADHD pharmacotherapy, because their aggressive behavior seems more purposeful and deliberate. This study's objective was to determine whether pretreatment CU traits and proactive aggression affect treatment outcomes among aggressive children with ADHD receiving stimulant monotherapy. We implemented a stimulant optimization protocol with 160 children 6 to 13 years of age (mean [SD] age of 9.31 [2.02] years; 78.75% male) with ADHD, oppositional defiant or conduct disorder, and significant aggressive behavior. Family-focused behavioral intervention was provided concurrently. The primary outcome was the Retrospective Modified Overt Aggression Scale. The Antisocial Process Screening Device and the Aggression Scale, also completed by parents, measured CU traits and proactive aggression, respectively. Analyses examined moderating effects of CU traits and proactive aggression on outcomes. In all, 82 children (51%) experienced remission of aggressive behavior. Neither CU traits nor proactive aggression predicted remission (CU traits: odds ratio [OR] = 0.94, 95% CI = 0.80-1.11; proactive aggression, OR = 1.05, 95% CI = 0.86-1.29). Children whose overall aggression remitted showed decreases in CU traits (effect size = -0.379, 95% CI = -0.60 to -0.16) and proactive aggression (effect size = -0.463, 95% CI = -0.69 to -0.23). Findings suggest that pretreatment CU traits and proactive aggression do not forecast worse outcomes for aggressive children with ADHD receiving optimized stimulant pharmacotherapy. With such treatment, CU traits and proactive aggression may decline alongside other behavioral improvements

Biased self-perceptions of social competence and engagement in physical and relational aggression: the moderating role of peer status and sex.

PubMed

McQuade, Julia D; Achufusi, Adaora K; Shoulberg, Erin K; Murray-Close, Dianna

2014-01-01

This study sought to expand on prior research suggesting that children low in peer status who either over- or underestimate their social competence relative to others' reports are more likely to be aggressive (White and Kistner [2011]. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 39, 645-656). The curvilinear associations between social competence bias and two forms of aggression (physical and relational) were examined in a sample of 4th through 6th graders (n = 183); moderation by both sex and peer status (peer preference and popularity) also were tested. Social competence bias was operationally defined as the residual difference between child and teacher ratings of the child's social competence. Aggression and peer status were measured using peer nomination procedures. There was a significant curvilinear association between social competence bias and physical aggression moderated by both types of peer status. For low peer status children greater underestimation and overestimation of social competence was associated with higher physical aggression. The curvilinear association between social competence bias and relational aggression was moderated by both peer status and sex. Popular boys had higher rates of relational aggression when they had accurate, rather than biased, self-perceptions of social competence. However, for very highly preferred girls, a more extreme positive bias was associated with an exponential increase in relational aggression. Results are discussed in terms of implications for aggression theory and intervention. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

A mindfulness-based intervention for self-management of verbal and physical aggression by adolescents with Prader-Willi syndrome.

PubMed

Singh, Nirbhay N; Lancioni, Giulio E; Myers, Rachel E; Karazsia, Bryan T; Courtney, Theresa M; Nugent, Kristen

2017-07-01

There is a dearth of clinical and research literature on the treatment of maladaptive behaviors in adolescents with Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a mindfulness-based intervention, Meditation on the Soles of the Feet (SoF), to facilitate self-management of verbal and physical aggression. We utilized a multiple-baseline design across participants to test the intervention with three adolescents diagnosed with PWS. Relative to baseline, verbal aggression decreased to minimal levels following mindfulness-based practice and physical aggression was nearly eliminated. Intervention effects were maintained at 12-month follow-up. Quantitative analytics confirmed statistically significant outcomes. The SoF mindfulness intervention was effective in reducing verbal and physical aggression in three adolescents with PWS. Future research should test the SoF intervention with this clinical population in a larger clinical trial, and the SoF intervention may be applicable to other pediatric populations.

Perceived verbal conflict behaviors associated with physical aggression and sexual coercion in dating relationships: a gender-sensitive analysis.

PubMed

Katz, Jennifer; Carino, Andrew; Hilton, Angela

2002-02-01

We studied perceived partner verbal behaviors associated with participants' use of dating aggression. Men's reports of their partners' demanding, controlling, and psychologically abusive behaviors during conflicts were expected to predict men's perpetration against partners. In contrast, women's reports of their partners' withdrawal were expected to predict women's perpetration. Data were collected from heterosexual undergraduates (N = 223) in exclusive dating relationships. Participants' reports of partner demands and partner psychological abuse were associated with participants' use of physical aggression and sexual coercion. Reports of partner withdrawal and partner controlling behaviors were associated with participants' sexual coercion only. Significant moderating effects of gender emerged. As expected, partner demands, controlling behaviors, and psychological abuse were associated with physical aggression and sexual coercion in men, but not women. Partner withdrawal was associated with sexual coercion in both women and men. We conclude that gender-sensitive approaches are necessary to understand and prevent verbal conflict patterns associated with physical aggression and sexual coercion in intimate relationships.

Physical Aggression in Higher Education: Student-Athletes' Perceptions and Reporting Behaviors

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pappas, Jason Christopher

2010-01-01

This study examined internal (personal) and external (situational) factors that previous research found affected perceptions of physical aggression and associated reporting behaviors among student-athletes. Results of this study suggested certain factors significantly impacted a student-athlete's decision to report and who received that report.…

Influence of punishment, emotional rejection, child abuse, and broken home on aggression in adolescence: an examination of aggressive adolescents in Germany.

PubMed

Barnow, S; Lucht, M; Freyberger, H J

2001-01-01

The results of this study provide evidence for the importance of psychosocial risks in childhood for aggressive behavior in adolescence. This study demonstrated that aggressive adolescents differed from a nonaggressive control group in an increased exposure to prior psychotraumatic events, such as sexual abuse (tendency), physical abuse, and broken homes. However, in predicting later aggressive behavior, long-term and chronically effective negative living conditions seem of greater importance. Parenting behavior which includes harsh punishment and emotional rejection as well as separation of the parents early in life are particularly important factors. Whereas aggressive girls do not differ from the nonaggressive control group in terms of self-reported mental health, the aggressive boys reported more attention deficits, depression, anxiety, delinquency, and social problems. Copyright 2001 S. Karger AG, Basel

Testosterone and aggressive behavior in man.

PubMed

Batrinos, Menelaos L

2012-01-01

Atavistic residues of aggressive behavior prevailing in animal life, determined by testosterone, remain attenuated in man and suppressed through familial and social inhibitions. However, it still manifests itself in various intensities and forms from; thoughts, anger, verbal aggressiveness, competition, dominance behavior, to physical violence. Testosterone plays a significant role in the arousal of these behavioral manifestations in the brain centers involved in aggression and on the development of the muscular system that enables their realization. There is evidence that testosterone levels are higher in individuals with aggressive behavior, such as prisoners who have committed violent crimes. Several field studies have also shown that testosterone levels increase during the aggressive phases of sports games. In more sensitive laboratory paradigms, it has been observed that participant's testosterone rises in the winners of; competitions, dominance trials or in confrontations with factitious opponents. Aggressive behavior arises in the brain through interplay between subcortical structures in the amygdala and the hypothalamus in which emotions are born and the prefrontal cognitive centers where emotions are perceived and controlled. The action of testosterone on the brain begins in the embryonic stage. Earlier in development at the DNA level, the number of CAG repeats in the androgen receptor gene seems to play a role in the expression of aggressive behavior. Neuroimaging techniques in adult males have shown that testosterone activates the amygdala enhancing its emotional activity and its resistance to prefrontal restraining control. This effect is opposed by the action of cortisol which facilitates prefrontal area cognitive control on impulsive tendencies aroused in the subcortical structures. The degree of impulsivity is regulated by serotonin inhibiting receptors, and with the intervention of this neurotransmitter the major agents of the neuroendocrine

Trait aggressiveness modulates neurophysiological correlates of laboratory-induced reactive aggression in humans.

PubMed

Krämer, Ulrike M; Büttner, Sarah; Roth, Gerhard; Münte, Thomas F

2008-08-01

Reactive aggression following provocation is a frequent form of human social behavior. The neural basis of reactive aggression, especially its control, remains poorly understood, however. We conducted an event-related potential (ERP) study using a competitive reaction time task that elicits aggression through provocation. Participants were selected from a larger sample because of extreme scores in trait aggressiveness, yielding high and low trait aggressive groups. As each trial in the task is separated into a decision phase, during which the punishment level for the opponent is set, and an outcome phase, during which the punishment is applied or received, we were able to disentangle provocation-related and evaluation-related modulations of the ERPs during the aggressive interaction. Specifically, we observed an enhanced frontal negativity during the decision phase under high provocation that was positively correlated with the participants' ability to refrain from retaliation. This held true for high trait aggressive participants only, pointing to a higher need for inhibitory and control processes in these people when provoked. During the outcome phase, we detected a mediofrontal negativity in loss compared to win trials, resembling previous ERP findings to negative feedback stimuli, which have been linked to the evaluation of an outcome's valence. This mediofrontal negativity was differentially pronounced in aggressive and nonaggressive participants: Nonaggressive participants showed only a slightly smaller mediofrontal negativity in win than in loss trials, suggesting that for them punishing the opponent had a similar negative valence as being punished.

Examining the Mediating Effect of Self-Efficacy on Approval of Aggression and Proactive Aggression

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hadley, Jade; Mowbray, Tony; Jacobs, Nicky

2017-01-01

Proactive aggression (PA) is goal-directed, hostile social behavior that has been linked to detrimental outcomes. It has been theorized that adolescents who believe aggression is a normal and acceptable social response (approval of aggression) are more likely to show PA. Confidence in one's ability to behave aggressively (self-efficacy about…

When do normative beliefs about aggression predict aggressive behavior? An application of I3 theory.

PubMed

Li, Jian-Bin; Nie, Yan-Gang; Boardley, Ian D; Dou, Kai; Situ, Qiao-Min

2015-01-01

I(3) theory assumes that aggressive behavior is dependent on three orthogonal processes (i.e., Instigator, Impellance, and Inhibition). Previous studies showed that Impellance (trait aggressiveness, retaliation tendencies) better predicted aggression when Instigator was strong and Inhibition was weak. In the current study, we predicted that another Impellance (i.e., normative beliefs about aggression) might predict aggression when Instigator was absent and Inhibition was high (i.e., the perfect calm proposition). In two experiments, participants first completed the normative beliefs about aggression questionnaire. Two weeks later, participants' self-control resources were manipulated either using the Stroop task (study 1, N = 148) or through an "e-crossing" task (study 2, N = 180). Afterwards, with or without being provoked, participants played a game with an ostensible partner where they had a chance to aggress against them. Study 1 found that normative beliefs about aggression negatively and significantly predicted aggressive behavior only when provocation was absent and self-control resources were not depleted. In Study 2, normative beliefs about aggression negatively predicted aggressive behavior at marginal significance level only in the "no-provocation and no-depletion" condition. In conclusion, the current study provides partial support for the perfect calm proposition and I(3) theory. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

[Association of pubertal timing and the different dimensionality of adolescents' aggressive behavior].

PubMed

Han, Hui; Wang, Gengfu; Su, Puyu

2016-01-01

To explore the relationship between pubertal timing and aggressive behaviors. Stratified random sampling was used to choose 5760 students from one junior high school and one high school. The pubertal development scale (PDS) questionnaire and perceived pubertal timing were used to evaluate the pubertal timing, and the Buss-Perry questionnaire was used to explore the students' aggressive behaviors. The score of aggressive behavior was significantly different in junior high school students with different perceived pubertal timing, the score of early pubertal timing was highest and the score of delay pubertal timing was lowest, and the score of physical aggression and verbal aggression of schoolboy in early pubertal timing and normal pubertal timing in high school was higher than the delay pubertal timing (P < 0.05). The score of physical aggression, anger and hostility of schoolgirl in early pubertal timing was highest, there was significant difference between them. The relationship between the perceived pubertal timing and the aggressive behavior was the physical aggression, anger and hostility score was highest in schoolgirls both in junior high school and high school, and the score of verbal aggression was higher in normal pubertal timing and early pubertal timing in schoolboys (P < 0.05), there was significant difference between them. There are closely relationship between the early pubertal timing and aggressive behaviors by used the PDS questionnaire, and the perceived pubertal timing is in a relatively large impact on girls' aggressive behaviors.

Social and Physical Aggression Trajectories from Childhood through Late Adolescence: Predictors of Psychosocial Maladjustment at Age 18

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ehrenreich, Samuel E.; Beron, Kurt J.; Underwood, Marion K.

2016-01-01

This research examined whether following social and physical aggression trajectories across Grades 3-12 predicted psychological maladjustment. Teachers rated participants' (n = 287, 138 boys) aggressive behavior at the end of each school year. Following the 12th grade, psychosocial outcomes were measured: rule-breaking behaviors, internalizing…

Is bad intent negligible? Linking victim justice sensitivity, hostile attribution bias, and aggression.

PubMed

Bondü, Rebecca

2018-05-03

The hostile attribution bias (HAB) is a well-established risk factor for aggression. It is considered part of the suspicious mindset that may cause highly victim-justice sensitive individuals to behave uncooperatively. Thus, links of victim justice sensitivity (JS) with negative behavior, such as aggression, may be better explained by HAB. The present study tested this hypothesis in N = 279 German adolescents who rated their JS, HAB, and physical, relational, verbal, reactive, and proactive aggression. Victim JS predicted physical, relational, verbal, reactive, and proactive aggression when HAB was controlled. HAB only predicted physical and proactive aggression. There were no moderator effects. Injustice seems an important reason for aggression irrespective of whether or not it is intentionally caused, particularly among those high in victim JS. Thus, victim JS should be considered as a potential important risk factor for aggression and receive more attention by research on aggression and preventive efforts. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Factors associated with resident aggression toward caregivers in nursing homes.

PubMed

Zeller, Adelheid; Dassen, Theo; Kok, Gerjo; Needham, Ian; Halfens, Ruud J G

2012-09-01

Caregivers in nursing homes often experience aggressive behavior of residents. The aim of this study was to explore the caregivers' experiences with aggressive behavior from residents and to identify environmental factors as well as caregiver and resident characteristics related to aggressive behavior in Swiss nursing homes. A retrospective cross-sectional survey was conducted between November 2010 and April 2011 with a sample of caregivers working in various nursing homes in the German-speaking part of Switzerland. In total, 814 caregivers (response rate 51.8%) of 21 nursing homes participated in the study. Data were collected using the German version of the Survey of Violence Experienced by Staff (SOVES-G-R). Standard descriptive statistics were used to describe and summarize the date. To identify risk factors related to the experience of aggression by residents, multilevel logistic regression analysis was applied. The prevalence of participants reporting an aggressive incident during the 12-month period prior to data collection was 81.6%. Of these, 76.5% had experienced verbal aggression, 27.6% threats, and 54.0% physical aggression. The predictive variables in the multiple regression model for physical aggression were: staff education level (odds ratio [OR]= 1.82), gender (OR = 1.82), age (< 30 years vs. 30-45 years: OR = 1.46; < 30 years vs. > 45 years: OR = 2.13), and confidence in managing physical aggression (OR = 1.49). The predictive variables for threatening behavior were staff education level (registered nurses vs. non-registered nurses: OR = 1.70; nonstudent vs. student: OR = 1.89) and age (< 30 years vs. 30-45 years: OR = 2.00; < 30 years vs. > 45 years: OR = 2.04). Caregivers in nursing homes are at high risk for experiencing aggressive behavior. The identified risk factors are in line with earlier investigations, but some contradictory results also were observed. The high risk for registered nurses exposed to aggressive behavior and the increased

The Role of Attractiveness and Aggression in High School Popularity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Borch, Casey; Hyde, Allen; Cillessen, Antonius H. N.

2011-01-01

This study examines the effects of physical attractiveness and aggression on popularity among high school students. Previous work has found positive relationships between aggression and popularity and physical attractiveness and popularity. The current study goes beyond this work by examining the interactive effects of physical attractiveness and…

Aggressive Marital Conflict, Maternal Harsh Punishment, and Child Aggressive-Disruptive Behavior: Evidence for Direct and Mediated Relations

PubMed Central

Erath, Stephen A.; Bierman, Karen L.

2009-01-01

Direct associations between aggressive marital conflict and child aggressive-disruptive behavior at home and school were explored in this cross-sectional study of 360 kindergarten children. In addition, mediated pathways linking aggressive marital conflict to maternal harsh punishment to child aggressive-disruptive behavior were examined. Moderation analyses explored how the overall frequency of marital disagreement might buffer or exacerbate the impact of aggressive marital conflict on maternal harsh punishment and child aggressive-disruptive behavior. Hierarchical regressions revealed direct pathways linking aggressive marital conflict to child aggressive-disruptive behavior at home and school and a partially mediated pathway linking aggressive marital conflict to child aggressive-disruptive behavior at home. Further analyses revealed that rates of marital disagreement moderated the association between aggressive marital conflict and child aggressive-disruptive behavior at home, with an attenuated association at high rates of marital disagreement as compared with low rates of marital disagreement. PMID:16756397

The impact of classroom aggression on the development of aggressive behavior problems in children

PubMed Central

Thomas, Duane E.; Bierman, Karen L.

2009-01-01

Prior research suggests that exposure to elementary classrooms characterized by high levels of student aggression may contribute to the development of child aggressive behavior problems. To explore this process in more detail, this study followed a longitudinal sample of 4,907 children and examined demographic factors associated with exposure to high-aggression classrooms, including school context factors (school size, student poverty levels, and rural vs. urban location) and child ethnicity (African American, European American). The developmental impact of different temporal patterns of exposure (e.g., primacy, recency, chronicity) to high-aggression classrooms was evaluated on child aggression. Analyses revealed that African American children attending large, urban schools that served socioeconomically disadvantaged students were more likely than other students to be exposed to high-aggressive classroom contexts. Hierarchical regressions demonstrated cumulative effects for temporal exposure, whereby children with multiple years of exposure showed higher levels of aggressive behavior after 3 years than children with primacy, less recent, and less chronic exposure, controlling for initial levels of aggression. Implications are discussed for developmental research and preventive interventions. PMID:16600064

Coping strategies of caregivers towards aggressive behaviors of persons with severe mental illness.

PubMed

Madathumkovilakath, Neethu Bhaskaran; Kizhakkeppattu, Sindhu; Thekekunnath, Saleem; Kazhungil, Firoz

2018-04-24

Aggression is one of the chief determinants of caregiver burden in severe mental illnesses. Clinical and treatment implications of aggression in mental illness are predominantly studied in perspectives of mental health care professionals. Coping style of caregivers towards aggression of persons with mental illness is understudied. So we studied coping strategies used by caregivers of patients with severe mental illness towards aggressive behaviors of patients and relationship between aggressive behavior and coping strategies. We assessed two hundreds and seventy caregivers of patients with severe mental illness attending outpatient psychiatry department using Modified Overt Aggression Scale and the Ways of Coping Scale - revised. 95.6% of the caregivers perceived verbal aggression followed by aggression against property (67%), auto aggression (33.7%) and physical aggression (25.6%). The study revealed that adaptive coping strategies - planful problem solving and seeking social support were used by 40% each of caregivers to deal with aggressive behavior. Only 4.4% of caregivers resorted to escape avoidance which is maladaptive coping strategy. Though adaptive strategies were used by caregivers these were not used in appropriate situations. Physical aggression and aggression against property were not significantly associated with planful problem solving (r = 0.105; p = 0.08 and r = 0.110; p = 0.07 respectively). But verbal aggression, aggression against property and physical aggression were associated with escape avoidance (r = 0.152; p = 0.01 and r = 0.168; p = 0.01 and r = 0.23; p = <0.001 respectively). The study concluded that coping in caregivers of severe mental illness is maladaptive with respect to aggression. Coping skills training would play a major role to address this issue. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Prospective Associations Between Features of Borderline Personality Disorder, Emotion Dysregulation, and Aggression

PubMed Central

Scott, Lori N.; Stepp, Stephanie D.; Pilkonis, Paul A.

2014-01-01

Difficulties with emotion regulation and behavioral instability, including impulsive aggression, are seen as core dimensions underlying borderline personality disorder (BPD). Although both BPD and antisocial personality disorder (ASPD) are associated with impulsivity and aggressive behavior, difficulties regulating emotions may be associated uniquely with BPD and may explain distinctive associations between BPD and aggression. This study was designed to examine the unique prospective associations between BPD symptoms at baseline, difficulties with emotion regulation and trait impulsivity, and psychological and physical aggression (both perpetration and victimization) over the course of a year after controlling for ASPD symptoms in a mixed clinical and community sample of adults (N = 150). Results of a multivariate path analysis demonstrated that associations between BPD symptoms at baseline and later psychological and physical aggression were fully mediated by difficulties with emotion regulation. Although BPD symptoms also predicted trait impulsivity, impulsivity did not predict aggression after controlling for emotion dysregulation. ASPD symptoms were directly associated with physical assault perpetration and victimization but were not associated with emotion dysregulation, impulsivity, or psychological aggression. These findings suggest that although both BPD and ASPD are associated with aggressive behaviors, associations between BPD symptoms and aggression are mediated uniquely by difficulties regulating emotions. PMID:24635753

Harm, intent, and the nature of aggressive behavior: measuring naturally occurring aggression in barroom settings.

PubMed

Graham, Kathryn; Tremblay, Paul F; Wells, Samantha; Pernanen, Kai; Purcell, John; Jelley, Jennifer

2006-09-01

The research goals were to use the constructs of harm and intent to quantify the severity of aggression in the real-world setting of the bar/club, to describe the range of aggressive behaviors and their relationship to harm and intent, and to examine gender differences in the form and severity of aggression. Systematic observations were conducted by trained observers on 1,334 nights in 118 bars/clubs. Observers documented a range of aggressive acts by 1,754 patrons in 1,052 incidents, with many forms of aggression occurring at more than one harm and intent level. Women used different forms of aggression, inflicted less harm, and were more likely to have defensive intent compared with men. Implications of the findings for research and measurement of aggression and applications to preventing aggression and violence are discussed.

Approach and avoidance towards aggressive stimuli and its relation to reactive and proactive aggression.

PubMed

Lobbestael, Jill; Cousijn, Janna; Brugman, Suzanne; Wiers, Reinout W

2016-06-30

This study assessed the association between indirectly measured behavioural approach- and avoidance-related tendencies on the one hand, and reactive versus proactive aggression on the other hand. Reactive aggression (i.e. the impulsive, anger-driven aggression expressed in response to threatening stimuli) was differentiated from proactive aggression (i.e. the more controlled aggression motivated towards obtaining specific goals). A mixed sample of 118 patients and healthy controls filled out a self-report measure to assess their degree of reactive and proactive aggression, and then performed an Approach Avoidance Task in which they were asked to pull or push a joystick in response to a format-feature of a series of pictures, irrespective of their contents. The pictorial stimuli used in this task included attack-related scenes and angry faces, along with neutral, positive and negative control stimuli. The results were controlled for the level of personality disorder pathology, gender, and age. The findings indicated that reactive but not proactive aggression was related to the relative behavioural tendency to approach attack-related scenes, along with positive stimuli. These findings reflect the hyper-reactivity of the approach-related reward system in reactive aggression, and further our knowledge into the distinct correlates and precursors of reactive and proactive aggression. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Motivational drive and alprazolam misuse: A recipe for aggression?

PubMed

Albrecht, Bonnie; Staiger, Petra K; Hall, Kate; Kambouropoulos, Nicolas; Best, David

2016-06-30

Benzodiazepine-related aggression has received insufficient research attention, in particular little is known about the motivational factors which may contribute to the development of this paradoxical response. The revised Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory provides a theoretical framework from which to understand the relevant underlying motivational processes. The current study aimed to identify the role of approach and avoidance motivational tendencies in the occurrence of benzodiazepine-related aggression. Data regarding benzodiazepine and other substance use, approach and avoidance motivation, and general and physical aggressive behaviour were collected via self-report questionnaires. Participants were a convenience sample (n=204) who reported using benzodiazepines in the previous year. Participants were primarily male (62.7%), aged 18-51 years old. Hierarchical multiple regressions indicated that general and physical aggression were predicted by alprazolam use and Drive, a facet of approach motivation. Overall, lower diazepam use significantly predicted higher levels of general aggression. However, when diazepam-preferring participants were examined in isolation of the larger sample (23.5% of sample), problematic (dependent) diazepam use was associated with greater aggression scores, as was dependence risk for alprazolam-preferring participants (39.7% of sample). The findings highlight the importance of motivational factors and benzodiazepine use patterns in understanding benzodiazepine-related aggression, with implications for violent offender rehabilitation. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Predicting aggression in late adolescent romantic relationships: A short-term longitudinal study.

PubMed

Caiozzo, Christina N; Houston, Jessica; Grych, John

2016-12-01

This study sought to prospectively predict aggression in the romantic relationships of 1180 college students from the United States (807 females; 373 males) over the course of two months with a set of intrapersonal risk and protective factors, including personality characteristics that rarely have been examined in this population. After accounting for prior dating aggression, perpetration of verbal aggression was predicted uniquely by aggressive attitudes, emotion regulation, and for females, narcissism. Perpetration of physical aggression was predicted by aggressive attitudes, but only at low levels of emotion regulation, and the interaction of callous-unemotional traits, emotion regulation, and gender: males with low levels of callous-unemotional traits perpetrated less physical aggression when they reported greater emotion regulation. These findings are among the first to show that personality traits and emotion regulation prospectively predict partner aggression in late adolescence and suggest mechanisms for continuity in interpersonal aggression from early adolescence to adulthood. Copyright © 2016 The Foundation for Professionals in Services for Adolescents. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Relational Aggression in Sibling and Peer Relationships during Early Childhood

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ostrov, Jamie M.; Crick, Nicki R.; Stauffacher, Kirstin

2006-01-01

The role of siblings ("N" = 50) in the display of physical and relational aggression among peers during early childhood was explored. Specifically, sibling pairs' rates of physical and relational aggression were assessed in their independent social contexts. Findings indicated low to moderate levels of intercorrelation between physical and…

Aggression in adolescent dating relationships: prevalence, justification, and health consequences.

PubMed

Muñoz-Rivas, Marina J; Graña, Jose Luis; O'Leary, K Daniel; González, M Pilar

2007-04-01

To assess the prevalence of verbally and physically aggressive behaviors in dating relationships in a sample of Spanish adolescents. Cross-sectional self-report data were obtained with The Modified Conflict Tactics Scale (MCTS) from a representative sample of 2416 adolescents and young adults of both genders, between ages of 16 and 20 years. The results showed that a significantly higher percentage of women engaged in verbal aggression (95.3% vs. 92.8%), whereas the males engaged in more severe physical aggression (4.6% vs. 2.0%) and produced worse consequences for their female partners' health (especially slight cuts/slight bruises, broken nose, black eye, broken bone and requiring medical treatment/hospitalization). Justification for aggression also revealed differential results. Whereas women said they attacked their partners while under the influence of emotional states of intense anger (22.4% vs. 13.9%), the males said they did so in response to aggression received (13.0% vs. 6.6%). The analysis of the group differences as a function of age showed that verbal aggression was very high and was not different across the age groups. In contrast, physical aggression decreased significantly across the age groups, but health consequences became more severe with age (e.g., broken nose, black eye, broken bone, went from 1% at 16 years to 4.5% at 20 years of age). These differential tendencies of aggression typology for men and women help clinicians to develop preventive interventions for every age, with the aim of diminishing their continuity in future relationships.

The Relation of Conceptual Tempo to Aggression and Its Control.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Messer, Stanley B.; Brodzinsky, David M.

1979-01-01

Fifth-grade boys and girls were administered the Matching Familiar Figures Test and a projective measure of fantasy aggression and its control. They were also rated sociometrically by peers and teachers on physical, verbal, and indirect forms of overt aggression. Results indicated that conceptual tempo was related to aggression and its control.…

Development of the Children's Scale of Hostility and Aggression: Reactive/Proactive (C-SHARP).

PubMed

Farmer, Cristan A; Aman, Michael G

2009-01-01

Whereas some scales exist for assessing aggression in typically developing children, they do not give a detailed analysis, and none is available for populations with developmental disabilities (DD). Parents of 365 children with DD completed the Children's Scale of Hostility and Aggression: Reactive/Proactive (C-SHARP), which surveys the severity of aggressive and hostile behaviors (Problem Scale) in addition to their proactive or reactive qualities (the Provocation Scale). Factor analysis yielded a 5-factor solution: I. Verbal Aggression (12 items), II. Bullying (12 items), III. Covert Aggression (11 items), IV. Hostility (9 items), and V. Physical Aggression (8 items). Coefficient alpha ranged from moderate (0.74, Physical Aggression) to high (0.92, Verbal Aggression). General validity was supported by expected differences between age and gender groups. Preliminary normative data were presented. The C-SHARP appears to be a promising tool for assessing aggression and hostility in children with DD.

The relationships among perceived peer acceptance of sexual aggression, punishment certainty, and sexually aggressive behavior.

PubMed

Strang, Emily; Peterson, Zoë D

2013-12-01

Researching the correlates of men's sexually aggressive behavior (i.e., verbal coercion and rape) is critical to both understanding and preventing sexual aggression. This study examined 120 men who completed an anonymous online questionnaire. The study aimed to determine the relative importance of two potential correlates of men's self-reported use of sexual aggression: (a) perceptions that male peers use and support sexual aggression and (b) perceptions of punishment likelihood associated with sexual aggression. Results revealed that perceptions of male friends' acceptance of sexual aggression were strongly associated with individual men's reports of using verbal coercion and rape. Perceptions of punishment likelihood were negatively correlated with verbal coercion but not with rape through intoxication and force. Implications for sexual aggression prevention are discussed.

Patient aggression towards different professional groups of healthcare workers.

PubMed

Kowalczuk, Krystyna; Krajewska-Kułak, Elżbieta

2017-03-31

Patient aggression affects healthcare quality and, in extreme situations, may even lead to medical malpractice. Little is known, however, about the specific distribution of health care professionals' exposure to patient aggression in various countries. The aim of this study was to assess the exposure of various professional groups of healthcare personnel to patient aggression, and to identify potential determinants (medical profession, age, gender, professional experience and employment at outpatient/inpatient healthcare units) of this exposure. The study was performed between January 2008 - December 2009 in northeastern Poland, and included 1,624 healthcare workers (493 nurses, 504 midwives, 501 physicians and 126 medical rescue workers). Exposure to eight forms of patient aggression was assessed using the MDM Mobbing Questionnaire. Using a raised voice was the most frequently observed form of aggression in all groups, whereas the least frequent form of aggression encountered was the use of direct physical violence. In inpatient healthcare units, the intensity of patient aggression was encountered most by nurses and medical rescue workers, followed by physicians and midwives. In outpatient healthcare units, medical rescue workers experienced significantly higher levels of aggression when compared to other professional groups. Significant differences in mean aggression intensity experienced in inpatient and outpatient healthcare units were observed only in nurses and physicians. Furthermore, no significant effects of gender were observed on the intensity of patient aggression. Nurses are most exposed to different forms of patient aggression, with verbal attacks being most prevalent. Nurses employed at inpatient healthcare units experienced aggression more frequently than those working in outpatient healthcare units.

Digit ratio (2D:4D), aggression, and testosterone in men exposed to an aggressive video stimulus.

PubMed

Kilduff, Liam P; Hopp, Renato N; Cook, Christian J; Crewther, Blair T; Manning, John T

2013-10-10

The relative lengths of the 2(nd) and 4(th) digits (2D:4D) is a negative biomarker for prenatal testosterone, and low 2D:4D may be associated with aggression. However, the evidence for a 2D:4D-aggression association is mixed. Here we test the hypothesis that 2D:4D is robustly linked to aggression in "challenge" situations in which testosterone is increased. Participants were exposed to an aggressive video and a control video. Aggression was measured after each video and salivary free testosterone levels before and after each video. Compared to the control video, the aggressive video was associated with raised aggression responses and a marginally significant increase in testosterone. Left 2D:4D was negatively correlated with aggression after the aggressive video and the strength of the correlation was higher in those participants who showed the greatest increases in testosterone. Left 2D:4D was also negatively correlated to the difference between aggression scores in the aggressive and control conditions. The control video did not influence testosterone concentrations and there were no associations between 2D:4D and aggression. We conclude that 2D:4D moderates the impact of an aggressive stimulus on aggression, such that an increase in testosterone resulting from a "challenge" is associated with a negative correlation between 2D:4D and aggression.

Genetic variants in oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR) and childhood physical abuse collaborate to modify the risk of aggression in chinese adolescents.

PubMed

Zhang, Yanmei; Wu, Chunxia; Chang, Hongjuan; Yan, Qiuge; Wu, Linguo; Yuan, Shanshan; Xiang, Jingjing; Hao, Wen; Yu, Yizhen

2018-03-15

Accumulating evidence suggests that genetic and environmental factors may influence aggression susceptibility. However, the etiology of aggressive behavior remains unknown. Compared to some extensively studied candidate genes of aggression, very little is known about the OXTR gene. The objective of this study was to determine whether OXTR genetic variants were associated with aggression risk and whether these polymorphisms showed interactive effects with childhood maltreatment on aggression in Chinese adolescents. A total of 996 participants including 488 cases and 488 controls were selected in our study. Aggression, childhood maltreatment were measured by self-reported questionnaire. Buccal cells were collected. Genotyping was performed using SNPscan. Logistic regressions were used to estimate both main effects of OXTR polymorphisms and the interactive effects with childhood maltreatment on aggressive behavior. Participants who carried the rs237885 TT genotypes in OXTR had a higher risk of aggression compared to those who carried GG or GT genotypes under the recessive model (OR=1.40, 95% CI, 1.04-1.89) after controlling for potential confounders. In addition, we also found that the polymorphism had a synergic additive interaction with childhood physical abuse on the aggression risk. The subjects in the present study were only males, thus our findings and conclusions could not be generalized to females. The present study provides evidence that OXTR genetic variants may contribute to aggression susceptibility. Moreover, this is the first study reporting significant interactive effects of OXTR polymorphism and childhood physical abuse on aggressive behavior in Chinese adolescents. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Aggression Norms in the Classroom Social Network: Contexts of Aggressive Behavior and Social Preference in Middle Childhood.

PubMed

Jackson, Daisy R; Cappella, Elise; Neal, Jennifer Watling

2015-12-01

In a cross-sectional sample of African-American 2nd-4th grade students (N = 681), we examine the moderating effects of classroom overt and relational aggression norms on peers' social acceptance of classmates who exhibit overt and relational aggression in urban schools. Extending theory and research on classroom norms, we integrate social network data to adjust aggression norms based on children's direct and indirect connections in the classroom. Results of multilevel models indicate that network-based classroom aggression norms moderated relations between children's aggressive behavior and their social preference. Specifically, children benefited socially when their form of aggressive behavior fit with what was normative in the classroom social context. The moderating effect of classroom aggression norms was stronger for the association between overt aggression and social preference than relational aggression and social preference. Relationally aggressive youth were socially preferred by peers regardless of the classroom norm, although this positive association was magnified in classrooms with higher levels of relational aggression. Future research focused on aggression norms within classroom social networks are discussed and implications for school prevention efforts are considered.

Aggressive behavior and performance in the Tegu lizard Tupinambis merianae.

PubMed

Herrel, Anthony; Andrade, Denis V; de Carvalho, José Eduardo; Brito, Ananda; Abe, Augusto; Navas, Carlos

2009-01-01

Aggression is an important component of behavior in many animals and may be crucial to providing individuals with a competitive advantage when resources are limited. Although much is known about the effects of catecholamines and hormones on aggression, relatively few studies have examined the effects of physical performance on aggression. Here we use a large, sexually dimorphic teiid lizard to test whether individuals that show high levels of physical performance (bite force) are also more aggressive toward a potential threat (i.e., a human approaching the lizard). Our results show that independent of their sex, larger individuals with higher bite forces were indeed more aggressive. Moreover, our data show that individuals with higher bite forces tend to show decreased escape responses and are slower, providing evidence for a trade-off between fight and flight abilities. As bite force increased dramatically with body size, we suggest that large body size and bite force may reduce the threshold for an individual to engage in an aggressive encounter, allowing it to potentially gain or maintain resources and fight off predators while minimizing the risk of injury.

Degree of Anger During Anger-Generating Situations Among Psychiatric Staff Nurses: Association Between Nurses' Attitudes Toward Service Users' Aggression and Confidence in Intervening in Aggressive Situations.

PubMed

Shimosato, Seiji; Kinoshita, Aimi

2018-04-17

Some situations require psychiatric staff nurses to respond to service users' negativity or aggression. As a result, psychiatric staff nurses may experience anger. The current study examined how anger levels of psychiatric staff nurses triggered by anger-generating situations by service users affected nurses' confidence and attitudes. A questionnaire survey was administered among 386 psychiatric staff nurses. The questionnaire surveyed anger levels in anger-generating situations, aggressiveness, nurses' attitudes toward aggression, and self-efficacy of intervening in aggressive situations. Path analysis revealed differences between male and female nurses. Male nurses' anger in response to physical aggression was mild when they were confident in handling aggression. Furthermore, female nurses who had high confidence in intervening in an aggressive situation had low anger levels. Confidence in intervening in aggressive situations appeared to dissipate anger and ease nurses during aggressive interactions. [Journal of Psychosocial Nursing and Mental Health Services, xx(x), xx-xx.]. Copyright 2018, SLACK Incorporated.

Intoxicated aggression: Do alcohol and stimulants cause dose-related aggression? A review.

PubMed

Kuypers, Kpc; Verkes, R J; van den Brink, W; van Amsterdam, Jgc; Ramaekers, J G

2018-06-22

Violence and drug use are significant public health challenges that are strongly linked. It is known that alcohol plays a major role in the causation of unnatural deaths and that stimulants like cocaine and amphetamine are often implicated in aggressive acts or violence. However, a clear causal relationship between these substances and aggression, and more specifically a blood concentration threshold at which intoxicated aggression emerges is lacking. In case of a crime and subsequent law enforcement, knowledge about dose-response relationships could be of pivotal importance when evaluating the role of alcohol and drugs in aggressive offences. The present review aimed to determine whether there is a causal relation between intoxication with these psychoactive substances and aggression, and to define blood concentration thresholds above which these substances elicit aggression. Empirical articles published between 2013 and 2017 and review papers containing the predefined search strings were identified through searches in the PubMed and Embase databases and additional reference list searches. The complete search query yielded 1578 publications. Initially all articles were manually screened by title and abstract. Articles with irrelevant titles, given the selected search terms and review aims were discarded. Remaining articles were carefully studied and those that did not comply with the main objectives of this review were discarded. At the end of this process, 167 titles were found eligible for review. While placebo-controlled experimental studies clearly showed a causal link between alcohol and aggression, it is evident that such a link has not yet been established for cocaine and amphetamines. In case of alcohol, it is clear that there are various individual and contextual factors that may contribute to the occurrence of an aggressive act during intoxication. A clear threshold blood alcohol concentration has not been defined yet for alcohol, but a statistically

Normative Beliefs and Relational Aggression: An Investigation of the Cognitive Bases of Adolescent Aggressive Behavior

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Werner, Nicole E.; Nixon, Charisse L.

2005-01-01

The relations between normative beliefs about different forms of aggression and corresponding aggressive behaviors were investigated in 2 studies of adolescents. In Study 1, we revised an instrument designed to assess normative beliefs about aggression to include beliefs about the acceptability of relational aggression, and we examined the…

Examining Implicit and Explicit Evaluations of Sexual Aggression and Sexually Aggressive Behavior in Men Recruited Online.

PubMed

Hermann, Chantal A; Nunes, Kevin L; Maimone, Sacha

2016-12-05

The purpose of the current study was to explore the relationship between implicit and explicit evaluations of sexual aggression and indicators of sexually aggressive behavior in samples of students and community men recruited online. Participants were male undergraduate students recruited online from a Canadian University (N = 150) and men recruited from the community via an online panel (N = 378). Participants completed measures of implicit and explicit evaluations of sexual aggression, cognitive distortions regarding rape, self-reported past sexually aggressive behavior, and self-reported proclivity to commit sexually aggressive behavior. We found that more positive explicit evaluations and more cognitive distortions were moderately to strongly associated with sexual aggression; however, this was not the case for implicit evaluations of rape. Our results suggest that explicit evaluations of sexual aggression and cognitive distortions may be relevant for understanding sexual aggression against adults, and that more research is needed exploring whether or not implicit evaluations are associated with sexually aggressive behavior. © The Author(s) 2016.

[The aggressive child (author's transl)].

PubMed

Harbauer, H

1978-08-01

In children a "normal" aggressiveness should be distinguished from "hostile" and "inhibited" aggression; the latter usually become apparent as heteroaggressive or autoaggressive behaviour. Autoaggression is more common with younger children. Different hypotheses about the origin of aggressiveness are discussed. In the younger child nail biting, trichotillomania, rocking, an intensified phase of contrariness and enkopresis may have components of aggressiveness. In older children and adolescents dissocial forms of development, drug taking, attempted suicid, and anorexia nervosa may be parts of aggressive behaviour. Minimal brain dysfunction, autism, and postencephalitic syndromes predominate amongst organic alterations of the brain as causes for aggressive behaviour. Particularly the Lesch-Nyhan-syndrome, but equally the Cornelia de Lange-syndrome show autoaggressive tendencies.

Highly Aggressive Women in a Forensic Psychiatric Hospital.

PubMed

Beck, Niels C; Hammer, Joseph H; Robbins, Sharon; Tubbesing, Tara; Menditto, Anthony; Pardee, Alicia

2017-03-01

In this study, we compared three groups of women admitted to a public forensic inpatient facility over the course of a two-year period. Detailed and systematic examination of social and psychiatric histories revealed that the group with the most persistent levels of aggression differed from the other two groups with respect to frequency of self-harming behavior, intellectual impairment, hypothyroidism, a childhood diagnosis of attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and age of onset of psychiatric and behavioral symptoms. The high-aggression group also had the highest rate of childhood physical and sexual abuse, but the difference between that group and the two lower aggression groups did not achieve statistical significance. From the standpoint of childhood adversity, 94 percent of those in the high-aggression group had been placed outside of the original home by age 11. Eighty-nine percent were intellectually impaired. At admission, physical examinations revealed that 50 percent had a history of hypothyroidism and two-thirds were obese. Before admission, most had manifested severe aggression and emotional dysregulation, as evinced by high levels of self-harm, suicide attempts, and aggressive behavior in previous institutional settings that was both frequent and intense. Patients who share these characteristics are currently placed on a ward at the hospital with a milieu and individual therapy programs that are based on a dialectical behavior therapy approach that targets key symptoms of emotional and behavioral dysregulation. © 2017 American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law.

Music and aggression: the impact of sexual-aggressive song lyrics on aggression-related thoughts, emotions, and behavior toward the same and the opposite sex.

PubMed

Fischer, Peter; Greitemeyer, Tobias

2006-09-01

Three studies examined the impact of sexual-aggressive song lyrics on aggressive thoughts, emotions, and behavior toward the same and the opposite sex. In Study 1, the authors directly manipulated whether male or female participants listened to misogynous or neutral song lyrics and measured actual aggressive behavior. Male participants who were exposed to misogynous song lyrics administered more hot chili sauce to a female than to a male confederate. Study 2 shed some light on the underlying psychological processes: Male participants who heard misogynous song lyrics recalled more negative attributes of women and reported more feelings of vengeance than when they heard neutral song lyrics. In addition, men-hating song lyrics had a similar effect on aggression-related responses of female participants toward men. Finally, Study 3 replicated the findings of the previous two studies with an alternative measure of aggressive behavior as well as a more subtle measure of aggressive cognitions. The results are discussed in the framework of the General Aggression Model.

The Effects of Pathological Gaming on Aggressive Behavior

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lemmens, Jeroen S.; Valkenburg, Patti M.; Peter, Jochen

2011-01-01

Studies have shown that pathological involvement with computer or video games is related to excessive gaming binges and aggressive behavior. Our aims for this study were to longitudinally examine if pathological gaming leads to increasingly excessive gaming habits, and how pathological gaming may cause an increase in physical aggression. For this…

Beyond the Positive Reinforcement of Aggression: Peers' Acceptance of Aggression Promotes Aggression via External Control Beliefs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jung, Janis; Krahé, Barbara; Busching, Robert

2018-01-01

Being surrounded by peers who are accepting of aggression is a significant predictor of the development and persistence of aggression in childhood and adolescence. Whereas past research has focused on social reinforcement mechanisms as the underlying processes, the present longitudinal study analysed the role of external control beliefs as an…

Oxytocin and Aggression.

PubMed

de Jong, Trynke R; Neumann, Inga D

2017-09-02

The neuropeptide oxytocin (OT) has a solid reputation as a facilitator of social interactions such as parental and pair bonding, trust, and empathy. The many results supporting a pro-social role of OT have generated the hypothesis that impairments in the endogenous OT system may lead to antisocial behavior, most notably social withdrawal or pathological aggression. If this is indeed the case, administration of exogenous OT could be the "serenic" treatment that psychiatrists have for decades been searching for.In the present review, we list and discuss the evidence for an endogenous "hypo-oxytocinergic state" underlying aggressive and antisocial behavior, derived from both animal and human studies. We furthermore examine the reported effects of synthetic OT administration on aggression in rodents and humans.Although the scientific findings listed in this review support, in broad lines, the link between a down-regulated or impaired OT system activity and increased aggression, the anti-aggressive effects of synthetic OT are less straightforward and require further research. The rather complex picture that emerges adds to the ongoing debate questioning the unidirectional pro-social role of OT, as well as the strength of the effects of intranasal OT administration in humans.

Children's exposure to violent political conflict stimulates aggression at peers by increasing emotional distress, aggressive script rehearsal, and normative beliefs favoring aggression.

PubMed

Huesmann, L Rowell; Dubow, Eric F; Boxer, Paul; Landau, Simha F; Gvirsman, Shira Dvir; Shikaki, Khalil

2017-02-01

We examine the hypothesis that children's exposure to ethnic-political conflict and violence over the course of a year stimulates their increased aggression toward their own in-group peers in subsequent years. In addition, we examine what social cognitive and emotional processes mediate these effects and how these effects are moderated by gender, age, and ethnic group. To accomplish these aims, we collected three waves of data from 901 Israeli and 600 Palestinian youths (three age cohorts: 8, 11, and 14 years old) and their parents at 1-year intervals. Exposure to ethnic-political violence was correlated with aggression at in-group peers among all age cohorts. Using a cross-lagged structural equation model from Year 1 to Year 3, we found that the relation between exposure and aggression is more plausibly due to exposure to ethnic-political violence stimulating later aggression at peers than vice versa, and this effect was not moderated significantly by gender, age cohort, or ethnic group. Using three-wave structural equation models, we then showed that this effect was significantly mediated by changes in normative beliefs about aggression, aggressive script rehearsal, and emotional distress produced by the exposure. Again the best fitting model did not allow for moderation by gender, age cohort, or ethnic group. The findings are consistent with recent theorizing that exposure to violence leads to changes both in emotional processes promoting aggression and in the acquisition through observational learning of social cognitions promoting aggression.

Physical aggression as a function of perceived fighting ability and provocation: an experimental investigation.

PubMed

Archer, John; Benson, David

2008-01-01

In three studies, Resource Holding Power (RHP) and provocation were manipulated in scenarios involving a young person in a bar with friends. In Study 1, teenage men reported lower likelihood of responding with physical aggression when insulted as levels of three RHP cues (size, allies and reputation) increased, effects that were accentuated by combinations of high-RHP cues; in the second part of this study, they consistently rated an insult to their girlfriend as the most provoking from a range of possible provocations, chosen on theoretical and empirical grounds. Study 2 replicated the results of the first part of Study 1 in samples of men and women in their twenties, although the effects were weaker at low levels of RHP. Study 3 combined a high- or low-provoking event, with low, medium or high RHP, and a wider range of response choices. As expected, direct aggression increased as provocation increased and RHP decreased. Delayed aggressive responses, including revenge fantasies, were highest in response to high provocation and high RHP. Findings are discussed in relation to theoretical models of aggressive motivation. (c) 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Drugs and aggression.

PubMed

Rasia-Filho, Alberto A; Giovenardi, Márcia; de Almeida, Rosa M M

2008-01-01

Aggression is conceived as a social behavior that, in conjunct with motor and visceral displays, is related with acts for obtaining a specific goal or is directed against threatening stimuli with the intention of causing harm, either for attack or defense. Here it is reviewed basic concepts and aspects for the classification of aggression, the behavioral displays regarded as aggressive in animal models, the basic neural circuits that are involved to them and the pharmacological approaches involving some neurotransmitters (5-HT, dopamine and GABA) and drugs that can be used to identify the neural basis of aggression and to modulate its expression. Drug patents are referred in the text. Data are based on experiments developed mainly with rodents; however, some research hypotheses that may well give some insights for the clinical sciences in men were also included.

[Effect of sodium valproate on aggressive behavior of male mice with various aggression experience].

PubMed

Smagin, D A; Bondar', N P; Kudriavtseva, N N

2010-01-01

Sector of Social Behavior Neurogenetics, Institute of Cytology and Genetics, Siberian Branch, Effects of sodium valproate on the aggressive behavior of male mice with 2- and 20-day positive fighting experience have been studied. It is established that valproate administered in a singe dose of 100 mg/kg has no effect on the behavior of male mice with a 2-day experience of aggression. The treatment of mice with 300 mg/kg of valproate significantly decreased the level of aggressive motivation and the percentage of animals demonstrating attacks and threats. In male mice with a 20-day experience of aggression, valproate decreased the time of hostile behavior in a dose-dependent manner. Valproate in a single dose of 300 mg/kg significantly decreased the level of aggressive motivation, but also produced a toxic effect, whereby 73% of aggressive males demonstrated long-term immobility and 45% exhibited movement abnormalities (falls) upon the treatment. It is suggested that changes in the brain neurochemical activity, which are caused by a prolonged experience of aggression, modify the effects of sodium valproate.

Aggression, conflict resolution, popularity, and attitude to school in Russian adolescents.

PubMed

Butovskaya, Marina L; Timentschik, Vera M; Burkova, Valentina N

2007-01-01

The objective of the present study was to examine the effects of aggression and conflict-managing skills on popularity and attitude to school in Russian adolescents. Three types of aggression (physical, verbal, and indirect), constructive conflict resolution, third-party intervention, withdrawal, and victimization were examined using the Peer-Estimated Conflict Behavior (PECOBE) inventory [Bjorkquist and Osterman, 1998]. Also, all respondents rated peer and self-popularity with same-sex classmates and personal attitude to school. The sample consisted of 212 Russian adolescents (101 boys, 111 girls) aged between 11 and 15 years. The findings attest to significant sex differences in aggression and conflict resolution patterns. Boys scored higher on physical and verbal aggression, and girls on indirect aggression. Girls were socially more skillful than boys in the use of peaceful means of conflict resolution (they scored higher on constructive conflict resolution and third-party intervention). The attributional discrepancy index (ADI) scores were negative for all three types of aggression in both sexes. Verbal aggression is apparently more condemned in boys than in girls. ADI scores were positive for constructive conflict resolution and third-party intervention in both genders, being higher in boys. In girls, verbal aggression was positively correlated with popularity. In both sexes, popularity showed a positive correlation with constructive conflict resolution and third-party intervention, and a negative correlation with withdrawal and victimization. Boys who liked school were popular with same-sex peers and scored higher on constructive conflict resolution. Girls who liked school were less aggressive according to peer rating. They also rated higher on conflict resolution and third-party intervention. Physical aggression was related to age. The results are discussed in a cross-cultural perspective. Copyright 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Sexual Aggression Experiences Among Male Victims of Physical Partner Violence: Prevalence, Severity, and Health Correlates for Male Victims and Their Children.

PubMed

Hines, Denise A; Douglas, Emily M

2016-07-01

Although research has documented the prevalence and health correlates of sexual aggression among women who have experienced severe partner violence (PV), no research has documented the parallel issues among male victims of severe PV. Research also suggests that children of female victims of both physical and sexual PV have worse mental health than children of female victims of physical PV only, but no research has assessed the mental health of children whose fathers experienced both physical and sexual PV. We surveyed 611 men who experienced physical PV from their female partners and sought help. We assessed the types and extent of various forms of PV, the men's mental and physical health, and the mental health of their oldest child. Results showed that almost half of the men experienced sexual aggression in their relationship, and 28 % severe sexual aggression. Increasing levels of severity of sexual aggression victimization was associated with greater prevalence and types of other forms of PV. In addition, greater levels of severity of sexual aggression victimization among the men was significantly associated with depression symptoms, post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms, physical health symptoms, and poor health, and attention deficit and affective symptoms among their children. These associations held after controlling for demographics and other violence and trauma exposure. Discussion focused on the importance of broadening our conceptualization of PV against men by women to include sexual aggression as well.

Aggression-preventive supervisor behavior: Implications for workplace climate and employee outcomes.

PubMed

Yang, Liu-Qin; Caughlin, David E

2017-01-01

Workplace aggression remains a serious and costly issue for organizations; thus, it is imperative to understand ways to reduce workplace aggression. To address this need, we used 2 independent samples with varied study designs, one at the employee level and the other at both employee and unit levels, to examine the role of aggression-preventive supervisor behavior (APSB) in aggression-prevention processes. In Sample 1 (237 nurses), we used structural equation modeling to examine the role of individual observations of APSB. First, we found that individual employees' observations of APSB positively related to their individual violence-prevention climate (VPC) perceptions. Further, VPC perceptions mediated the relations between APSB and employees' exposure to coworker aggression, job attitudes, and physical symptoms. In Sample 2 (337 nurses), we used multilevel regression analysis to examine the positive role of APSB in managing the aggression process. First, we established further support for many of the findings in Sample 1. In addition, we found that shared unit-level VPC mediated the relations of unit-level APSB with employees' exposure to aggression from coworkers, their physical symptoms, and turnover intention. Finally, evidence from Sample 2 supported favorable, direct relations of individual- or unit-level APSB with employees' aggression-prevention compliance and turnover intention. Implications for studying context-specific leadership behavior and designing aggression-prevention interventions are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

P3 and provoked aggressive behavior.

PubMed

Fanning, Jennifer R; Berman, Mitchell E; Long, James M

2014-01-01

Cognitive and biological processes play a role in human aggression. However, relatively little is known about the neural correlates of cognitive processes in aggressive individuals, particularly as they unfold during an aggressive encounter. We investigated whether the P3 event-related potential (ERP) discriminates aggressive versus nonaggressive individuals during a provocative, aggressive encounter. Forty-eight participants (23 men and 25 women) were classified as aggressive or nonaggressive based on self-reported life history of aggression. Aggressive behavior was assessed using a modification of a well-validated laboratory task during which the participant and a fictitious opponent ostensibly delivered and received noise blasts of low, medium, and high intensity. Provocation was manipulated by altering the level of noise set by the opponent. Aggression was defined as the number of high-intensity noise blasts the participant set for the opponent. As predicted, P3 amplitude in response to provocation differed as a function of aggressive history. Nonaggressive individuals showed enhanced P3 when provoked by the opponent relative to low provocation, but this effect was absent in aggressive individuals. The results suggest that aggressive individuals engage fewer neural processing resources in response to provoking social cues, which may reflect aberrant cognitive and emotional processes.

The Role of Preschool Relational and Physical Aggression in the Transition to Kindergarten: Links with Social-Psychological Adjustment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gower, Amy L.; Lingras, Katherine A.; Mathieson, Lindsay C.; Kawabata, Yoshito; Crick, Nicki R.

2014-01-01

Research Findings: The transition to kindergarten has important ramifications for future achievement and psychosocial outcomes. Research suggests that physical aggression may be related to difficulty during school transitions, yet no studies to date have examined the role of relational aggression in these transitions. This article examines how…

Aggressive challenging behaviour and intellectual disability.

PubMed

Benson, Betsey A; Brooks, Whitney T

2008-09-01

The aim of this article is to review reports of aggressive challenging behaviour in individuals with intellectual disability from September 2006 to March 2008. Studies continued to demonstrate the prevalence and significance of aggressive challenging behaviour in persons with intellectual disability. Over half of the population engages in some form of aggression, but only a small number is responsible for frequent or severe acts. A publication that identified aggression profiles offered a promising new approach. Aggressive behaviour in adults often has multiple functions. The most frequently studied interventions were either behavioural or somatic. Parents learned skills to effectively intervene with their aggressive preschool child. Reviews of medication efficacy studies concluded that there was insufficient evidence to recommend a single medication. Psychiatrists agreed that medication should not be the first treatment option. In one study, a class of medication was found to reduce aggression, but not aggression with self-injury, or self-injury alone. Research on aggressive challenging behaviour requires assessment instruments that address the topography and severity of aggression. Identifying aggression types may clarify mixed results of previous research and improve treatment effectiveness. Greater access to effective, nonmedication treatments is needed.

Effects of physical and verbal aggression, depression, and anxiety on drinking behavior of married partners: a prospective and retrospective longitudinal examination.

PubMed

Keiley, Margaret K; Keller, Peggy S; El-Sheikh, Mona

2009-01-01

In an ethnically diverse sample of 195 married couples, we conducted a latent factor growth analysis to investigate the longitudinal link (4 time points over 4 1/2 years) between marital aggression (physical and verbal aggression self- and partner-reports) and individual internalizing symptoms (depression and anxiety) as they relate to trajectories of alcohol use among husbands and wives. Alcohol use was operationalized as a latent factor with self- and partner reports of problem drinking as measured by the Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test and the Alcohol Dependence Scale. Verbal aggression by husbands or wives, by itself, has no effect on their alcohol use over time. In conjunction with depression, however, verbally aggressive husbands do have elevated drinking levels. The effects of husbands' and wives' physical aggression on their own and their partners' drinking behavior were also significant. This study is one of the first to examine the change over time in alcohol use for marital partners as related to marital aggression and internalizing symptoms. Our results shed light on areas of marital functioning (aggression, internalizing, alcohol use) that have not been investigated in conjunction with each other in a longitudinal design. Copyright 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Selective Exposure to Televised Aggression. Report No. 7.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Atkin, Charles K.; And Others

This 2-wave panel survey of young people was conducted to explore the relationship between attitudes and viewing over time, examining aggressiveness and viewing of programs portraying physical and verbal aggression. Questionnaires were administered to 227 children in the fourth, sixth, and eighth grades in 1976 and again one year later. The…

Adolescents' Aggressive and Prosocial Behavior: Associations with Jealousy and Social Anxiety

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Culotta, Carmen M.; Goldstein, Sara E.

2008-01-01

The authors examined how relational aggression, physical aggression, and proactive prosocial behavior were associated with jealousy and social anxiety in a diverse sample of 60 middle school students. After the authors controlled for gender and race, jealousy predicted relational aggression and proactive prosocial behavior, but it did not predict…

Characteristics of aggression among psychiatric inpatients by ward type in Japan: Using the Staff Observation Aggression Scale - Revised (SOAS-R).

PubMed

Sato, Makiko; Noda, Toshie; Sugiyama, Naoya; Yoshihama, Fumihiro; Miyake, Michi; Ito, Hiroto

2017-12-01

Aggressive behaviour by psychiatric patients is a serious issue in clinical practice, and adequate management of such behaviour is required, with careful evaluation of the factors causing the aggression. To examine the characteristics of aggressive incidents by ward type, a cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted for 6 months between April 2012 and June 2013 using the Staff Observation Aggression Scale - Revised, Japanese version (SOAS-R) in 30 wards across 20 Japanese psychiatric hospitals. Participating wards were categorized into three types based on the Japanese medical reimbursement system: emergency psychiatric, acute psychiatric, and standard wards (common in Japan, mostly treating non-acute patients). On analyzing the 443 incidents reported, results showed significant differences in SOAS-R responses by ward type. In acute and emergency psychiatric wards, staff members were the most common target of aggression. In acute psychiatric wards, staff requiring patients to take medication was the most common provocation, and verbal aggression was the most commonly used means. In emergency psychiatric wards, victims felt threatened. In contrast, in standard wards, both the target and provocation of aggression were most commonly other patients, hands were used, victims reported experiencing physical pain, and seclusion was applied to stop their behaviour. These findings suggest that ward environment was an important factor influencing aggressive behaviour. Ensuring the quality and safety of psychiatric care requires understanding the characteristics of incidents that staff are likely to encounter in each ward type, as well as implementing efforts to deal with the incidents adequately and improve the treatment environment. © 2016 Australian College of Mental Health Nurses Inc.

The interactive effect of MAOA-LPR genotype and childhood physical neglect on aggressive behaviors in Italian male prisoners.

PubMed

Gorodetsky, E; Bevilacqua, L; Carli, V; Sarchiapone, M; Roy, A; Goldman, D; Enoch, M-A

2014-07-01

Aggressive disorders are moderately heritable; therefore, identification of genetic influences is important. The X-linked MAOA gene, encoding the MAOA enzyme, has a functional 30 bp repeat polymorphism in the promoter region (MAOA-LPR) that has been shown to influence aggression. Childhood trauma is a known risk factor for numerous psychopathologies in adulthood including aggressive behaviors. We investigated the interactive effect of MAOA-LPR genotype and a history of childhood trauma in predicting aggressive behaviors in a prisoner population. A total of 692 male prisoners were genotyped for MAOA-LPR with genotypes grouped into high and low transcriptional activity. Participant evaluations included measures of aggression (Brown-Goodwin Lifetime History of Aggression, BGHA), hostility (Buss-Durkee Hostility Inventory), impulsivity (Barratt Impulsiveness Scale), violence directed toward self and others, and childhood trauma [Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ)]. MAOA-LPR interacted with CTQ physical neglect (PN), the most common (47%) form of childhood trauma in this sample, to predict BGHA aggression (P = 0.002). Within the group not exposed to PN, carriers of the MAOA-LPR high-activity variant were more aggressive: (tR = 2.47, P < 0.014). We observed a crossover effect in that the increase in aggression scores with PN was greater in low-activity individuals (tR = 5.55, P < 0.0001) than in high-activity individuals (tR = 4.18, P < 0.0001). These findings suggest that childhood trauma and the functional MAOA-LPR polymorphism may interact to specifically increase risk for over aggressive behavior but not impulsivity or hostility. The MAOA-LPR low-activity variant may be protective against the development of aggressive behavior under low stress conditions, at least in this prisoner population. Published 2014. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.

Aggression in fragile X syndrome.

PubMed

Wheeler, A C; Raspa, M; Bishop, E; Bailey, D B

2016-02-01

Individuals with fragile X syndrome (FXS), especially men, have long been described as presenting with significant behavioural challenges. Despite this known aspect of the phenotype, there has been little research exploring the prevalence, frequency, nature or consequences of aggressive behaviour in FXS. This study used survey methodology to gather caregiver reports on the types, frequency and severity of aggressive behaviour in 774 individuals with FXS. Based on caregiver report, nearly all (>90%) male and female individuals were reported to have engaged in some aggression over the previous 12 months, with a third of male cases and slightly fewer than 20% of female cases being described as engaging in moderate to severe aggression or being diagnosed or treated for aggression. Further, aggressive behaviours in male individuals were serious enough that 30% had caused injuries to caregivers and 22% had caused injuries to peers or friends. Sensory issues and hyperactivity were significant predictors of the frequency of aggressive acts, while sensory issues and anxiety were predictive of the severity of aggression. Traditional behaviour management techniques as well as medication was described as the most common and successful treatment options. Aggressive behaviours are a significant concern for a subsample of both male and female individuals with FXS. Given that sensory concerns were predictive of both the frequency and the severity of aggression suggests these behaviours may be a reactive means of escaping uncomfortable situations. © 2015 MENCAP and International Association of the Scientific Study of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Early Maladaptive Schemas and Aggression in Men Seeking Residential Substance Use Treatment

PubMed Central

Shorey, Ryan C.; Elmquist, Joanna; Anderson, Scott; Stuart, Gregory L.

2015-01-01

Social-cognitive theories of aggression postulate that individuals who perpetrate aggression are likely to have high levels of maladaptive cognitive schemas that increase risk for aggression. Indeed, recent research has begun to examine whether early maladaptive schemas may increase the risk for aggression. However, no known research has examined this among individuals in substance use treatment, despite aggression and early maladaptive schemas being more prevalent among individuals with a substance use disorder than the general population. Toward this end, we examined the relationship between early maladaptive schemas and aggression in men in a residential substance use treatment facility (N = 106). Utilizing pre-existing patient records, results demonstrated unique associations between early maladaptive schema domains and aggression depending on the type of aggression and schema domain examined, even after controlling for substance use, antisocial personality, age, and education. The Impaired Limits domain was positively associated with verbal aggression, aggressive attitude, and overall aggression, whereas the Disconnection and Rejection domain was positively associated with physical aggression. These findings are consistent with social-cognitive models of aggression and advance our understanding of how early maladaptive schemas may influence aggression. The implications of these findings for future research are discussed. PMID:25897180

Intimate Relationships and Personal Distress: The Invisible Harm of Psychological Aggression.

PubMed

Arriaga, Ximena B; Schkeryantz, Emily L

2015-10-01

Aggression in intimate relationships is pervasive, has been implicated in personal distress, and yet may not be perceived as harmful. Two studies (cross-sectional, longitudinal) examined whether being the target of psychologically aggressive behavior by a partner is uniquely associated with personal distress, beyond the effects of general couple functioning, perpetrating aggression, or experiencing physical aggression. New instances of psychological aggression by a partner predicted increases in personal distress. Study 2 also examined participants' perceptions of what causes them stress. Although psychological aggression by a partner predicted personal distress, participants did not perceive their relationship as a source of stress. This suggests a pattern of "invisible harm" in which individuals victimized by psychological aggression may not recognize the harm they are experiencing. © 2015 by the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Inc.

Agreement on reporting acts of aggression in couples in a community sample.

PubMed

Cuenca Montesino, María L; Graña Gómez, José L

2018-05-01

Agreement about acts of aggression in couples on the Conflict Tactics Scales (CTS-2) was evaluated. We conducted a quota sampling method to recruit a community sample of 590 heterosexual adult couples from the Region of Madrid (Spain). Prevalence rates based on the maximum dyadic report identified more aggressive behaviors than did individual reports of perpetration and victimization in men and women. Partner agreement about physical and psychological aggression was significant and moderate. However, partners agreed that Negotiation of Conflicts and Positive Behaviors assessed with the Dyadic Adjustment Scale were higher than the behaviors of the Physical Assault Scale. Correction factors are provided to estimate the prevalence of aggressive behavior and injuries when we only had individual reports of aggression. Partner agreement reveals the existence of variables at the individual level that significantly influence the assessment of aggression in the couple.

The interactive effect of MAOA-LPR genotype and childhood physical neglect on aggressive behaviors in Italian male prisoners

PubMed Central

Gorodetsky, Elena; Bevilacqua, Laura; Carli, Vladimir; Sarchiapone, Marco; Roy, Alec; Goldman, David; Enoch, Mary-Anne

2014-01-01

Aggressive disorders are moderately heritable; therefore, identification of genetic influences is important. The X-linked MAOA gene, encoding the MAOA enzyme, has a functional 30bp repeat polymorphism in the promoter region (MAOA-LPR) that has been shown to influence aggression. Childhood trauma is a known risk factor for numerous psychopathologies in adulthood including aggressive behaviors. We investigated the interactive effect of MAOA-LPR genotype and a history of childhood trauma in predicting aggressive behaviors in a prisoner population. A total of 692 male prisoners were genotyped for MAOA-LPR with genotypes grouped into high and low transcriptional activity. Participant evaluations included measures of aggression (BGHA), hostility (Buss Durkee Hostility Inventory), impulsivity (Barratt Impulsiveness Scale), violence directed towards self and others, and childhood trauma (Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ)). MAOA-LPR interacted with CTQ physical neglect (PN), the most common (47%) form of childhood trauma in this sample, to predict BGHA aggression (P=0.002). Within the group not exposed to PN, carriers of the MAOA-LPR high activity variant were more aggressive: (t(R) =2.47, p<0.014). We observed a crossover effect in that the increase in aggression scores with PN was greater in low activity individuals (t(R) =5.55, p <0.0001) than in high activity individuals (t(R) =4.18, p <0.0001). These findings suggest that childhood trauma and the functional MAOA-LPR polymorphism may interact to specifically increase risk for over aggressive behavior but not impulsivity or hostility. The MAOA-LPR low activity variant may be protective against the development of aggressive behavior under low stress conditions, at least in this prisoner population. PMID:24805005

Aggressive behaviour - prevention and management in the general practice environment.

PubMed

Sim, Moira G; Wain, Toni; Khong, Eric

2011-11-01

Aggressive behaviour is commonly encountered in the general practice setting and can often be de-escalated using good communication skills. This article provides strategies to reduce and manage early aggression in the general practice environment. Aggressive behaviour usually occurs when a person feels unfairly treated. Having a systematic approach to the problem can improve safety for both staff and patients. This includes patient centred practice, identifying and managing the early signs of aggression to prevent escalation, having a plan to seek assistance if required, setting limits using a calm respectful manner and reinforcing limits using behaviour contracts when required. The physical layout of the practice and restraint of aggressive people are beyond the scope of this article.

Assessing Aggression in Adolescent Romantic Relationships: Can We Do It Better?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jouriles, Ernest N.; McDonald, Renee; Garrido, Edward; Rosenfield, David; Brown, Alan S.

2005-01-01

Almost all research on aggression in adolescent romantic relationships makes use of 1-time, retrospective assessment methods. In the present research, the authors compared data on the experience of adolescent relationship aggression (physical aggression and threatening behavior) collected from 125 high school students via 2 methods: (a) a 1-time,…

Brain serotonin synthesis in adult males characterized by physical aggression during childhood: a 21-year longitudinal study.

PubMed

Booij, Linda; Tremblay, Richard E; Leyton, Marco; Séguin, Jean R; Vitaro, Frank; Gravel, Paul; Perreau-Linck, Elisabeth; Lévesque, Mélissa L; Durand, France; Diksic, Mirko; Turecki, Gustavo; Benkelfat, Chawki

2010-06-22

Adults exhibiting severe impulsive and aggressive behaviors have multiple indices of low serotonin (5-HT) neurotransmission. It remains unclear though whether low 5-HT mediates the behavior or instead reflects a pre-existing vulnerability trait. In the present study, positron emission tomography with the tracer alpha-[(11)C]methyl-L-tryptophan ((11)C-AMT) was used to compare 5-HT synthesis capacity in two groups of adult males from a 21-year longitudinal study (mean age +/- SD: 27.1+/-0.7): individuals with a history of childhood-limited high physical aggression (C-LHPA; N = 8) and individuals with normal (low) patterns of physical aggression (LPA; N = 18). The C-LHPA males had significantly lower trapping of (11)C-AMT bilaterally in the orbitofrontal cortex and self-reported more impulsiveness. Despite this, in adulthood there were no group differences in plasma tryptophan levels, genotyping, aggression, emotional intelligence, working memory, computerized measures of impulsivity, psychosocial functioning/adjustment, and personal and family history of mood and substance abuse disorders. These results force a re-examination of the low 5-HT hypothesis as central in the biology of violence. They suggest that low 5-HT does not mediate current behavior and should be considered a vulnerability factor for impulsive-aggressive behavior that may or may not be expressed depending on other biological factors, experience, and environmental support during development.

Aggressive and nonaggressive children's moral judgments and moral emotion attributions in situations involving retaliation and unprovoked aggression.

PubMed

Gasser, Luciano; Malti, Tina; Gutzwiller-Helfenfinger, Eveline

2012-01-01

The authors investigated 7- and 9-year-old children's moral understanding of retaliation as compared to unprovoked aggression with regard to their aggressive behavior status. Based on peer ratings, 48 children were selected as overtly aggressive and 91 as nonaggressive. Their moral understanding of retaliation and unprovoked aggression was assessed by an interview including questions about their moral judgments and emotion attributions. Aggressive children judged retaliations as less serious than did nonaggressive children. They also referred less often to the harmful consequences of retaliation and were more likely to excuse the retaliation because of the provocation. In unprovoked aggressive situations younger aggressive children, compared with the younger nonaggressive children, attributed more happiness to transgressors, more anger to victims, and less sadness to transgressors and victims. The results are discussed in terms of previous research on aggressive children's moral understanding of retaliation and unprovoked aggression.

Testosterone and Aggression.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Archer, John

1994-01-01

Studies comparing aggressive and nonaggressive prisoners show higher testosterone levels among the former. While there is limited evidence for a strong association between aggressiveness and testosterone during adolescence, other studies indicate that testosterone levels are responsive to influences from the social environment, particularly those…

The Role of Placement History and Current Family Environment in Children's Aggression in Foster Care.

PubMed

Perry, Kristin J; Price, Joseph

2017-04-01

Predictors of the physical and relational aggressive behavior of children in foster care were examined ( N = 160, 50.9% male, M age = 7.57, SD = 2.39). First, predictors representative of children's placement histories were examined in relation to the children's aggression at T1. Next, predictors representing characteristics of the current family environment were examined in relation to the children's aggression at T2 (four months later). Results revealed that a greater number of prior group home placements and being in a non-kinship home were associated with higher physical aggression at T1. A greater number of prior group home placements, a fewer number of regular home placements, being in a non-kinship home, and prior removal from the home due to neglect were associated with higher relational aggression at T1. The results also revealed that higher foster sibling relational aggression at T1 predicted lower child physical aggression at T2. If foster siblings were biological children of the foster parent, higher levels of a foster sibling's physical aggression at T1 predicted reduced child physical aggression at T2. The opposite pattern was observed if foster siblings were not biological children of the foster parent. Lastly, longer time in the current placement, more children in the home, and the presence of a sibling that was a biological child of the parent predicted higher child relational aggression at T2. These findings provide initial insights into how placement history and current family environment are associated with the physical and relational aggressive behavior of children in foster care.

Social Psychological Characteristics Associated with Verbal Aggression between Husbands and Wives.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Straus, Murray A.; Sweet, Stephen

The last decade has provided considerable research on the causes and effects of physical aggression in the family, but much less has been accomplished on the causes and effects of verbal/symbolic aggression. This verbal/symbolic aggression is defined as a communication, either verbal or nonverbal, intended to cause psychological pain to another…

Workplace aggression, psychological distress, and job satisfaction among Palestinian nurses: A cross-sectional study.

PubMed

Jaradat, Yousef; Nielsen, Morten Birkeland; Kristensen, Petter; Nijem, Khaldoun; Bjertness, Espen; Stigum, Hein; Bast-Pettersen, Rita

2016-11-01

Nurses can be exposed to aggressive behavior from patients, patient's relatives, colleagues and visitors. To determine the prevalence of workplace aggression among Palestinian nurses in the Hebron district and to examine cross-sectional associations between exposure to workplace aggression and the occurrence of psychological distress and job satisfaction. Of 372 nurses eligible for the study, 343 were included (response rate of 92.2%). The sample comprised 62% females and 38% males. The participants responded to questions about their socio-demographic status, workplace aggression (WHO questionnaires), psychological distress (General Health Questionnaire, GHQ-30), and job satisfaction (Generic Job Satisfaction Scale). Ninety-three (27.1%) of the respondents reported exposure to workplace aggression of any kind. Seventeen (5%) reported exposure to physical aggression, 83 (24.2%) reported exposure to verbal aggression, and 25 (7.3%) reported exposure to bullying. The patients and the patients' relatives were the main sources of physical and verbal aggression, whereas colleagues were the main source of bullying. Males reported a higher prevalence of bullying than females. Younger nurses reported a higher prevalence of exposure to physical aggression, verbal aggression and bullying. Verbal aggression was associated with more psychological distress. Bullying was associated with lower job satisfaction. More than a quarter of the nurses reported that they had been subject to some sort of aggression at the workplace. Verbal aggression was associated with higher psychological distress. Workplace bullying was associated with lower job satisfaction. Increased awareness and preventive measures to address this problem among health care workers are warranted. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Evaluation of a Program Designed to Reduce Relational Aggression in Middle School Girls

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dellasega, Cheryl; Adamshick, Pamela

2005-01-01

Physical and verbal aggression is an increasing problem in both middle and high schools across the United States. While physical forms of aggression are targeted in traditional "bullying" programs, relational aggression (RA), or the use of relationships to hurt another, is often not detected or addressed. For girls in the stage of identity…

Are pedophiles with aggressive tendencies more sexually violent?

PubMed

Greenberg, D M; Bradford, J M; Curry, S

1996-01-01

Pedophiles use varying degrees of persuasion, coercion, and physical force in their sexual assaults. Pedophiles may also display aggressiveness and characteristics of hostility in nonsexual areas of their behavior. This study (N = 263) investigates the relationship between pedophiles with aggressive tendencies and the degree of sexual violence in their pedophilic acts. The degree of sexual violence was rated subjectively after a comprehensive psychiatric and psycho-sexual assessment and obtaining collateral information from police reports and witness statements. The degree of sexual violence was also rated more objectively using the penile plethysmography. Strict DSM-IV pedophilic disorder criteria were adopted for this study. The authors discuss whether sexual violence in a pedophilic population is focused to sexual areas or tends to be more generalized in other physically aggressive and hostile areas.

Motives in Sexual Aggression: The Chinese Context.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tang, Catherine So-Kum; And Others

1993-01-01

Compared sexual and aggressive motives for sexual aggression in Chinese college students. Male undergraduates (N=146) completed self-report measures. Results suggest that sex guilt and aggressive guilt acted as inhibitors for their respective drives and sexual aggression resulted from aggressive, rather than sexual, motives. Sexual aggression may…

Joint trajectories for social and physical aggression as predictors of adolescent maladjustment: internalizing symptoms, rule-breaking behaviors, and borderline and narcissistic personality features.

PubMed

Underwood, Marion K; Beron, Kurt J; Rosen, Lisa H

2011-05-01

This investigation examined the relation between developmental trajectories jointly estimated for social and physical aggression and adjustment problems at age 14. Teachers provided ratings of children's social and physical aggression in Grades 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 for a sample of 255 children (131 girls, 21% African American, 52% European American, 21% Mexican American). Participants, parents, and teachers completed measures of the adolescent's adjustment to assess internalizing symptoms, rule-breaking behaviors, and borderline and narcissistic personality features. Results showed that membership in a high and rising trajectory group predicted rule-breaking behaviors and borderline personality features. Membership in a high desister group predicted internalizing symptoms, rule-breaking behaviors, and borderline and narcissistic personality features. The findings suggest that although low levels of social and physical aggression may not bode poorly for adjustment, individuals engaging in high levels of social and physical aggression in middle childhood may be at greatest risk for adolescent psychopathology, whether they increase or desist in their aggression through early adolescence.

Joint trajectories for social and physical aggression as predictors of adolescent maladjustment: Internalizing symptoms, rule-breaking behaviors, and borderline and narcissistic personality features

PubMed Central

UNDERWOOD, MARION K.; BERON, KURT J.; ROSEN, LISA H.

2011-01-01

This investigation examined the relation between developmental trajectories jointly estimated for social and physical aggression and adjustment problems at age 14. Teachers provided ratings of children's social and physical aggression in Grades 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 for a sample of 255 children (131 girls, 21% African American, 52% European American, 21% Mexican American). Participants, parents, and teachers completed measures of the adolescent's adjustment to assess internalizing symptoms, rule-breaking behaviors, and borderline and narcissistic personality features. Results showed that membership in a high and rising trajectory group predicted rule-breaking behaviors and borderline personality features. Membership in a high desister group predicted internalizing symptoms, rule-breaking behaviors, and borderline and narcissistic personality features. The findings suggest that although low levels of social and physical aggression may not bode poorly for adjustment, individuals engaging in high levels of social and physical aggression in middle childhood may be at greatest risk for adolescent psychopathology, whether they increase or desist in their aggression through early adolescence. PMID:21532919

Links between Friends' Physical Aggression and Adolescents' Physical Aggression: What Happens If Gene-Environment Correlations are Controlled?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vitaro, Frank; Brendgen, Mara; Girard, Alain; Dionne, Ginette; Tremblay, Richard E.; Boivin, Michel

2016-01-01

Exposure to deviant friends has been found to be a powerful source of influence on children's and adolescents' aggressive behavior. However, the contribution of deviant friends may have been overestimated because of a possible non-accounted gene-environment correlation (rGE). In this study, we used a cross-lagged design to test whether friends'…

Costs and Benefits of Children's Physical and Relational Aggression Trajectories on Peer Rejection, Acceptance, and Friendships: Variations by Aggression Subtypes, Gender, and Age

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ettekal, Idean; Ladd, Gary W.

2015-01-01

This study examined the associations between children's co-occurring relational and physical aggression trajectories and their peer relations (i.e., peer rejection, peer acceptance, and reciprocated friendships) from late childhood (Grade 4; M[subscript age] = 10.0) to early adolescence (Grade 8; M[subscript age] = 13.9). Using a sample of 477…

Neural correlates of proactive and reactive aggression in adolescent twins.

PubMed

Yang, Yaling; Joshi, Shantanu H; Jahanshad, Neda; Thompson, Paul M; Baker, Laura A

2017-05-01

Verbal and physical aggression begin early in life and steadily decline thereafter in normal development. As a result, elevated aggressive behavior in adolescence may signal atypical development and greater vulnerability for negative mental and health outcomes. Converging evidence suggests that brain disturbances in regions involved in impulse control, emotional regulation, and sensation seeking may contribute to heightened aggression. However, little is known regarding the neural mechanisms underlying subtypes of aggression (i.e., proactive and reactive aggression) and whether they differ between males and females. Using a sample of 106 14-year-old adolescent twins, this study found that striatal enlargement was associated with both proactive and reactive aggression. We also found that volumetric alterations in several frontal regions including smaller middle frontal and larger orbitofrontal cortex were correlated with higher levels of aggression in adolescent twins. In addition, cortical thickness analysis showed that thickness alterations in many overlapping regions including middle frontal, superior frontal, and anterior cingulate cortex and temporal regions were associated with aggression in adolescent twins. Results support the involvement of fronto-limbic-striatal circuit in the etiology of aggression during adolescence. Aggr. Behav. 43:230-240, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Do cognitive deficits predict negative emotionality and aggression in schizophrenia?

PubMed

Ahmed, Anthony O; Richardson, Jenae; Buckner, Alex; Romanoff, Sabrina; Feder, Michelle; Oragunye, Njideka; Ilnicki, Andriana; Bhat, Ishrat; Hoptman, Matthew J; Lindenmayer, Jean-Pierre

2018-01-01

Schizophrenia is associated with an elevated risk of aggression. Cognitive deficits have been associated with inpatient aggression and future violence. The relationship between cognitive deficits and violent behavior has however been inconsistent across studies. In addition, studies have failed to inform how cognitive deficits may contribute to aggression in schizophrenia. The current study examined the association of cognitive deficits with schizophrenia-related aggression and violent offending. It also explored the putative mediating role of negative emotionality on the impact of cognitive deficits on aggression. People with schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder (N = 78) were recruited from a state hospital. Participants were classified based on their history of violent offending. Participants completed measures of cognition, symptoms, and aggression. Deficits in working memory, reasoning/problem-solving, and verbal learning were the most prioritized for the prediction of violent offender status. Violent offenders demonstrated greater impairments in most cognitive domains especially working memory and verbal learning. Offenders also demonstrated greater negative emotionality, excitement/agitation, and incidents of verbal and physical aggression. Negative emotionality and excitement/agitation fully transmitted the effect of cognitive deficits on impulsive aggression in meditational models. Cognitive deficits increase the risk of impulsive aggression in schizophrenia via inefficient regulation of negative affective states. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Anger Coping Method and Skill Training for Chinese Children with Physically Aggressive Behaviors

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fung, Annis L. C.; Tsang, Sandra K. M.

2007-01-01

Aggression hinders development in the child and creates numerous problems in the family, school and community. An indigenous Anger Coping Training program for Chinese children with aggressive behavior and their parents aimed to help reactively aggressive children in increasing anger coping methods and enhancing problem-solving abilities. This…

Tryptophan via serotonin/kynurenine pathways abnormalities in a large cohort of aggressive inmates: markers for aggression.

PubMed

Comai, Stefano; Bertazzo, Antonella; Vachon, Jeanne; Daigle, Marc; Toupin, Jean; Côté, Gilles; Turecki, Gustavo; Gobbi, Gabriella

2016-10-03

Aggressive behavior is one of the most challenging symptoms in psychiatry, and biological markers for aggression lack of large sample validations. Serotonin (5-HT) and other neuroactive compounds deriving from Tryptophan (Trp), including kynurenine (Kyn), have not yet been investigated in large cohorts of aggressive individuals to validate their potential as biomarkers of aggression. In 361 male inmates we measured serum levels of Trp, 5-hydroxytryptophan, 5-HT, Kyn, the ratios 5-HT/Trp∗1000 and Kyn/Trp∗1000, and performed Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis-I and -II Disorders (SCID-I and -II), global assessment of functioning (GAF), and scales for aggressive behavior, impulsivity, adult attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and intelligent quotient (IQ). Aggressive compared to non-aggressive inmates exhibited lower Trp and Kyn serum levels but higher levels of 5-HT and 5-HT/Trp∗1000, higher levels of impulsivity and ADHD indices, lower IQ and GAF, higher prevalence of mood disorders, drug abuse/dependence, and borderline, conduct and antisocial behaviors. Interestingly, Kyn/Trp∗1000 was positively correlated to the number of severe aggressive acts (r=0.593, P<0.001). After adjusting for confounding factors, logistic regression analysis indicated that 5-HT/Trp∗1000, antisocial behavior, and GAF were predictors of aggressive behavior. The model combining these three predictors had an area under the ROC curve of 0.851 (95% CI 0.806-0.895). This study indicates that while circulating Trp is reduced in aggressive individuals, the combination of biological (5-HT/Trp ratio) and psychopathological (antisocial behavior and GAF) markers discriminates between aggressive and non-aggressive behavior suggesting the potential of a multi-marker approach in psychiatry given the heterogenic nature of mental diseases. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Physical Attractiveness in Preschoolers: Relationships with Power, Status, Aggression and Social Skills

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hawley, Patricia H.; Johnson, Sarah E.; Mize, Jennifer A.; McNamara, Kelly A.

2007-01-01

Several lines of theory and research suggest that power (e.g., social dominance) and status (e.g., social prominence and positive peer regard) are enjoyed by those blessed with good looks. The present work addresses the relations among physical attractiveness, power, status, and aggression from a resource control theoretic perspective that…

The Effect of Television-Mediated Aggression and Real-Life Aggression on the Behavior of Lebanese Children.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Day, Richard C.; Ghandour, Maryam

1984-01-01

Investigates the effect of television-mediated aggression and real-life aggression on the behavior of Lebanese children. Observations made of 48 boys and 48 girls six to eight years of age revealed that boys as a group were more aggressive than girls and exhibited more imitative aggression. Girls were more violent after viewing real-life violence.…

Toward a refined view of aggressive fantasy as a risk factor for aggression: interaction effects involving cognitive and situational variables.

PubMed

Smith, Craig E; Fischer, Kurt W; Watson, Malcolm W

2009-01-01

Over three decades of research have established a positive connection between fantasizing about aggression and enacting aggression. Such findings have provided strong evidence against the catharsis view of aggressive fantasy. However, little attention has been paid to the potentially nuanced nature of the link between fantasy aggression and actual aggression. In the present article, we examined the influence of four variables in the aggressive fantasy-aggressive behavior link: gender, exposure to violence, fantasy absorption, and level of fantasy about harm befalling loved ones and the self (dysphoric fantasy). Using data from a diverse, community-based sample of 7-14-year olds and their mothers, we replicated the general finding that aggressive fantasy is positively associated with real-world aggressive behavior. However, we also found that the interaction of aggressive fantasy and exposure to violence related significantly to aggression, as did the relation between aggressive fantasy and dysphoric fantasy. When exposure to violence was low, even high levels of aggressive fantasizing did not predict aggressive behavior, and, when aggressive fantasizing was low, even high levels of exposure to violence did not predict aggressive behavior. Similarly, when dysphoric fantasy was high, the connection between fantasy aggression and real aggression was markedly attenuated. The implications of these findings for intervention efforts and future research are considered. Copyright 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Socialization of Physical and Social Aggression in Early Adolescents' Peer Groups: High-Status Peers, Individual Status, and Gender

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shi, Bing; Xie, Hongling

2012-01-01

The influence of high-status peers on a target individual's physical and manipulative social aggression in peer groups was examined in a diverse sample of seventh-grade students. A total of 245 individual members belonging to 65 groups were included in analyses. Aggression was assessed by peer and victim nominations in the fall and spring…

Terror management and aggression: evidence that mortality salience motivates aggression against worldview-threatening others.

PubMed

McGregor, H A; Lieberman, J D; Greenberg, J; Solomon, S; Arndt, J; Simon, L; Pyszczynski, T

1998-03-01

The hypothesis that mortality salience (MS) motivates aggression against worldview-threatening others was tested in 4 studies. In Study 1, the experimenters induced participants to write about either their own death or a control topic, presented them with a target who either disparaged their political views or did not, and gave them the opportunity to choose the amount of hot sauce the target would have to consume. As predicted, MS participants allocated a particularly large amount of hot sauce to the worldview-threatening target. In Studies 2 and 3, the authors found that following MS induction, the opportunity to express a negative attitude toward the critical target eliminated aggression and the opportunity to aggress against the target eliminated derogation. This suggests that derogation and aggression are two alternative modes of responding to MS that serve the same psychological function. Finally, Study 4 showed that MS did not encourage aggression against a person who allocated unpleasant juice to the participant, supporting the specificity of MS-induced aggression to worldview-threatening others.

The correspondence between the Staff Observation Aggression Scale-Revised and two other indicators for aggressive incidents.

PubMed

Tenneij, Nienke H; Goedhard, Laurette E; Stolker, Joost J; Nijman, Henk; Koot, Hans M

2009-08-01

Previous research has shown good psychometric properties of the Staff Observation Aggression Scale-Revised (SOAS-R). However, it has never been investigated what proportion of aggressive incidents occurring in facilities is documented with the SOAS-R. Furthermore, if incidents are underreported, the consequences for the categorization of clients into aggressive and nonaggressive subgroups based on the SOAS-R are unknown. To examine this, in four inpatient psychiatric facilities for adults with mild intellectual disabilities, aggressive incidents were documented with the SOAS-R and two other indicators of aggressive incidents: the daily staff reports on clients' behavior and reports on of the use of restraints. Less than half of the incidents documented with the staff and restraint reports were also documented with the SOAS-R. On the other way around, however, it was also found that a substantial proportion of incidents reported on SOAS-R forms were not documented in the daily staff reports, which points to a more general problem of underreporting aggressive behavior. Apart from that, categorization of clients into an aggressive and a nonaggressive subgroup with SOAS-R data collected during 1 month or longer corresponded largely with the categorization based on both other indicators. This study showed that underreporting of aggressive incidents is likely to occur with the SOAS-R, making the instrument less suitable to assess absolute aggression incidence in facilities. Still, the SOAS-R seems a good instrument to categorize clients into aggressive and nonaggressive subgroups. Ways to improve the compliance of the ward team to document all aggressive incidents are addressed in the Discussion section of this article.

On the Association Between Self-Reported Own- and Other-Gender Similarity and the Use of Physical and Relational Aggression in Sixth Grade Children.

PubMed

Andrews, Naomi C Z; Martin, Carol Lynn; Gallagher, Annabella M

2016-10-01

The goal was to assess the association between felt similarity to each gender (an aspect of gender identity) and girls' and boys' differential use of relational versus physical aggression. We extend past research on gender differences in the use of aggression by expanding the gender dichotomy and allowing for more variations in an individual's gender identity. Students (N = 414, 47 % female, 6th grade) reported how similar they felt to both their own- and other-gender peers, from which cluster analyses derived four typologies of perceived gender similarity (those who feel similar to their own-gender group; those who feel similar to the other-gender group; those who feel similar to both gender groups; those who feel similar to neither gender group). Peers reported which classmates were relationally and physically aggressive. Analyses compared how girls and boys in each typology of gender similarity differed in their use of relational and physical aggression. Results indicated that most children were engaged in gender normative aggression more than gender non-normative aggression (with the notable exception of low-gender similar girls). Findings were discussed in terms of their importance both for examining a broad spectrum of gender similarity and for understanding the use of aggressive behavior among children.

Is the Television Rating System Valid? Indirect, Verbal, and Physical Aggression in Programs Viewed by Fifth Grade Girls and Associations with Behavior

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Linder, Jennifer Ruh; Gentile, Douglas A.

2009-01-01

This study had two goals: first, to examine the validity of the television rating system for assessing aggression in programs popular among girls; second, to evaluate the importance of inclusion of non-physical forms of aggression in the ratings system by examining associations between television aggression exposure and behavior. Ninety-nine fifth…

Identifying cognitive predictors of reactive and proactive aggression.

PubMed

Brugman, Suzanne; Lobbestael, Jill; Arntz, Arnoud; Cima, Maaike; Schuhmann, Teresa; Dambacher, Franziska; Sack, Alexander T

2015-01-01

The aim of this study was to identify implicit cognitive predictors of aggressive behavior. Specifically, the predictive value of an attentional bias for aggressive stimuli and automatic association of the self and aggression was examined for reactive and proactive aggressive behavior in a non-clinical sample (N = 90). An Emotional Stroop Task was used to measure an attentional bias. With an idiographic Single-Target Implicit Association Test, automatic associations were assessed between words referring to the self (e.g., the participants' name) and words referring to aggression (e.g., fighting). The Taylor Aggression Paradigm (TAP) was used to measure reactive and proactive aggressive behavior. Furthermore, self-reported aggressiveness was assessed with the Reactive Proactive Aggression Questionnaire (RPQ). Results showed that heightened attentional interference for aggressive words significantly predicted more reactive aggression, while lower attentional bias towards aggressive words predicted higher levels of proactive aggression. A stronger self-aggression association resulted in more proactive aggression, but not reactive aggression. Self-reports on aggression did not additionally predict behavioral aggression. This implies that the cognitive tests employed in our study have the potential to discriminate between reactive and proactive aggression. Aggr. Behav. 41:51-64 2015. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

A Two-Week Psychosocial Intervention Reduces Future Aggression and Incarceration in Clinically Aggressive Juvenile Offenders.

PubMed

Kendall, Ashley D; Emerson, Erin M; Hartmann, William E; Zinbarg, Richard E; Donenberg, Geri R

2017-12-01

There is a largely unmet need for evidence-based interventions that reduce future aggression and incarceration in clinically aggressive juvenile offenders serving probation. We addressed this gap using a group randomized controlled trial. Offenders both with and without clinical aggression were included, enabling comparison of intervention effects. Juveniles 13 to 17 years old (N = 310, mean = 16 years, 90% African-American, 66% male) on probation were assigned to a 2-week intervention targeting psychosocial factors implicated in risky behavior (e.g., learning strategies to manage "hot" emotions that prompt risk taking) or to an equally intensive health promotion control. Participants completed aggression measures at baseline, 6-, and 12-month follow-up and reported on incarceration at 12 months. Spline regression tested symptom change. Among clinically aggressive offenders (n = 71), the intervention arm showed significantly greater reductions in aggression over the first 6 months compared with controls. Juveniles from the intervention no longer met clinical criteria, on average, but clinically significant symptoms persisted in the control group. By 12 months, participants from the intervention appeared to maintain treatment gains, but their symptom levels no longer differed significantly from those in the control. However, the intervention group was nearly 4 times less likely than controls to report incarceration. Intervention effects were significantly stronger for offenders with clinical than with nonclinical (n = 239) baseline aggression. A 2-week intervention expedited improvements in aggression and reduced incarceration in clinically aggressive juvenile offenders. The findings underscore the importance of directing intervention resources to the most aggressive youth. Clinical trial registration information-PHAT Life: Preventing HIV/AIDS Among Teens in Juvenile Justice (PHAT Life); http://clinicaltrials.gov/; NCT02647710. Copyright © 2017 American

Brain structures and neurotransmitters regulating aggression in cats: implications for human aggression.

PubMed

Gregg, T R; Siegel, A

2001-01-01

1. Violence and aggression are major public health problems. 2. The authors have used techniques of electrical brain stimulation, anatomical-immunohistochemical techniques, and behavioral pharmacology to investigate the neural systems and circuits underlying aggressive behavior in the cat. 3. The medial hypothalamus and midbrain periaqueductal gray are the most important structures mediating defensive rage behavior, and the perifornical lateral hypothalamus clearly mediates predatory attack behavior. The hippocampus, amygdala, bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, septal area, cingulate gyrus, and prefrontal cortex project to these structures directly or indirectly and thus can modulate the intensity of attack and rage. 4. Evidence suggests that several neurotransmitters facilitate defensive rage within the PAG and medial hypothalamus, including glutamate, Substance P, and cholecystokinin, and that opioid peptides suppress it; these effects usually depend on the subtype of receptor that is activated. 5. A key recent discovery was a GABAergic projection that may underlie the often-observed reciprocally inhibitory relationship between these two forms of aggression. 6. Recently, Substance P has come under scrutiny as a possible key neurotransmitter involved in defensive rage, and the mechanism by which it plays a role in aggression and rage is under investigation. 7. It is hoped that this line of research will provide a better understanding of the neural mechanisms and substrates regulating aggression and rage and thus establish a rational basis for treatment of disorders associated with these forms of aggression.

Aggression and coexistence in female caribou

USGS Publications Warehouse

Weckerly, Floyd W.; Ricca, Mark A.

2014-01-01

Female caribou (Rangifer tarandus) are highly gregarious, yet there has been little study of the behavioral mechanisms that foster coexistence. Quantifying patterns of aggression between male and female, particularly in the only cervid taxa where both sexes grow antlers, should provide insight into these mechanisms. We asked if patterns of aggression by male and female caribou followed the pattern typically noted in other polygynous cervids, in which males display higher frequencies and intensity of aggression. From June to August in 2011 and 2012, we measured the frequency and intensity of aggression across a range of group sizes through focal animal sampling of 170 caribou (64 males and 106 females) on Adak Island in the Aleutian Archipelago, Alaska. Males in same-sex and mixed-sex groups and females in mixed-sex groups had higher frequencies of aggression than females in same-sex groups. Group size did not influence frequency of aggression. Males displayed more intense aggression than females. Frequent aggression in mixed-sex groups probably reflects lower tolerance of males for animals in close proximity. Female caribou were less aggressive and more gregarious than males, as in other polygynous cervid species.

Frontal white matter changes and aggression in methamphetamine dependence.

PubMed

Lederer, Katharina; Fouche, Jean-Paul; Wilson, Don; Stein, Dan J; Uhlmann, Anne

2016-02-01

Chronic methamphetamine (MA) use can lead to white matter (WM) changes and increased levels of aggression. While previous studies have examined WM abnormalities relating to cognitive impairment, associations between WM integrity and aggression in MA dependence remain unclear. Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) was used to investigate WM changes in 40 individuals with MA dependence and 40 matched healthy controls. A region of interest (ROI) approach using tract based spatial statistics (TBSS) in FSL was performed. We compared fractional anisotropy (FA), mean diffusivity (MD), parallel diffusivity (λ║) and perpendicular diffusivity (λ┴) in WM tracts of the frontal brain. A relationship of WM with aggression scores from the Buss & Perry Questionnaire was investigated. Mean scores for anger (p < 0.001), physical aggression (p = 0.032) and total aggression (p = 0.021) were significantly higher in the MA group relative to controls. ROI analysis showed increased MD (U = 439.5, p = 0.001) and λ┴ (U = 561.5, p = 0.021) values in the genu of the corpus callosum, and increased MD (U = 541.5, p = 0.012) values in the right cingulum in MA dependence. None of the WM changes were significantly associated with aggression scores. This study provides evidence of frontal WM changes and increased levels of aggression in individuals with MA dependence. The lack of significant associations between WM and aggressive behaviour may reflect methodological issues in measuring such behaviour, or may indicate that the neurobiology of aggression is not simply correlated with WM damage but is more complex.

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms, Relationship Adjustment, and Relationship Aggression in a Sample of Female Flood Victims

PubMed Central

Monson, Candice M.; Schumm, Jeremiah A.; Watkins, Laura E.; Panuzio, Jillian; Resick, Patricia A.

2010-01-01

This study tested a model examining the interrelationships among posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, intimate relationship adjustment, and intimate relationship aggression in a sample of 205 adult female flood victims. At the bivariate level, higher PTSD symptoms were associated with higher physical and psychological aggression victimization, poorer relationship adjustment, and higher physical and psychological aggression perpetration. Results from structural equation modeling (SEM) analyses indicated that relationship aggression victimization influenced aggression perpetration directly, and in the case of physical aggression, indirectly through its relationship with PTSD symptoms and relationship adjustment. The influence of PTSD symptoms on physical aggression perpetration was fully explained by poorer relationship adjustment. These findings extend prior work from other traumatized populations documenting associations between variables reflecting PTSD symptomatology and indices of relationship functioning, and indicate a need for further investigation in this area of inquiry. PMID:21057584

Men's Aggression toward Women: A 10-Year Panel Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kim, Hyoun K.; Laurent, Heidemarie K.; Capaldi, Deborah M.; Feingold, Alan

2008-01-01

The present study examined the longitudinal course of men's physical and psychological aggression toward a partner across 10 years, using a community sample of young couples (N = 194) from at-risk backgrounds. Findings indicated that men's aggression decreased over time and that women's antisocial behavior and depressive symptoms predicted changes…

Girls' Aggressive Behavior

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Owens, Larry; Shute, Rosalyn; Slee, Phillip

2004-01-01

In contrast to boys' bullying behavior which is often overt and easily visible, girls' aggression is usually indirect and covert. Less research has been conducted on the types of bullying that girls usually engage in. Using focus groups composed of teenaged girls, Dr. Owens and colleagues examine the nature of teenage girls' indirect aggression.

Perceived aggressiveness predicts fighting performance in mixed-martial-arts fighters.

PubMed

Trebicky, Vít; Havlícek, Jan; Roberts, S Craig; Little, Anthony C; Kleisner, Karel

2013-09-01

Accurate assessment of competitive ability is a critical component of contest behavior in animals, and it could be just as important in human competition, particularly in human ancestral populations. Here, we tested the role that facial perception plays in this assessment by investigating the association between both perceived aggressiveness and perceived fighting ability in fighters' faces and their actual fighting success. Perceived aggressiveness was positively associated with the proportion of fights won, after we controlled for the effect of weight, which also independently predicted perceived aggression. In contrast, perception of fighting ability was confounded by weight, and an association between perceived fighting ability and actual fighting success was restricted to heavyweight fighters. Shape regressions revealed that aggressive-looking faces are generally wider and have a broader chin, more prominent eyebrows, and a larger nose than less aggressive-looking faces. Our results indicate that perception of aggressiveness and fighting ability might cue different aspects of success in male-male physical confrontation.

Effects of tryptophan depletion on reactive aggression and aggressive decision-making in young people with ADHD.

PubMed

Kötting, W F; Bubenzer, S; Helmbold, K; Eisert, A; Gaber, T J; Zepf, F D

2013-08-01

The neurotransmitter serotonin (5-HT) has been linked to the underlying biological processes related to aggressive behaviour. However, only a few studies on this subject involving young people have been published so far. We aimed to investigate the effects of acute tryptophan depletion (ATD) on reactive aggression and decision-time for aggressive responses in a sample of young people with Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (n = 20), a population at risk for aggressive behaviour. The study design was a double-blind within-subject crossover design. Aggression was assessed using a Point subtraction aggression game (PSAG) with high (HP) and low provocation (LP) trials 2.5 h after the intake of ATD and a tryptophan-balanced control condition. A chi-square comparison was used to identify the effect of ATD on increased aggression after LP. Boys were more likely to respond with an increased aggressive response after HP under ATD as represented by an increased relative risk and odds ratios. Girls had a higher relative risk than boys of an increased point subtraction under ATD after LP. No significant gender differences in decision-time were detected. An effect of ATD on increased aggression was found in the whole sample after LP. Research involving larger samples is needed to confirm the present preliminary findings. © 2012 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Viewing relational aggression through multiple lenses: temperament, personality, and personality pathology.

PubMed

Tackett, Jennifer L; Kushner, Shauna C; Herzhoff, Kathrin; Smack, Avante J; Reardon, Kathleen W

2014-08-01

Dispositional trait frameworks offer great potential to elucidate the nature and development of psychopathology, including the construct of relational aggression. The present study sought to explore the dispositional context of relational aggression across three dispositional frameworks: temperament, personality, and personality pathology. Participants comprised a large community sample of youth, aged 6 to 18 years (N = 1,188; 51.2% female). Ratings of children's relational aggression, temperament, personality, and personality pathology traits were obtained through parent report (86.3% mothers). Results showed convergence and divergence across these three dispositional frameworks. Like other antisocial behavior subtypes, relational aggression generally showed connections with traits reflecting negative emotionality and poor self-regulation. Relational aggression showed stronger connections with temperament traits than with personality traits, suggesting that temperament frameworks may capture more relationally aggressive content. Findings at the lower order trait level help differentiate relational aggression from other externalizing problems by providing a more nuanced perspective (e.g., both sociability and shyness positively predicted relational aggression). In addition, there was little evidence of moderation of these associations by gender, age, or age2, and findings remained robust even after controlling for physical aggression. Results are discussed in the broader context of conceptualizing relational aggression in an overarching personality-psychopathology framework.

The Social Values of Aggressive-Prosocial Youth.

PubMed

McDonald, Kristina L; Benish-Weisman, Maya; O'Brien, Christopher T; Ungvary, Stephen

2015-12-01

Recent research has identified youth who utilize both aggressive and prosocial behavior with peers. Although the social values and motivations associated with aggression and prosocial behavior have been well studied, the values of youth who utilize both aggression and prosocial behavior are unknown. The current study identified groups of adolescents based on peer nominations of aggression and prosocial behavior from both Israel (n = 569; 56.94% Arab, 43.06% Jewish; 53.78% female) and the United States (n = 342; 67.54% African-American; 32.46% European-American; 50.88% female). Self-enhancement, self-transcendence, openness-to-change, and conservation values predicted behavioral group membership. Power values predicted membership in the aggressive group relative to the aggressive-prosocial, prosocial, and low-both groups. For Israeli boys, openness-to-change values predicted membership in the aggressive-prosocial group relative to the prosocial group. The values of aggressive-prosocial youth were more similar to the values of prosocial peers than to aggressive peers, suggesting that motivational interventions for aggressive-prosocial youth should differ in important ways than those for aggressive youth.

Aggressive and Nonaggressive Children's Moral Judgments and Moral Emotion Attributions in Situations Involving Retaliation and Unprovoked Aggression

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gasser, Luciano; Malti, Tina; Gutzwiller-Helfenfinger, Eveline

2012-01-01

The authors investigated 7- and 9-year-old children's moral understanding of retaliation as compared to unprovoked aggression with regard to their aggressive behavior status. Based on peer ratings, 48 children were selected as overtly aggressive and 91 as nonaggressive. Their moral understanding of retaliation and unprovoked aggression was…

Longitudinal effects of violent video games on aggression in Japan and the United States.

PubMed

Anderson, Craig A; Sakamoto, Akira; Gentile, Douglas A; Ihori, Nobuko; Shibuya, Akiko; Yukawa, Shintaro; Naito, Mayumi; Kobayashi, Kumiko

2008-11-01

Youth worldwide play violent video games many hours per week. Previous research suggests that such exposure can increase physical aggression. We tested whether high exposure to violent video games increases physical aggression over time in both high- (United States) and low- (Japan) violence cultures. We hypothesized that the amount of exposure to violent video games early in a school year would predict changes in physical aggressiveness assessed later in the school year, even after statistically controlling for gender and previous physical aggressiveness. In 3 independent samples, participants' video game habits and physically aggressive behavior tendencies were assessed at 2 points in time, separated by 3 to 6 months. One sample consisted of 181 Japanese junior high students ranging in age from 12 to 15 years. A second Japanese sample consisted of 1050 students ranging in age from 13 to 18 years. The third sample consisted of 364 United States 3rd-, 4th-, and 5th-graders ranging in age from 9 to 12 years. RESULTS. Habitual violent video game play early in the school year predicted later aggression, even after controlling for gender and previous aggressiveness in each sample. Those who played a lot of violent video games became relatively more physically aggressive. Multisample structure equation modeling revealed that this longitudinal effect was of a similar magnitude in the United States and Japan for similar-aged youth and was smaller (but still significant) in the sample that included older youth. These longitudinal results confirm earlier experimental and cross-sectional studies that had suggested that playing violent video games is a significant risk factor for later physically aggressive behavior and that this violent video game effect on youth generalizes across very different cultures. As a whole, the research strongly suggests reducing the exposure of youth to this risk factor.

The Dark Side of Forgiveness: The Tendency to Forgive Predicts Continued Psychological and Physical Aggression in Marriage

PubMed Central

McNulty, James K.

2014-01-01

Despite a burgeoning literature that documents numerous positive implications of forgiveness, scholars know very little about the potential negative implications of forgiveness. In particular, the tendency to express forgiveness may lead offenders to feel free to offend again by removing unwanted consequences for their behavior (e.g., anger, criticism, rejection, loneliness) that would otherwise discourage reoffending. Consistent with this possibility, the current longitudinal study of newlywed couples revealed a positive association between spouses’ reports of their tendencies to express forgiveness to their partners and those partners’ reports of psychological and physical aggression. Specifically, although spouses who reported being relatively more forgiving experienced psychological and physical aggression that remained stable over the first 4 years of marriage, spouses who reported being relatively less forgiving experienced declines in both forms of aggression over time. These findings join just a few others in demonstrating that forgiveness is not a panacea. PMID:21558557

The Aggression-Inhibiting and Aggression-Facilitating Influence of Heightened Sexual Arousal.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Baron, Robert A.; Bell, Paul A.

Eighty-six undergraduate males participated in an experiment designed to investigate the impact of various types of erotic stimuli upon aggression. On the basis of previous research, it was hypothesized that exposure to mild erotic stimuli would tend to inhibit subsequent aggression, while exposure to more arousing stimuli of this type would…

Effect of Psychopathy on Physical Aggression Toward Gay and Heterosexual Men

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Parrott, Dominic J.; Zeichner, Amos

2006-01-01

The purpose of this investigation was to examine the effect of psychopathy on antigay aggression. Participants were 84 heterosexual men who competed in an aggression paradigm in which electric shocks were received from and administered to a randomly determined fictitious opponent (heterosexual male, gay male) during a competitive reaction time…

Neuropsychiatry of Aggression

PubMed Central

Lane, Scott D.; Kjome, Kimberly L.; Moeller, F. Gerard

2010-01-01

Synopsis Aggression is a serious medical problem that can place both the patient and the health care provider at risk. Aggression can result from medical, neurologic and or psychiatric disorders. A comprehensive patient evaluation is needed. Treatment options include pharmacotherapy as well as non-pharmacologic interventions, both need to be individualized to the patient. PMID:21172570

Parenting, relational aggression, and borderline personality features: associations over time in a Russian longitudinal sample.

PubMed

Nelson, David A; Coyne, Sarah M; Swanson, Savannah M; Hart, Craig H; Olsen, Joseph A

2014-08-01

Crick, Murray-Close, and Woods (2005) encouraged the study of relational aggression as a developmental precursor to borderline personality features in children and adolescents. A longitudinal study is needed to more fully explore this association, to contrast potential associations with physical aggression, and to assess generalizability across various cultural contexts. In addition, parenting is of particular interest in the prediction of aggression or borderline personality disorder. Early aggression and parenting experiences may differ in their long-term prediction of aggression or borderline features, which may have important implications for early intervention. The currrent study incorporated a longitudinal sample of preschool children (84 boys, 84 girls) living in intact, two-parent biological households in Voronezh, Russia. Teachers provided ratings of children's relational and physical aggression in preschool. Mothers and fathers also self-reported their engagement in authoritative, authoritarian, permissive, and psychological controlling forms of parenting with their preschooler. A decade later, 70.8% of the original child participants consented to a follow-up study in which they completed self-reports of relational and physical aggression and borderline personality features. The multivariate results of this study showed that preschool relational aggression in girls predicted adolescent relational aggression. Preschool aversive parenting (i.e., authoritarian, permissive, and psychologically controlling forms) significantly predicted aggression and borderline features in adolescent females. For adolescent males, preschool authoritative parenting served as a protective factor against aggression and borderline features, whereas authoritarian parenting was a risk factor for later aggression.

Moderating effects of family environment on the association between children's aggressive beliefs and their aggression trajectories from childhood to adolescence.

PubMed

Andreas, Jasmina Burdzovic; Watson, Malcolm W

2009-01-01

This study explored how children's aggressive beliefs and their family environments combine to influence the development of child aggression from middle childhood into adolescence. We utilized a "variable-centered" empirical approach, specifically examining whether children's aggressive beliefs represent a risk factor for their aggressive behaviors and whether this risk can be moderated by children's family environment. These questions were tested with individual growth modeling, using the data from a community-representative sample of 440 mother-child dyads, interviewed four times over a 6-year study period. The accelerated longitudinal design of the study enabled examination of children's aggression trajectories from age 7 to age 19. The results supported the hypothesis that elevated aggressive beliefs in children represent a risk factor for aggression, as higher aggressive beliefs were associated with greater aggression at the youngest age, as well as with increased aggression over time. However, as hypothesized, family environment moderated this association, such that changes in children's aggression over time were contingent upon the interaction of their aggressive beliefs with family environment. Specifically, aggression was reduced in children with high aggressive beliefs if they experienced better than average family environment, which included less family conflict and more family cohesion.

Reduction of Aggressive Behavior in the School.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Petermann, Ulrike

1988-01-01

Discusses what may be considered aggressive behavior, what motivates aggressive students, and possible teacher responses to aggressive behavior. Describes four points on which teachers can focus to diminish the attractiveness of aggression and ensure that it is not rewarded. Identifies learning activities which provide aggressive students with the…

Aggression Levels in College Students after Exposure or Non-Exposure to an Aggressive Life Experience.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pardeck, John T.; Nolden, Wesley L.

1983-01-01

Examined what types of aggressive behaviors are learned from an individual's social environment in a sample of 14 college students who were Vietnam veterans and 66 non-Vietnam veterans and nonveteran students. Results indicated assault is clearly one aggressive behavior that increases with exposure to aggressive life experience. (JAC)

Role Stress and Aggression among Young Adults: The Moderating Influences of Gender and Adolescent Aggression

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Liu, Ruth X.; Kaplan, Howard B.

2004-01-01

Using data provided by a panel of non-Hispanic white respondents, this study explored whether aggressive response to severe role stress during early adulthood depends on gender and on an adolescent history of aggression. Logistic regression analysis yielded these findings: Men who reported aggression during early adolescence were significantly…

An investigation of the mechanism underlying teacher aggression: Testing I3 theory and the General Aggression Model.

PubMed

Montuoro, Paul; Mainhard, Tim

2017-12-01

Considerable research has investigated the deleterious effects of teachers responding aggressively to students who misbehave, but the mechanism underlying this dysfunctional behaviour remains unknown. This study investigated whether the mechanism underlying teacher aggression follows I 3 theory or General Aggression Model (GAM) metatheory of human aggression. I 3 theory explains exceptional, catastrophic events of human aggression, whereas the GAM explains common human aggression behaviours. A total of 249 Australian teachers participated in this study, including 142 primary school teachers (Mdn [age] = 35-39 years; Mdn [years teaching] = 10-14 years; 84% female) and 107 secondary school teachers (Mdn [age] = 45-49 years; Mdn [years teaching] = 15-19 years; 65% female). Participants completed four online self-report questionnaires, which assessed caregiving responsiveness, trait self-control, misbehaviour provocation, and teacher aggression. Analyses revealed that the GAM most accurately captures the mechanism underlying teacher aggression, with lower caregiving responsiveness appearing to indirectly lead to teacher aggression via higher misbehaviour provocation and lower trait self-control in serial, controlling for gender, age, years teaching, and current role (primary, secondary). This study indicates that teacher aggression proceeds from 'the person in the situation'. Specifically, lower caregiving responsiveness appears to negatively shape a teacher's affective, cognitive, and arousal states, which influence how they perceive and interpret student misbehaviour. These internal states, in turn, appear to negatively influence appraisal and decision processes, leading to immediate appraisal and impulsive actions. These results raise the possibility that teacher aggression is a form of countertransference. © 2017 The British Psychological Society.

The effect of classroom structure on verbal and physical aggression among peers: a short-term longitudinal study.

PubMed

Bergsmann, Evelyn M; Van De Schoot, Rens; Schober, Barbara; Finsterwald, Monika; Spiel, Christiane

2013-04-01

Teachers promote student learning and well-being in school by establishing a supportive classroom structure. The term classroom structure refers to how teachers design tasks, maintain authority, and evaluate student achievement. Although empirical studies have shown the relation of classroom structure to student motivation, achievement, and well-being, no prior investigations have examined the influence of classroom structure on aggression among peers. The present study examined whether a supportive classroom structure has an impact on verbal and physical aggression. At two points in time, data were collected from 1680 students in Grades 5 to 7 using self-report questionnaires. The results of structural equation modeling revealed that a supportive classroom structure at Time 1 was associated with less perpetrated verbal aggression at Time 2, 9months later. This finding has practical relevance for teacher training as well as for aggression prevention and intervention among children. Copyright © 2012 Society for the Study of School Psychology. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Intergroup Biases in Fear-induced Aggression

PubMed Central

Mifune, Nobuhiro; Simunovic, Dora; Yamagishi, Toshio

2017-01-01

Using a recently created preemptive strike game (PSG) with 176 participants, we investigated if the motivations of spite and/or fear promotes aggression that requires a small cost to the aggressor and imposes a larger cost on the opponent, and confirmed the earlier finding that fear does but spite does not promote intergroup aggression when the groups are characterized as minimal groups; additionally, the rate of intergroup aggression did not vary according to the group membership of the opponent. The PSG represents a situation in which both the motivations of spite and of fear can logically drive players to choose an option of aggression against an opponent. Participants decide whether or not to attack another participant, who also has the same capability. The decision is made in real time, using a computer. We discuss theoretical implications of our findings on the evolutionary foundations of intragroup cooperation and intergroup aggression. The evolutionary model of intergroup aggression, or the parochial altruism model, posits that intragroup cooperation and intergroup aggression have co-evolved, and thus it predicts both intragroup cooperation and intergroup aggression to emerge even in a minimal group devoid of a history of intergroup relationships. The finding that only intragroup cooperation but not intergroup aggression emerged in the minimal group experiments strongly suggests that intergroup aggression involves a psychological mechanism that is independent from that of intragroup cooperation. We further discuss the implications of these findings on real-world politics and military strategy. PMID:28174553

False memories for aggressive acts.

PubMed

Laney, Cara; Takarangi, Melanie K T

2013-06-01

Can people develop false memories for committing aggressive acts? How does this process compare to developing false memories for victimhood? In the current research we used a simple false feedback procedure to implant false memories for committing aggressive acts (causing a black eye or spreading malicious gossip) or for victimhood (receiving a black eye). We then compared these false memories to other subjects' true memories for equivalent events. False aggressive memories were all too easy to implant, particularly in the minds of individuals with a proclivity towards aggression. Once implanted, the false memories were indistinguishable from true memories for the same events, on several dimensions, including emotional content. Implications for aggression-related memory more generally as well as false confessions are discussed. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

[Neurochemistry of impulsiveness and aggression].

PubMed

Vetulani, Jerzy

2013-01-01

Aggression is the most frequent social reaction among animals and men, and plays an important role in survival of the fittest. The change of social conditions in the course of development of human civilisation rendered some forms of aggression counter-adaptive, but the neurobiological mechanism of expression of aggression have not fundamentally changed in the last stages of human evolution. The two different kinds of aggression: emotional, serving mainly as a threat, and rational, predatory, serving for the attainment of goal in the most effective way, have different anatomical and neurobiological background and reciprocally inhibit each other. Aggression is modulated by several neurotransmitter and hormonal systems, of which the key role is seemingly played by testosterone, a hormone involved in domination behaviour, and serotonin, whose deficit results in increased impulsiveness.

Does cost-benefit analysis or self-control predict involvement in two forms of aggression?

PubMed

Archer, John; Fernández-Fuertes, Andrés A; Thanzami, Van Lal

2010-01-01

The main aim of this research was to assess the relative association between physical aggression and (1) self-control and (2) cost-benefit assessment, these variables representing the operation of impulsive and reflective processes. Study 1 involved direct and indirect aggression among young Indian men, and Study 2 physical aggression to dating partners among Spanish adolescents. In Study 1, perceived benefits and costs but not self-control were associated with direct aggression at other men, and the association remained when their close association with indirect aggression was controlled. In Study 2, benefits and self-control showed significant and independent associations (positive for benefits, negative for self-control) with physical aggression at other-sex partners. Although being victimized was also correlated in the same direction with self-control and benefits, perpetration and being victimized were highly correlated, and there was no association between being victimized and these variables when perpetration was controlled. These results support the theory that reflective (cost-benefit analyses) processes and impulsive (self-control) processes operate in parallel in affecting aggression. The finding that male adolescents perceived more costs and fewer benefits from physical aggression to a partner than female adolescents did is consistent with findings indicating greater social disapproval of men hitting women than vice versa, rather than with the view that male violence to women is facilitated by internalized patriarchal values. (c) 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Human-directed aggression in the cat.

PubMed