Cognitive mediators of aggression in adolescent offenders: I. Assessment.

The role of cognitive mediators in identifying differences in aggression was examined. Male and female adolescents incarcerated for antisocial aggression offenses and high-school students rated as either high or low in aggression were compared in terms of two sets of cognitive mediators: skills in solving social problems and beliefs supporting aggression. Antisocial-aggressive individuals were most likely (and low-aggressive individuals were least likely) to solve social problems by: defining problems in hostile ways; adopting hostile goals; seeking few additional facts; generating few alternative solutions; anticipating few consequences for aggression; and choosing few "best" and "second best" solutions that were rated as "effective." Antisocial-aggressive individuals were also most likely to hold a set of beliefs supporting the use of aggression, including beliefs that aggression: is a legitimate response; increases self-esteem; helps avoid a negative image; and does not lead to suffering by the victim. The ways in which these findings further elaborate a model of social-cognitive development and extend it to antisocial-aggressive adolescents are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Moral reasoning and judgments of aggression.

Examined the role of type of aggression, aggressor intentions, victim consequences, and stage of moral reasoning in the judgments of aggressive acts. 346 high school and college students who scored at Stages 2, 3, or 4 in L. Kohlberg's (1976) moral reasoning system read physical, verbal, or passive aggression scenarios in which the aggressor's intentions were harmful, instrumental, or altruistic and in which the victim's consequences were good or bad. Results indicate that each variable influenced ratings of aggression independently and that type of aggression and stage of moral reasoning interacted with aggressor intentions to influence the ratings. Similar results were found on ratings of inappropriateness. Victim consequences had a strong but independent influence on ratings of both aggressiveness and inappropriateness. It is concluded that stages of moral reasoning in adolescent and adult populations are important when considering judgments of aggression and that the Kohlberg framework can be usefully applied to these types of judgments. (47 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Aggression and hostility in substance abusers: the relationship to abuse patterns, coping style, and relapse triggers

A cohort of 3,367 substance abusers seeking treatment were administered measures of aggression and hostility including the Buss-Durkee Hostility Inventory and the NEO Personality Inventory Hostility Scale. Polysubstance abusers scored significantly higher on all measures of hostility and aggression, regardless of whether they abused cocaine or not. Subjects scoring higher on aggression and hostility utilized escape-avoidance, distancing, and confrontational coping styles more regularly. Subjects scoring higher on measures of aggression and hostility reported more situations that triggered their use of substances and less confidence that they could resist using when faced with such situations in the future. This was especially true for situations involving unpleasant internal states, situations involving rejection, and situations involving conflict with family and friends. The implications of these findings for clinical assessment and treatment planning are discussed.     

Workplace aggression in teenage part-time employees.

Among adult employees, interpersonal injustice and abusive supervision predict aggression toward supervisors at work. The aim of this study was to assess whether similar relationships exist among teenage employees and, further, whether teenagers' reasons for working moderate these relationships. Multiple regression analyses on data from 119 teenage employees showed that financial and personal fulfillment reasons for working moderate the impact of interpersonal injustice and abusive supervision on aggression directed at workplace supervisors. These findings contribute to the understanding of workplace aggression by demonstrating that (a) teenagers engage in this workplace behavior, (b) the predictors are similar to those of adult aggression, and (c) reasons for working play a moderating role among this particular cohort. The possible long-term consequences of teenagers' use of aggression at work are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Predictors and outcomes of workplace violence and aggression.

The authors developed and assessed the psychometric properties of an instrument measuring risk for workplace violence and expanded a model linking (a) risk and experience of violence and aggression from the public and (b) experience of aggression from coworkers to emotional well-being, psychosomatic well-being, affective commitment, and turnover intentions. Using data from 254 employees representing 71 different occupations, the measure demonstrated acceptable within-occupation and 1-month test-retest reliability. The data supported the model and showed that public-initiated violence and aggression and coworker-initiated aggression were differentially associated with personal and organizational outcomes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Predicting and preventing supervisory workplace aggression.

The authors examined factors that lead to and prevent aggression toward supervisors at work using two samples: doctoral students and correctional service guards. The results supported that perceived interpersonal injustice mediates the relationship between perceptions of supervisory control over work performance and psychological aggression directed at supervisors, and further that psychological aggression toward supervisors is positively associated with physical acts of aggression directed at supervisors, supporting the notion of an escalation of aggressive workplace behaviors. Moreover, employees' perceptions of organizational sanctions (i.e., negative consequences for disobeying organizational policies) against aggression appear to play an important role in the prevention of workplace aggression by moderating the relationship between injustice and aggression targeting supervisors. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Intrapersonal and maternal correlates of aggression, conflict, and externalizing problems in toddlers

Research has shown that 2-year-olds engage in peer-directed aggression and initiation of conflict. However, there has been little consideration of the factors associated with variability in toddlers' aggression. One hundred and four toddlers (52 females) were observed for 35 min of free play with a same-sex peer, with both mothers present. Experience in early out-of-home care was not related to aggression. Toddlers' observed and mother-rated dysregulated temperament, and mothers' use of warmth and negative dominance during interactions with their children, were used to predict toddlers' aggression and maternal ratings of externalizing difficulties. Boys were observed to be more aggressive than girls. Regression analyses showed that, after controlling for main effects, the interaction of child gender, temperament, and maternal negative dominance predicted both outcomes. Observed aggression and mother-reported externalizing problems were associated significantly with dysregulated temperament only for boys with mothers who demonstrated relatively high levels of negative dominance.     

Psychometric properties of family members' reports of parental physical aggression toward clinic-referred children.

This study examined (a) differences among mothers', fathers', and children's reports of parental physical aggression toward children; (b) the reliability and validity of family members' reports of aggression using confirmatory factor analysis; and (c) the discriminant validity of the construct of mother–child and father–child aggression. Participants were 72 dual-parent families in which the parents were seeking clinical services for their children's (ages 7–9 years) conduct behavior problems. Each participant completed the parent–child version of the Conflict Tactics Scale (P-CTS). Results indicate that children reported lower levels of mother–child and father–child aggression than either mothers or fathers reported. Although the reliability (total systematic variance accounted for by observed variables) of family members' reports on the P-CTS ranged from moderate to high, convergent validity was generally low. The constructs of mother–child and father–child aggression were highly correlated but could be distinguished from each other when relationships among rater effects were considered. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Toward a relationship perspective on aggression among schoolchildren: Integrating social cognitive and interdependence theories.

The traditional psychological approach of studying aggression among schoolchildren in terms of individual differences in aggression and in victimization has been valuable in identifying prevalence rates, risk, and consequences of involvement in aggression. However, it is argued that a focus on aggressor–victim relationships is warranted based on both conceptual and empirical grounds. Such a shift in focus requires modification and integration of existing theories of aggression, and this paper integrates social-cognitive theory and interdependence theory to suggest a new, interdependent social-cognitive theory of aggression. Specifically, this paper identifies points of overlap and different foci between these theories, and it illustrates their integration through a proposed model of the emergence of aggressor–victim interactions and relationships. The paper concludes that expanding consideration to include aggressor–victim relationships among schoolchildren offers considerable theoretical, empirical, and intervention opportunities. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Precipitants of partner aggression.

Self-reported precipitants of psychological and physical partner aggression were examined in a community sample of 453 cohabiting couples with 3- to 7-year-old children. Partners precipitated most partner aggression. Men, but not maritally discordant men, were more likely than women to cite physical partner aggression as the precipitant of their own aggression. Women, including maritally discordant women, were more likely to endorse partner verbal than partner physical aggression as a precipitant for their own mild physical aggression, which is consistent with women's aggression escalation. Nonaggressive partner precipitants were common and deserve future research attention. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The displaced aggression questionnaire.

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. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Pathways from proactive and reactive aggression to substance use.

Childhood aggression is a known risk factor for adolescent substance use; however, aggression is a complex construct, and developmental researchers have identified a variety of subdimensions that may be germane to substance use. Very little research has examined risk pathways from subdimensions of aggression. The current study examined a developmental model and tested whether childhood proactive aggression, reactive aggression, or both were related to the development of substance use in adolescence in a sample of 126 children (mean age at initial assessment = 10.4 years, SD = 0.51). Peer rejection and peer delinquency were examined as potential mediators of these relations. The findings suggest that proactive aggression was indirectly associated with substance use through peer delinquency. Reactive aggression was also indirectly associated with substance use through a complex mediational chain, such that high levels of reactive aggression were associated with high levels of peer rejection, which in turn were associated with peer delinquency (p = .06), which subsequently predicted substance use. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The kinship, acceptance, and rejection model of altruism and aggression (KARMAA): Implications for interpersonal and intergroup aggression.

Although evolutionary perspectives such as the inclusive fitness theory (Hamilton, 1964) have made unique contributions to explaining human altruism, their implications for interpersonal and intergroup aggression have remained largely overlooked. It is advanced that many of the same kin-based psychological mechanisms that promote altruism and prosocial behavior can be used in a similar fashion to promote or deter aggression and antisocial behavior. On the basis of a conceptual framework that incorporates evolutionary and social psychological constructs, a kinship, acceptance, and rejection model of altruism and aggression (KARMAA) is proposed. The KARMAA bridges the conceptual gap between human altruism and aggression, unites altruism and aggression under the common rubric of evolutionary psychology, and incorporates two key proximal constructs--social acceptance and rejection--that mediate the direct links between kinship cues and altruism, and between kinship insults and aggression, respectively. A critical review of the extant empirical literature supports the proposed links that comprise the KARMAA. The limitations of the KARMAA, as well as its broader implications for researching interpersonal and intergroup aggression, are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Predicting workplace aggression: A meta-analysis.

The authors conducted a meta-analysis of 57 empirical studies (59 samples) concerning enacted workplace aggression to answer 3 research questions. First, what are the individual and situational predictors of interpersonal and organizational aggression? Second, within interpersonal aggression, are there different predictors of supervisor- and coworker-targeted aggression? Third, what are the relative contributions of individual (i.e., trait anger, negative affectivity, and biological sex) and situational (i.e., injustice, job dissatisfaction, interpersonal conflict, situational constraints, and poor leadership) factors in explaining interpersonal and organizational aggression? Results show that both individual and situational factors predict aggression and that the pattern of predictors is target specific. Implications for future research are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Low-level relationship aggression and couple therapy outcomes.

Increasing evidence supports the efficacy of conjoint therapies that focus on intimate partner violence for couples who engage in mild to moderate physical aggression but want to preserve the relationship and end the aggression. However, there has been no examination of how this population responds to couple therapy that does not have a specific focus on aggression. This lacuna in the research literature is of concern because couples with a history of low-level aggression often seek couple therapy, but couple therapy without a focus on violence is thought to potentially exacerbate aggression. In the current study, the authors examined the efficacy of non-aggression-focused behavioral couple therapy for couples with and without a history of mild physical aggression. One hundred thirty-four couples, 45% of whom had experienced low-level aggression in the year prior to therapy, completed up to 26 sessions of couple therapy and 2 years of follow-up assessments. Results demonstrated no significant differences in relationship and individual outcomes by history of aggression. In addition, couples maintained very low levels of physical aggression during and after treatment and showed reductions in psychological aggression when relationship and individual functioning improved. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reducing the adverse consequences of workplace aggression and violence: The buffering effects of organizational support.

This study examined the buffering effects of 2 types of organizational support--instrumental and informational--on the relationships between workplace violence/aggression and both personal and organizational outcomes. Based on data from 225 employees in a health care setting, a series of moderated multiple regression analyses demonstrated that organizational support moderated the effects of physical violence, vicariously experienced violence, and psychological aggression on emotional well-being, somatic health, and job-related affect, but not on fear of future workplace violence and job neglect. These findings have implications for both research and intervention related to workplace violence. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Current directions in research on understanding and preventing intoxicated aggression

The present paper describes promising research directions that emerged from a recent international conference on intoxication and aggression and from the scientific literature generally. In this overview, intoxicated aggression is seen as arising from an interactional process involving multiple contributing factors or causes. This model helps to define research directions that can further understanding and prevention. First, the societal/cultural framing of intoxication and aggression exerts a powerful influence on drinking behaviour and needs to be better understood. Another important area for research is the moderating role on alcohol-related aggression of personal factors such as predisposition to aggression and individual differences in expectations about alcohol and aggression. Research on the role of basic pharmacological effects of alcohol in increasing the likelihood of aggressive behaviour is also a critical aspect of understanding intoxicated aggression. Drinking contexts and environments play a considerable role in the relationship between intoxication and aggressive behaviour and need to be better understood. Another critical direction for future research is the study of intoxicated aggression as a process involving the interaction of the person, the situation and the effects of alcohol in natural and experimental settings. Finally, the paper highlights promising directions for research on interventions to prevent intoxicated aggression and violence.     

Mitigating circumstance information, censure, and aggression.

100 male undergraduates received 1 of 2 levels of mitigating circumstance information either before or after being insulted or not insulted by a co-worker. Ss were then provided with an opportunity ostensibly to deliver aversive noise to the co-worker under either high or low social-censure conditions. Heart-rate data and self-report measures revealed that Ss who learned of mitigating circumstance information before being provoked exhibited smaller increases in physiological arousal and reported less annoyance than did those who learned of mitigating circumstance information after insult. Aggression data showed that angered Ss evaluated their provoker more favorably and retaliated less when they learned of mitigation before rather than after being insulted. Findings support attribution theory assumptions that mitigating circumstance information known before the provoking incident influences the individual's interpretation of harm, thereby reducing anger and the instigation to aggression. The reduced impact of information on aggression that is acquired after provocation may reflect the provoked individual's shift of attention from cues surrounding harm to a consideration of inhibitory factors for aggression. (22 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Intervening variables in the TV violence–aggression relation: Evidence from two countries.

758 children in the US and 220 children in Finland were interviewed and tested in each of 3 yrs in an overlapping longitudinal design covering Grades 1–5. Parents of 591 US Ss and 193 Finnish Ss were also interviewed. For girls in the US and boys in both countries, TV violence viewing was significantly related to concurrent aggression and significantly predicted future changes in aggression. The strength of the relation depended as much on the frequency with which violence was viewed as on the extent of the violence. For boys, the effect was exacerbated by the degree to which the boy identified with TV characters. Path analyses suggested a bidirectional causal effect in which violence viewing engendered aggression, and aggression engendered violence viewing. No evidence was found that those Ss predisposed to aggression or those with aggressive parents were affected more by TV violence. However, a number of other variables (e.g., strong identification with aggressive characters) were correlates of aggression and violence viewing. A multiprocess model in which violence viewing and aggression affect each other and, in turn, are stimulated by related variables is used to explain the findings. (74 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)