Intellectual functioning and aggression.

In a 22-year study, data were collected on aggressiveness and intellectual functioning in more than 600 subjects, their parents, and their children. Both aggression and intellectual functioning are reasonably stable in a subject's lifetime and perpetuate themselves across generations and within marriage pairs. Aggression in childhood was shown to interfere with the development of intellectual functioning and to be predictive of poorer intellectual achievement as an adult. Early IQ was related to early subject aggression but did not predict changes in aggression after age 8. Differences between early IQ and intellectual achievement in middle adulthood were predictable from early aggressive behavior. A dual-process model was offered to explain the relation between intellectual functioning and aggressive behavior. We hypothesized that low intelligence makes the learning of aggressive responses more likely at an early age, and this aggressive behavior makes continued intellectual development more difficult. (42 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Aggressive behavior among Israeli elementary school students and associated emotional/behavioral problems and self-control.

This study aimed to identify aggression patterns among students, compare teachers' and students' reports on aggressiveness, and examine whether emotional and behavioral problems and self-control intercorrelate with aggression and can explain it among students. The study investigated 363 students aged 8 to 11 years and their 12 homeroom teachers in two elementary schools in central Israel. As expected, students reported higher verbal aggression than physical without gender differences in the general tendency. Also, students reported a higher rate of others' aggression toward them than their own aggression toward others. Similarities emerged between students' and teachers' reports. Four types of students were classified: the aggressive initiator (proactive), the aggressive responder (reactive), the passive victim, and a neutral type. An important outcome was the significant negative association of aggressiveness with self-control. Students with higher rates of self-control skills presented lower rates of aggressive behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Interparental Conflict and Adolescent Dating Relationships: Integrating Cognitive, Emotional, and Peer Influences.

This study investigated the ways in which exposure to interparental conflict may affect adolescent dating relationships in a sample of 391 adolescents ages 14 to 18 years. Boys exposed to greater parental discord were more likely to view aggression as justifiable in a romantic relationship, had more difficulty managing anger, and believed that aggressive behavior was more common in their peers' dating relationships. Each of these variables in turn linked witnessing interparental conflict to higher levels of verbal and physical aggression toward their own romantic partners. Interparental conflict was not related to girls' aggressive behavior. These data support the value of targeting cognitive and emotional processes in prevention programs designed to reduce dating violence and suggest that such programs will be strengthened by focusing on peer influences as well. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Physically aggressive boys from ages 6 to 12: Family background, parenting behavior, and prediction of delinquency.

Boys from low socioeconomic environments were rated on physical aggression at ages 6, 10, 11, and 12 yrs by teachers and classified according to stability of fighting over time: stable high fighters, high fighters with late onset, desisting high fighters, variable high fighters, and nonfighters. The fighter groups differed from each other both in family background and parenting behavior. They were also significantly associated with delinquency across ages 10 to 14 yrs. A stepwise logistic regression with fighter groups, family adversity index, and parenting behavior variables as predictors showed that the Punishment?×?Fighter Group interaction, together with supervision, predicted self-reported delinquency. The study thus showed that the developmental pathways of physically aggressive behavior for boys in low socioeconomic environments were related to familial adversity and poor parenting, and that they predicted delinquency. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Stability of aggressive reaction patterns in males: A review.

Reviews 16 studies on the stability of aggressive behavior and reaction patterns. There is great variation among the studies in sample composition, definition of variables, method of data collection, and the ages and intervals studied. Generally, the size of a (disattenuated) stability coefficient tends to decrease linearly as the interval between the 2 times of measurement (T?–T?) increases. Furthermore, the degree of stability can be broadly described as a positive linear function of the interval covered and the S's age at the time of first measurement, expressed in the age ratio T?/T?. The degree of stability that exists in the area of aggression was found to be quite substantial; it was, in fact, not much lower than the stability typically found in the domain of intelligence testing. Marked individual differences in habitual aggression level manifest themselves early in life, certainly by the age of 3. It is generally concluded that (a) the degree of longitudinal consistency in aggressive behavior patterns is much greater than has been maintained by proponents of a behavioral specificity position, and (b) important determinants of the observed longitudinal consistency are to be found in relatively stable, individual-differentiating reaction tendencies or motive systems (personality variables) within individuals. (56 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Observations of Aggressive Children During Peer Provocation and With a Best Friend.

Observational methods were used to examine aggressive children's peer relations in 2 contexts: when being teased by a peer and when interacting with a best friend. Because aggressive children may have more difficulty than nonaggressive children in both peer contexts, the authors also examined whether relations between behaviors across contexts varied as a function of aggression. Results indicated that aggression was related to children's behavior when provoked. Children's behavior when provoked was associated with fewer positive and more negative interactions with their best friend, particularly for aggressive children. Results are discussed with respect to social norms in middle childhood and informing interventions for aggressive children. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Family interaction as antecedent to the direction of male aggressiveness.

In a longitudinal study of antisocial aggressiveness in males, reports on direct observation of behavior in childhood and early adolescence were used to rate general level of aggressiveness. Criminal records were used to ascertain antisocial behavior during adolescence and adulthood. To distinguish between conditions which contribute to socialized aggressiveness and those which direct aggression into antisocial channels, the family backgrounds of men who had been equally aggressive in childhood were compared. The results suggest that extreme neglect and punitiveness, coupled with a deviant-aggressive paternal model produces antisocial aggressiveness. In contrast (thought not contradiction), moderate neglect, moderate punitiveness, and ineffective controls produce socialized aggressiveness. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Antecedents and consequences of boys' depression and aggression: Family and school linkages.

This study, conducted with 246 mothers and sons, examined the influences of change in marital conflict and mother–son aggression on boys' aggression and depression and how boys' aggression and depression contributed to their being disliked by their peers. There was also interest in how boys' family and peer experiences contributed to their subsequent behavior. Boys who experienced increases in marital conflict were more depressed, whereas boys who experienced negative interactions with their mothers were more aggressive. Boys who were either depressed or aggressive were more disliked by their peers, and being disliked was associated with aggressive behavior subsequently. However, being depressed appeared to attenuate the negative effect of being disliked by one's peers. The association between boys' earlier aggression and their subsequent aggression with their peers was mediated by dislike by their peers. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Male-male and male-female aggression may influence mating associations in wild octopuses (Abdopus aculeatus).

Abdopus aculeatus engages in frequent aggression and copulation, exhibits male mate-choice, and employs multiple mating tactics. Here we draw upon established hypotheses to compare male–male aggression (MMA) and male–female aggression (MFA), as they relate to their mating behavior in the wild. When contesting for females, males appear to balance mate preference (resource value) with perceived chances of winning contests (resource holding potential). Although males spent more time mating with and contesting for large “Adjacent Guarded” females (those occupying a den within arm’s reach of a large “Adjacent Guarding” male), they exhibited higher rates of aggression over nonadjacent “Temporarily Guarded” females that may be more accessible. The major determinant of male?male aggressive success was size, and this factor may dictate the expression of conditional mating tactics in males. “Adjacent Guarding” males were the largest and most aggressively successful males, earning the most time copulating with females. They are considered to have the highest resource holding potential (RHP) in MMA. By contrast, in MFA, some larger individuals fled from smaller individuals, indicating that RHP appears to be a function of both size and sex in intersexual aggression. This result suggests variation in aggressiveness, or potential for severe injury—even sexual cannibalism during MFA. Male–female aggression may also be influenced by the sexual nonreceptivity of some individuals, or attempts by both sexes to increase foraging behavior by delaying mate-guarding activity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Gender and aggressive behavior: A meta-analytic review of the social psychological literature.

Reviewed sex differences in aggressive behavior, using 63 studies (appended) reported in the social psychological literature, and found that although men were somewhat more aggressive than women on the average, sex differences were inconsistent across studies. The magnitude of the sex differences was significantly related to various attributes of the studies. In particular, the tendency for men to aggress more than women was more pronounced for aggression that produced pain or physical injury than for aggression that produced psychological or social harm. In addition, sex differences in aggressive behavior were larger to the extent that women, more than men, perceived that enacting a behavior would produce harm to the target, guilt and anxiety in oneself, as well as danger to oneself. It is suggested that aggression sex differences are a function of perceived consequences of aggression that are learned as aspects of gender roles and other social roles. (96 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relational aggression, gender, and peer acceptance: Invariance across culture, stability over time, and concordance among informants.

It has been proposed that overt physical and verbal aggression are more prevalent among boys and that covert aggression in the context of interpersonal relationships is more typical of girls. The purpose of this study was to replicate and extend American research on this topic to Italy. Italian elementary school pupils (n?=?314) and their teachers provided nominations for aggression and prosocial behavior on 2 occasions within a single school year. Both peer and teacher nominations were highly stable, though there was very poor concordance between them. Peer nominations for both overt and relational aggression were linked to peer rejection. Contrary to expectations, boys scored higher than girls in both overt and relational aggression. Nevertheless, on the basis of the gender composition of extreme groups, the authors conclude that the distinction between overt and relational aggression is as useful in facilitating research on aggressiveness among girls in Italy as it is in the United States. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

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

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

Mediators of aggression among young adult offspring of depressed mothers.

The current article explores the connection between maternal depression and offspring aggression during the transition to adulthood, expanding the scope of prior research on this topic. Both family-level factors (including parent–child relationship quality and maternal romantic relationship quality) and youth factors (including depression history and social functioning in midadolescence) were tested as potential mediators in a longitudinal community sample of 710 youth at ages 15 and 20. The results suggest that maternal depression confers a risk for higher levels of aggressive behavior by offspring at age 20. Structural equation models suggested that the association between maternal depression and youth aggression is fully mediated by youth history of depression by midadolescence, even when accounting for the stability of aggression between ages 15 and 20. Parent–child relationship quality, youth social functioning, and maternal relationship quality were not unique mediators of this association. Limitations and implications are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The relationships between overt and fantasy aggression.

The interrelationships among aggressive needs, anticipation of punishment, and overt aggressive behavior in 29 lower-class boys were investigated in this study. Three hypotheses were tested: 1) among lower class boys, those having a relatively great amount of fantasy aggressive needs indulge in more overt aggressive behavior than those who have relatively few aggressive fantasy needs; 2) Ss whose TAT stories included a great deal of punishment press relative to the number of their aggressive needs demonstrate less overt aggression than Ss whose ratios of punishment press to aggressive needs are low; and 3) Those with low punishment press/aggressive fantasy ratio show more aggression in their behavior than those with high P/A ratio. All three hypotheses were supported by the data. (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.     

Early androgen effects on aggression in children and adults with congenital adrenal hyperplasia

Males are more likely than females to show aggressive behavior across species, ages, and situations, and these differences may be partly influenced by early hormones. We studied aggression in three samples of subjects with congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH), who were exposed to high levels of androgen in the prenatal and early postnatal periods. Controls were siblings and first cousins similar in age. In Sample 1, adolescents and adults completed the Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire (MPQ), which includes an Aggression scale. In Sample 2, adolescents and adults completed the MPQ and a paper-and-pencil version of Reinisch's Aggression Inventory. In Sample 3, parents rated the aggression of children aged 3-12, using a modification of Reinisch's Inventory. In all three samples, control males had higher aggression scores than control females. Further, as predicted, females with CAH had higher aggression than control females, but the difference was significant only in adolescents and adults. These results suggest that early androgens contribute to variability in human aggression.     

Personality and aggressive behavior under provoking and neutral conditions: A meta-analytic review.

The authors conducted a comprehensive review to understand the relation between personality and aggressive behavior, under provoking and nonprovoking conditions. The qualitative review revealed that some personality variables influenced aggressive behavior under both neutral and provocation conditions, whereas others influenced aggressive behavior only under provocation. Studies that assessed personality variables and that directly measured aggressive behavior were included in the quantitative review. Analyses revealed that trait aggressiveness and trait irritability influenced aggressive behavior under both provoking and neutral conditions but that other personality variables (e.g., trait anger, Type A personality, dissipation-rumination) influenced aggressive behavior only under provoking conditions. The authors discuss possible relations between these patterns of aggressive behavior and the personality dimensions of Agreeableness and Neuroticism and consider implications for theories of aggression. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Physical aggression in unmarried relationships: The roles of commitment and constraints.

Using commitment theory, the present study explored longitudinal associations between physical aggression and various aspects of commitment and relationship stability. Participants (N = 1,278) were unmarried adults between the ages of 18 and 35 who were in a heterosexual romantic relationship at the time of the initial assessment. Of these, 51.6% reported never experiencing physical aggression in their current relationship, 12.8% reported experiencing physical aggression in the past, but not in the last year, and 35.6% reported experiencing physical aggression in the last year. As hypothesized, those who had experienced aggression in the last year were more likely to have broken up 1 year later. They also generally reported lower levels of dedication and higher levels of constraint commitment compared with those with no history of physical aggression. Among those who had experienced aggression in the last year, constraints and other commitment-related variables explained more about who broke up over time than did relationship adjustment alone, indicating the importance of measuring commitment constructs in future research about which aggressive couples are most likely to end their relationships. Clinical implications of these results are discussed, particularly in regard to preventive relationship education programs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perceptions of parenting as predictors of boys' sibling and peer relations

This study included 71 target boys (8 to 10 years), their siblings, and mothers to examine the relations among mothering, fathering, sibling aggression, and peer outcomes. Siblings whose mothers were known to be more rejecting were observed and reported to be more aggressive with one another than siblings whose mothers were less rejecting. Moreover, boys who experienced more aggressive sibling interactions were more likely to be nominated by their peers as being aggressive and were less accepted by their peers. Although fathering failed to evince a direct influence on sibling aggression, an indirect effect was evidenced in that less accepting fathering related to more rejecting mothering. It appeared that boys' aggressive experiences with their siblings mediated, in part, the association between maternal rejection and their peer aggression and that peer aggression was a mediating link between sibling aggression and boys' acceptance by their peers.     

The dyadic nature of social information processing in boys' reactive and proactive aggression.

The correlation between boys' social cognitions and their aggressive behavior toward peers was examined as being actor driven, partner driven, or dyadic relationship driven. Eleven groups of 6 familiar boys each (N?=?165 dyads) met for 5 consecutive days to participate in play sessions and social-cognitive interviews. With a variance partitioning procedure, boys' social-cognitive processes were found to vary reliably across their dyadic relationships. Furthermore, mixed models regression analyses indicated that hostile attributional biases toward a particular peer were related to directly observed reactive aggression toward that peer even after controlling for actor and partner effects, suggesting that these phenomena are dyadic or relationship oriented. On the other hand, the relation between outcome expectancies for aggression and the display of proactive aggression appeared to be more actor driven and partner driven that dyadic. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)