Intergenerational transmission of violence and psychological aggression against wives.

Previous research is not clear on how violence in the family of origin translates into violence and aggression later in life. The author develops and estimates an empirical model in which M. Gottfredson and T. Hirschi's (1990) concept of self-control is specified to mediate the relationship between violence in the family of origin and conjugal psychological aggression. Data generated from the 1975 National Family Violence Survey of 2,143 respondents were used for the study. Psychological aggression was measured with the Conflict Tactics Scale, and self-control was operationalized as a continuous variable. There were 2 dimensions of physical punishment: fathers' and mothers'. Results suggest that fathers' violence is more likely to exert the aggression amplification effect. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Intergenerational transmission of relationship aggression: A prospective longitudinal study.

The present study examined whether physical and verbal aggression in the family of origin were associated with similar patterns of aggression in young adult couples. Hypotheses were tested using a sample of 213 focal individuals who were followed from adolescence to adulthood. Results suggested that aggression in the family when focal participants were adolescents predicted aggression with romantic partners when participants were adults. The association between interparental aggression and later aggression in adult romantic unions was partially mediated through parents' aggression to focal participants when they were adolescents. Both physical and verbal aggression revealed the same pattern of findings. All together, these findings are consistent with a developmental-interactional perspective (Capaldi & Gorman-Smith, 2003) concerning the developmental origins of aggression in intimate relationships. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Dynamics and morality of violence and aggression: Some psychological considerations.

Presents a psychological basis for evaluating aggressive behavior. Issues discussed include: instinctive vs. learned nature of aggression, origins of aggressive drive, the relationship between aggression and masculinity, the effects of inhibition of aggression upon personal adjustment, and the reduction of aggression by nonaggressive means. An examination is also made of how aggression is evaluated by the community at large as it touches on political and nonpolitical contexts. Some of the criteria for making a moral evaluation of a violent act are presented. (47 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Intergenerational transmission of partner violence: A 20-year prospective study.

An unselected sample of 543 children was followed over 20 years to test the independent effects of parenting, exposure to domestic violence between parents (ETDV), maltreatment, adolescent disruptive behavior disorders, and emerging adult substance abuse disorders, (SUDs) on the risk of violence to and from an adult partner. Conduct disorder (CD) was the strongest risk for perpetrating partner violence for both sexes, followed by ETDV, and power assertive punishment. The effect of child abuse was attributable to these 3 risks. ETDV conferred the greatest risk of receiving partner violence; CD increased the odds of receiving partner violence but did not mediate this effect. Child physical abuse and CD in adolescence were strong independent risks for injury to a partner. SUD mediated the effect of adolescent CD on injury to a partner but not on injury by a partner. Prevention implications are highlighted. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Marital psychological and physical aggression and children's mental and physical health: Direct, mediated, and moderated effects.

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

Intergenerational transmission of aggression in romantic relationships: The moderating role of attachment security.

This prospective study used longitudinal, multi-reporter data to examine the influence of parents’ marital relationship functioning on subsequent adolescent romantic relationships. Consistent with Bryant and Conger’s (2002) model for the Development of Early Adult Romantic Relationships (DEARR), we found that interactional styles, more specifically paternal aggression and satisfaction, exhibited in parents’ marital relationship when their adolescents were age 13 were predictive of qualities of the adolescent’s romantic relationships 5 years later. Continuities were domain specific: paternal satisfaction predicted adolescent satisfaction and paternal aggression predicted adolescent aggression. Attachment security moderated the link between paternal aggression and subsequent adolescent aggression, with continuities between negative conflictual styles across relationships reduced for secure adolescents. Results are interpreted as suggesting that attachment may help attenuated the transmission of destructive conflict strategies across generations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Causal analysis in R-R studies: Television violence and aggression.

Comments on the L. D. Eron et al (see record 1973-09034-001) study that suggests a relationship between 8–9 yr old boys' preference for highly violent TV programs and high peer ratings of aggression at that age and 10 yrs later. Such causal analyses in response–response (R–R) studies can lead to a spuriously high level of confidence in a hypothesis and to a failure to appreciate cause-and-effect directionality. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Anger, aggression, and violence in love triangles

This paper presents a longitudinal examination of the effect of employment transitions on the psychological distress of 398 single and 454 married mothers. Our analyses reveal that the effects of employment transitions differ for single and married mothers. Among women who left their jobs during the course of this study, we find a significant increase in distress among single mothers but no change in distress among married mothers. Transitions out of employment among single mothers produce increases in financial strain that result in declines in levels of self-esteem and mastery which, in turn, manifest themselves in higher levels of psychological distress. When we examine the effects of transitions into paid work, there are surprisingly few effects on mothers' levels of distress. For single mothers, taking a job for pay offers no significant reduction in their feelings of distress. Among married mothers, transitions into employment are associated with declines in distress, but these declines are offset by the distressful consequences of increases in caregiving strain. Thus, the effects of employment transitions on distress are a function of the differential impact of changes in stressors and psychosocial resources among single and married mothers as well as variations in the economic context and meanings of employment transitions. Movements into or out of employment do not offer the same opportunities and benefits or engender the same costs for single and married mothers. Our results also highlight the different policy implications that emerge from a consideration of longitudinal as opposed to cross-sectional analyses of these issues.     

Television violence and aggression: A rejoinder.

Replies to the criticisms by L. Friedrich-Cofer and A. C. Huston (see record 1987-09776-001) of the author's literature review (see record 1984-30860-001) on the effect of TV violence on aggression. The present author argues that there are sound reasons for exercising caution in generalizing from laboratory results and that research outside the laboratory provides only weak and inconsistent support for the causal hypothesis. Moreover, it is asserted that the bidirectional model suggested by Friedrich-Cofer and Huston is not supported by the available evidence. (35 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The evolution of a concept: aggression and violence in psychiatric settings

In a series of studies examining aggression and violence by persons with a mental illness, a coercive interactional style emerged as an important predictive variable in hospital settings. This interactive style addresses one issue noted in the literature, the relative effect of personal versus environmental variables, by describing how violent individuals interact with their environment in purposeful ways. The findings from three specific studies are summarized to describe how this interactive style was identified, quantified and documented as a predictor of aggression and violence. It is hoped that this synthesis of research findings will facilitate the application of research to practice settings.     

Intergenerational transfer of psychosocial risk in women with childhood histories of aggression, withdrawal, or aggression and withdrawal

Intergenerational transfer of risk between mothers and children, based on mothers' childhood aggression and social withdrawal, was examined in an inner-city sample. Each of the 3 studies reported involved a subset of the 909 female participants in the Concordia Longitudinal Risk Project, initiated when the participants were of school age. Using medical records, Study 1 (n = 853) focused on prediction of teen motherhood, delivery complications during childbirth, multiparity, and close spacing of births. Study 2 (n = 428) examined pathways to school dropout and teen parenthood. Study 3 (n = 89) involved prediction of observed parent and child behavior from mothers' childhood characteristics. Mothers' childhood aggression was consistently predictive of negative outcomes in each area of intergenerational risk, especially when combined with social withdrawal and low levels of academic achievement. Education was protective: Mothers' years of schooling predicted positive outcomes.     

An examination of variables from a social-developmental model to explain physical and psychological dating violence.

Examined individual difference variables derived from a social-developmental perspective to help explain physical and psychological violence in dating relationships. 110 male and 225 female Ss (aged 25 yrs and older) completed measures of physical and psychological violence, self-esteem, personal power, peer relations, romantic love, and dominance. Self-esteem, personal power and peer relations were variables from the social-developmental model that, with dominance, predicted dating violence. Males were more likely to report receiving violence, females more likely to report inflicting violence. Those participants reporting bidirectional physical violence, both receiving and inflicting physical violence, experienced the most frequent physical and psychological violence. The implications of these findings for understanding the origins and the context of dating violence are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Anti-Semitism, distraction and physical aggression.

Examined the aggressive responses of persons who varied in level of anti-Semitism and who were either distracted or not distracted from an insulter. 34 male undergraduates, chosen as Ss through a questionnaire which included the 10-item Anti-Semitism Scale and the 28-item California F Scale, participated in a paired associate learning task in which their performance was demeaned by a tape recorded series of disparaging remarks presumably given by their peer. Following this, critical Ss either relaxed under conditions where voice and movement cues from their insulter were heard, or Ss observed a film designed to distract them from their insulter. The critical Ss were then requested to teach their peer a paired associate list under conditions in which they administered shock to their partner. Results of the 3 * 2 * 3 repeated measures analysis of variance with 3 levels of anti-Semitism, 2 distraction conditions, and 3 trials indicate that distraction reduced the intensity of shock delivered to the peer. Ss tended to rate themselves as less annoyed and less anxious under distraction conditions. Ss varying in anti-Semitism did not differ in the amount of shock delivered to their partner. The situational demands may have been powerful enough to override the effects of personality differences. 2 interpretations are offered for the finding that the highly prejudiced Ss perceived the shock delivered to their peer as more painful than the less prejudiced Ss: (a) the possibility that this difference reflected the highly prejudiced Ss' lower guilt level for aggressing; and (b) the possibility that the highly prejudiced Ss used different mechanisms to reduce the discomfort engendered by harming another person than those used by their less prejudiced peers. (French summary) (25 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Current understanding of violence and aggression: assessment and treatment

The authors present materials of clinical and hygienic study checking MAC for lead in the air of workplace. The study covered 506 workers of printing, nonferrous metallurgy plants and storage battery production. The study included examination of cardiovascular, nervous, digestive systems and laboratory values and revealed high diagnostic value of serum lead level and low one of urinary lead level. High number of the groups examined and mathematical processing of incomplete selects (Caplan--Meyer assess) proved that intoxication resulted from higher lead concentrations (0.58-0.8 mg/m3). The lead levels of 0.2 mg/m3 in 23.7% of cases induced changes of 2-3 laboratory values-first signs of lead intoxication--and in 5.2% of cases some symptoms of vegetative sensory polyneuropathy were seen. These lead levels are therefore determined as minimally acting. Calculations of probability parameters for health risk helped to set MAC for lead in the air of workplace at 0.05 mg/m3 (this value is accepted by Russian Health Ministry) with mandatory control of serum lead level.     

Television violence and aggression: The debate continues.

Defends the majority consensus in the literature that there is a causal relation between viewing TV violence and aggression. Replies are made to challenges of this consensus by J. L. Freedman (see record 1984-30860-001). It is concluded that the data support a bidirectional causal relation between viewing TV violence and aggression, that the potential threats to the internal and external validity of studies using different methods are not likely to produce a positive bias, and that the findings can be generalized to real-world violence. The available research is placed in a theoretical context encompassing multiple psychological processes and developmental change, and social policy implications are discussed. (48 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Prevalence and stability of physical aggression between spouses: A longitudinal analysis.

Community couples (N?=?272) were assessed in a longitudinal study of early marriage. More women than men reported physically aggressing against their partners at premarriage (44% vs. 31%) and 18 months (36% vs. 27%). At 30 months, men and women did not report significantly different rates of aggression (32% vs. 25%). However, using either the self-report or the partner's report, the prevalence of aggression for both men and women were pushing, shoving, and slapping. Conditional probability analyses indicated that the likelihood of physically aggressing at 30 months given that one had engaged in such aggression before marriage and at 18 months after marriage was .72 for women and .59 for men. Furthermore, 25–30% of the recipients of physical aggression at all three assessment periods were seriously maritally discordant at 30 months. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Television violence and aggression: The causal effect remains.

Replies to criticisms by G. Becker (1972), R. M. Kaplan (1972), and H. Kay (1972) on the article by L. D. Eron et al (see record 1973-09034-001) concerning television violence and aggression. There is no reason to change the conclusion that early exposure to TV violence probably has a causal influence on aggression in males. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Conflict and aggression in couples therapy: a self psychological vantge point

Chimpanzees and capuchins demonstrate greater varieties and higher rates of tool-use when compared to other non-human primates. Although capuchins have been studied extensively in captivity, data on their tool-using behavior under free-ranging conditions are limited. This is the first long-term field research to systematically study complex object manipulation in capuchins. The aims of this research are 1) to examine the types, rates, and contexts of tool- and object-use in free-ranging capuchins and 2) to determine if free-ranging capuchins' object manipulation behavior is comparable to the behavior exhibited by captive individuals. Data on 3 troops of white-faced capuchins (Cebus capucinus) were collected from February 1995 to January 1996 at Palo Verde, Costa Rica. Data were collected using focal animal and ad libitum sampling techniques. Any observed incident of tool-use and object-use was recorded. No tool-use was observed during the 11-month study. Object-use (pound, rub, and fulcrum-use) occurred at a rate of 0.19/hr and made up less than 1% of the monkeys' time (there were no differences among the age/sex classes). The results indicate that free-ranging capuchins do not exhibit the range of tool-using behavior demonstrated by their captive counterparts. This may be the result of differential motivational responses to objects, arboreal lifestyle, absence of adequate tool material, and/or absence of food resources that require extraction involving tool-use.     

De-escalation in the management of aggression and violence

De-escalation has historically been viewed by nurses as an intuitive process. This paper argues that de-escalation can be explained by reference to theory and an exposition of practice skills, and refutes the intuitive position by proposing that de-escalation can be understood as an interactive process with discrete identifiable components.     

Parent–child interaction, television violence, and aggression of children.

Summarized and integrated results of 2 large-scale longitudinal studies (L. D. Eron, see PA, Vol 38:2452; Eron et al, in press). The relationship between TV violence and aggression in Ss was corroborated in 2 different geographical areas of the US and was found to hold for both boys and girls. The causal effect is circular, with TV violence affecting S's aggression and aggressive Ss watching more violent TV. Contributing increments to a S's level of overt aggression were popularity, intellectual ability, aggressive fantasy, extent of physical punishment, rejection by parents, and the tendency of parents to endorse attitudes and behaviors often seen in sociopathic individuals. It is shown that it is possible to intervene to attenuate the relationship between TV violence and aggression with simple tuitional procedures that supercede the influence of the parent variables studied. Important intervening variables in the TV violence–aggression relationship are S's identification with aggressive characters and the extent to which S believes TV portrays reality. (23 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)