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PubMed2000

Normative influences on aggression in urban elementary school classrooms.

We report a study aimed at understanding the effects of classroom normative influences on individual aggressive behavior, using samples of 614 and 427 urban elementary school children. Participants were assessed with measures of aggressive behavior and normative beliefs about aggression. We tested hypotheses related to the effects of personal normative beliefs, descriptive classroom norms (the central tendency of classmates' aggressive behavior), injunctive classroom normative beliefs (classmates' beliefs about the acceptability of aggression), and norm salience (student and teacher sanctions against aggression) on longitudinal changes in aggressive behavior and beliefs. injunctive norms affected individual normative beliefs and aggression, but descriptive norms had no effect on either. In classrooms where students and teachers made norms against aggression salient, aggressive behavior diminished over time. Implications for classroom behavior management and further research are discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2001

Conceptions of relationships in children with depressive and aggressive symptoms: social-cognitive distortion or reality?

This research tested skill-deficit and cognitive-distortion models of depression and aggression in 615 fifth- and sixth-grade children. Children completed a measure of their generalized conceptions of relationships in the peer domain and their level of depressive symptoms. Teachers completed measures of social competence, social status, and aggression. As anticipated, children with higher levels of depressive symptoms, either alone or in combination with aggression, demonstrated more negative conceptions of both self and peers than did nonsymptomatic children. Conceptions of relationships did not differentiate between aggressive and nonsymptomatic children. Children with depressive symptoms and children with aggressive symptoms displayed unique profiles of social competence deficits and problematic status in the peer group. Analysis of the accuracy of children's conceptions of relationships revealed support for both skill-deficit and cognitive-distortion models. Consistent with a skill-deficit model, children with depressive and depressive-aggressive symptoms were sensitive to actual differences in their social status. In contrast, aggressive children showed an insensitivity to social cues. Consistent with a cognitive-distortion model, children with depressive and depressive-aggressive symptoms had more negative conceptions than would be expected given their social status, whereas aggressive-unpopular children demonstrated a self-enhancement bias. These findings indicate the importance of integrated cognitive-interpersonal models of depression and aggression that incorporate multiple pathways among social-cognitive, interpersonal, and emotional functioning.

Affect↗
PubMed2000

Individual characteristics and peer relations of psychiatrically hospitalized aggressive youths: implications for treatment.

OBJECTIVE: This study identified individual and peer-relations problems of inpatient youths who are aggressive, and whether youths who are aggressive in two settings have greater treatment needs than youths who are aggressive in one setting only. METHODS: 85 youths aged 10 to 16 years who were consecutively admitted to a psychiatric facility served as participants. Based on ratings by parents and hospital staff, youths were identified as aggressive in the community only, aggressive in the hospital only, aggressive in both settings, or nonaggressive. Dependent measures consisted of youth self-reports and ratings by parents and hospital staff. RESULTS: Youths who demonstrate aggressive behavior in two settings have more nonaggressive behavior problems, more disturbed peer relations, and more hostile thinking than do nonaggressive youths, and some youths, although they may behave aggressively during hospitalization, have similar treatment needs as nonaggressive youths. CONCLUSIONS: Mental health professionals who work with youths in psychiatric settings need to develop treatment plans that directly address the more severe externalizing problems, hostile thinking, and peer problems of aggressive youths over and above that of nonaggressive youths, and should be aware that youths who behave aggressively during hospitalization may not have problems more severe than those of nonaggressive youths.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1999

It takes two to fight: a test of relational factors and a method for assessing aggressive dyads.

Observations of aggressive interactions in boys' laboratory play groups were used to evaluate the relative importance of relational and individual factors in accounting for aggressive acts. A classroom peer-rating method for identifying mutually aggressive dyads was validated in 11 5-session play groups, composed of 2 mutually aggressive boys and 4 randomly selected male classmates from 11 predominately African American 3rd-grade classrooms. When the social relations model was used, relationship effects accounted for equally as much of the variance in total aggression and proactive aggression as either actor or target effects. Mutually aggressive dyads displayed twice as much total aggression as randomly selected dyads. Members of mutually aggressive dyads attributed greater hostile intentions toward each other than did randomly selected dyads, which may serve to explain their greater aggression toward each other. The importance of studying relational factors, including social histories and social-cognitive processes, is discussed.

Aggression↗
PubMed1980

Aggressive erotica and violence against women.

To examine the effects of aggressive-erotic stimuli on male aggression toward females, 120 male subjects were angered or treated in a neutral manner by a male or female confederate. Subjects were then shown either a neutral, erotic, or aggressive-erotic film and given an opportunity to aggress against the male or female via the delivery of electric shock. Results indicated that the aggressive-erotic film was effective in increasing aggression overall, and it produced the highest increase in aggression against the female. Even nonangered subjects showed an increase in aggression toward the female after viewing the aggressive-erotic film. Results are discussed in terms of the arousal and aggressive cue value of the films.

Aggression↗
PubMed1998

Trait aggressiveness and hockey penalties: predicting hot tempers on the ice.

Previous studies examining the validity of measures of trait aggressiveness either have been retrospective studies or have used laboratory aggression as the criterion behavior. Can a measure of trait aggressiveness predict nonlaboratory physical aggression? The Physical Aggression subscale of the Aggression Questionnaire was completed by 91 high school hockey players prior to the start of the season. At the end of the season, these trait aggressiveness scores were regressed on minutes in the penalty box for aggressive penalties (e.g., fighting, slashing, tripping) and minutes in the penalty box for nonaggressive penalties (e.g., delay of game, illegal equipment, too many players). As expected, preseason trait aggressiveness scores predicted aggressive penalty minutes (r = .33) but not nonaggressive penalty minutes (r = .04).

Adolescent↗
PubMed2001

Is it time to pull the plug on the hostile versus instrumental aggression dichotomy?

Psychologists have often categorized human aggression as hostile or instrumental. Hostile aggression is "hot," impulsive behavior that is motivated by a desire to hurt someone; instrumental aggression is "cold," premeditated behavior used as a means to some other end. This dichotomy was useful to the early development of aggression theories and continues to capture important features of nonhuman aggression, but it has outlived its usefulness as a descriptor of fundamentally different kinds of human aggression. It is confounded with the automatic-controlled information-processing dichotomy, and it fails to consider aggressive acts with multiple motives. Knowledge structure models of aggression easily handle these problems. Taking extreme measures to preserve the hostile-instrumental dichotomy will delay further advances in understanding and controlling human aggression. Therefore, this seems a proper time to "pull the plug" and allow the hostile-instrumental aggression dichotomy a dignified death.

Aggression↗
PubMed2003

Effects of acute treatment with 8-OH-DPAT and fluoxetine on aggressive behaviour in male song sparrows (Melospiza melodia morphna).

The role of serotonin in modulating male aggressive behaviour was investigated in male song sparrows, Melospiza melodia morphna, using two different serotonergic drugs, fluoxetine and 8-OH-DPAT. Fluoxetine is a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor of the neuronal reuptake pump increasing synaptic concentrations of serotonin, and 8-OH-DPAT is a specific serotonin (5-HT1A) receptor agonist. The serotonergic control of aggression in passerines has not been previously investigated. We examined these behaviours within a controlled setting using a laboratory simulated territorial intrusion, with a hierarchical scale to quantify male-male aggressive behaviour. Utilizing this scale, we quantified the extent of male aggressive behaviour in two experiments. In experiment 1, song sparrows were given 100 micro l, s.c. injections of either fluoxetine (10 mg/kg) or 8-OH-DPAT (1 mg/kg). Experiment 2 was a dose-response study using three doses of 8-OH-DPAT (0.1, 1 and 10 mg/kg). In both studies, aggressive behaviour was measured 1 h after injection for 10 min in response to the presence of a novel male decoy combined with playback of conspecific song. Both drugs significantly reduced male aggressive behaviour, and 8-OH-DPAT did so in a dose-dependent manner. The effect of the two drugs upon general activity was also measured using infra-red perch hop detectors. Activity levels were not effected by either fluoxetine or 8-OH-DPAT at all of the respective doses, indicating that the reduction in aggressive behaviour was specific. These results demonstrate that, in a passerine species, the serotonergic system negatively regulates male-male aggressive behaviour. These results further demonstrate that aggression can be effectively studied in a laboratory setting and natural aggressive responses can be elicited using this method.

8-Hydroxy-2-(di-n-propylamino)tetralin↗
PubMed1995

Serotonin receptors and animal models of aggressive behavior.

Various models of rodent agonistic behavior are described, which differentiate between offensive and defensive/flight models. Particular attention is given to one male and one female paradigm for offensive aggression, i.e. resident/intruder or territorial aggression (RI) and maternal aggression (MA). After an overview of the serotonin (5-HT) system in the CNS, a description is given of the ligands available. Subsequently, the effects of various drugs affecting serotonergic transmission in the RI- and MA-paradigms are described. The 5-HT1A receptor agonists busipirone, ipsapirone, and 8-OH-DPAT decreased aggression in RI and MA, but simultaneously led to a marked decrease in social interest and activity, indicative of a nonspecific antiaggressive profile. Nonselective 5-HT1 receptor agonists, such as RU24969, eltoprazine, and TFMPP reduced aggression quite specifically, did not decrease social interest or exploration, and sometimes even increased these behaviors. In RI and MA, the behavioral effects of these drugs were roughly similar. In contrast, MA was more sensitive to treatment with the 5-HT reuptake blocker fluvoxamine, which blocked RI aggression nonspecifically at the highest dose only. DOI, a 5-HT2A/2C# receptor agonist, decreased aggressive behavior and increased inactivity, without affecting social interest and exploration in RI as well as MA. This was, however, accompanied by "wet dog shaking" characteristic of 5-HT2 receptor stimulation. The nonspecific 5-HT receptor agonist (and 5-HT2 receptor antagonist) quipazine also induced "wet dog shaking" at doses which suppressed aggression, social interest, and exploration but increased inactive behaviors (sitting and lying). The discussion delineates a specific role for 5-HT1B receptor-subtype involvement in the modulation of aggression, with the restrictions we clearly face with regard to the lack of specific serotonergic agonists and antagonists for certain receptor subtypes. By and large, male and female rats react similarly to treatment with serotonergic drugs, and this fact underlines the consistent role of 5-HT in different forms of aggression.

Aggression↗
PubMed2000

An investigation of the dynamics of aggression: direct observations in ice hockey and basketball.

There have been significant problems in the study of sports aggression, and they are linked to how aggression has been defined, measured, and analyzed. Following a review of the whole domain, this study aimed to construct a theoretically coherent and ecologically valid framework for research on processes underlying sports aggression and to contribute to the advancement of knowledge in the area. An exploratory method using computer observational analysis as the primary research method, along with complementary questionnaires and personal reflections, considered aggression in two comparison sports: ice hockey and basketball. Data were compiled and classified by involved and independent experts relative to factors and behaviors associated with sports aggression derived from a comprehensive review of the literature. Among the study's findings were that: (a) aggression was instrumental in nature two-thirds of the time; (b) aggressive acts typically occurred in clusters and varied in frequency according to game circumstances; and (c) multiple variables and aggression theories were related to severely aggressive acts. The complex dynamics of sports aggression via similar naturalistic methodologies is discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Effects of alcohol on cardiovascular reactivity and the mediation of aggressive behaviour in adult men and women.

AIMS: Recent models have proposed several pharmacological means by which alcohol may produce heightened aggression, among them that alcohol may both hyper-arouse the reward system and diminish the threat detection system. The current study examined these hypotheses employing heart rate and blood pressure as physiological indices of arousal, examining whether arousal differed by alcohol group, and if this related to level of aggression. METHODS: Participants were 32 males and 32 females, aged 18-30 years, screened for physical and psychological disorder, who competed on the Taylor aggression paradigm. The gender groups were further split into half sober, half intoxicated. Arousal was measured at baseline, post-beverage consumption, and post-aggression paradigm. RESULTS: Participants in the alcohol condition initially demonstrated slight heart rate elevations and blood pressure decreases, but showed little arousal in response to the aggression paradigm, whereas sober participants demonstrated considerable arousal on both indices. Intoxicated participants were more aggressive than sober controls; men and women did not differ significantly. Regression analyses demonstrated that change in systolic blood pressure from post-beverage consumption to post-aggression paradigm acts as a mediating variable in the alcohol-aggression relationship. CONCLUSIONS: These results lend support to the stress-response dampening model of the alcohol-aggression relationship, and moreover suggest that the magnitude of intoxicated aggression is related to the magnitude of that dampening.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2001

Phenytoin inhibits isolation-induced aggression specifically in rats with low serotonin.

Phenytoin is a widely used anticonvulsant drug that also reduces aggressive behavior. Aggression in humans and animals is often associated with low serotonin levels. This study examined the anti-aggressive properties of phenytoin in rodent isolation-induced aggression using a resident-intruder test to quantify aggression. Chronic treatment with p-chlorophenyl-alanine (PCPA), a competitive inhibitor of serotonin synthesis, significantly enhanced resident attack behavior compared to saline-treated control rats. Phenytoin dose-dependently reduced aggressive behavior specifically in PCPA-treated rats, but had no anti-aggressive properties in saline-treated rats. These data suggest that aggressive behavior in this model may be related to neuronal hyperexcitability that is sensitive to the anticonvulsant effects of phenytoin. Further, these data suggest isolation-induced aggression in PCPA-treated rats may be a useful model to investigate aggression associated with low serotonin in the brain.

Aggression↗
PubMed2001

Aggression and psychiatric comorbidity in children with hypothalamic hamartomas and their unaffected siblings.

OBJECTIVE: To assess aggression and psychiatric comorbidity in a sample of children with hypothalamic hamartomas and gelastic seizures and to assess psychiatric diagnoses in siblings of study subjects. METHOD: Children with a clinical history of gelastic seizures and hypothalamic hamartomas (n = 12; age range 3-14 years) had diagnoses confirmed by video-EEG and head magnetic resonance imaging. Structured interviews were administered, including the Diagnostic Interview for Children and Adolescents-Revised Parent Form (DICA-R-P), the Test of Broad Cognitive Abilities, and the Vitiello Aggression Scale. Parents were interviewed with the DICA-R-P about each subject and a sibling closest in age without seizures and hypothalamic hamartomas. Patients were seen from 1998 to 2000. RESULTS: Children with gelastic seizures and hypothalamic hamartomas displayed a statistically significant increase in comorbid psychiatric conditions, including oppositional defiant disorder (83.3%) and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (75%). They also exhibited high rates of conduct disorder (33.3%), speech retardation/learning impairment (33.3%), and anxiety and mood disorders (16.7%). Significant rates of aggression were noted, with 58% of the seizure patients meeting criteria for the affective subtype of aggression and 30.5% having the predatory aggression subtype. Affective aggression was significantly more common (p < .05). Unaffected siblings demonstrated low rates of psychiatric pathology on semistructured parental interview and no aggression as measured by the Vitiello Aggression Scale. CONCLUSIONS: Children with hypothalamic hamartomas and gelastic seizures had high rates of psychiatric comorbidity and aggression. Parents reported that healthy siblings had very low rates of psychiatric pathology and aggression.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2002

Response perseveration in adolescent boys with stable and unstable histories of physical aggression: the role of underlying processes.

BACKGROUND: It was unclear whether response perseveration and underlying processes, often related to antisocial externalizing disorders, were also related to histories of physical aggression. METHOD: Boys of age 13 years were selected on the basis of childhood histories of physical aggression: stable, unstable, and non-aggressive. Performance on a Card Playing Task provided a perseveration index. RESULTS: Physical aggression, regardless of history, predicted perseveration in adolescence. However, qualitative differences revealed that Neuroticism increased the risk for perseveration only in the unstable aggressive group relative to the other groups. Perseveration in the stable aggressive group maybe related to a more fundamental information-processing deficit. CONCLUSION: The identification of these processes has implications for developmental theories of physical aggression; they may help discriminate those children who show early physical aggression and who will remain aggressive from those who will only show occasional physical aggression during later childhood.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2004

Aggression towards health care staff in a UK general hospital: variation among professions and departments.

BACKGROUND: Aggression towards health care staff is an increasing problem and although many studies have examined psychiatric settings, few have considered general hospitals and in particular, variation among professions and locations. In addition, studies often fail to include all forms of aggression such as threatening behaviour and verbal aggression. METHODS: This study extends existing research by evaluating physical assault, threatening behaviour and verbal aggression from patients/visitors towards general hospital staff in the context of different professions and departments. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: The survey of staff showed that aggression is widespread. Within the preceding year, 27% of the respondents were assaulted, 23% experienced threatening behaviour from patients and 15.5% experienced threatening behaviour from visitors. Over 68% reported verbal aggression, 25.7% experiencing it more regularly than monthly. By departments, over 42% of the medical department staff, 36% of the surgical staff and over 30% of the Accident and Emergency staff were assaulted. By profession, staff nurses and enrolled nurses reported the most assaults (43.4%) and doctors, the fewest (13.8%). Other nursing grades and health care professions all reported levels of physical assault in excess of 20%. Correspondingly high levels of threatening behaviour and verbal aggression were also reported although the patterns of victimization differed according to the various professions and departments. Independently, significant levels of assault, threatening behaviour and verbal aggression were reported. When aggregated they demonstrate the higher levels of victimization that general hospital staff experienced on a regular basis. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: Institutional averages actually obscure the much higher levels of aggression experienced by the particular professions in particular departments. This study helps to localize the problem and identify those at most risk, but more research is needed into the aetiology of the aggression and of vulnerability factors associated with victimization.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed2006

Aggression and violence - a problem in Irish Accident and Emergency departments?

Health care employees are more likely than other workers to be victims of violence or aggression. Results from one Australian study suggest that 30% of respondents experienced aggression on a daily or near daily basis. In an Irish context, a total of 22% of all reported injuries in the health and social sector related to injuries inflicted by another person. However, both in Ireland and internationally, there has been an inadequate categorization of the types of incident to which staff are exposed. This contributes to definitional difficulties as well as problems in comparing research findings and using such findings to make work environments safe. The current study aimed to identify the types of violent or aggressive incidents that staff in Irish Accident and Emergency departments were exposed to within a month long period. A cross-sectional study was undertaken with all nurses (N = 80) working in Accident and Emergency departments in two sites nationally as part of a larger study of aggression and violence in health services looking at both Mental Health Services and Accident and Emergency departments. Data were collected using the Scale of Aggressive and Violent Experiences - questionnaire adapted from the Perception of Prevalence of Aggression Scale. The questionnaire captured data on personal and professional demographics as well as experiences of aggressive or violent incidents respondents may have encountered 'in their work situation'. There was a response rate of 46% (n = 37). Data were analysed utilizing spss-11. The relevant data were subjected to a series of one-way anovas and chi-square analysis. The findings suggest that nursing staff in Accident and Emergency departments experienced high levels of verbal aggression. Additionally, they encountered violence or aggression that is vicariously experienced more than forms that were overtly directed towards staff. It is a matter of concern that less than one-third of staff in this study reported that they had training in the management of aggression and violence. The implications will be discussed in relation to both policy and practice.

Aggression↗
PubMed2006

Estrogen receptor-beta gene disruption potentiates estrogen-inducible aggression but not sexual behaviour in male mice.

Aggressive behaviour of gonadally intact male mice is increased by estrogen receptor (ER)-beta gene disruption, whereas sexual behaviour remains unchanged. The elevated aggression levels following ER-beta gene disruption is pronounced during repeated aggression tests in young animals and the first aggression test in adults. In the present study, the roles of ER-beta activation in the regulation of aggressive and sexual behaviour were investigated in gonadectomized ER-beta knockout (betaERKO) and wild-type (WT) male mice treated with various doses of estrogen. Overall, estradiol benzoate (EB) treatment induced higher levels of aggression in betaERKO mice than in WT mice. In WT mice, the levels of aggression induced by EB were highest in the lowest-dose (2.5 microg/day) group and gradually decreased in higher-dosage groups. On the other hand, equally high levels of aggressive behaviour were induced by all three doses of EB in betaERKO mice. A marked genotype difference in dose responses is inferred, such that the ER-alpha-mediated facilitatory action of estrogen is more pronounced at lower and physiological doses and the ER-beta-mediated inhibitory action is only unveiled at higher doses of estrogen. In contrast to aggression, the levels of sexual behaviour induced by EB were not different between betaERKO and WT at either dose of EB (2.5 and 12.5 microg/day) examined. These findings support the notion that ER-beta activation may exert an attenuating action on male aggression induced by estrogen through ER-alpha-mediated brain mechanisms, whereas its effect on male sexual behaviour is relatively small.

Aggression↗
PubMed2005

The effects of reward and punishment in violent video games on aggressive affect, cognition, and behavior.

Three experiments examined the effects of rewarding and punishing violent actions in video games on later aggression-related variables. Participants played one of three versions of the same race-car video game: (a) a version in which all violence was rewarded, (b) a version in which all violence was punished, and (c) a nonviolent version. Participants were then measured for aggressive affect (Experiment 1), aggressive cognition (Experiment 2), and aggressive behavior (Experiment 3). Rewarding violent game actions increased hostile emotion, aggressive thinking, and aggressive behavior. Punishing violent actions increased hostile emotion, but did not increase aggressive thinking or aggressive behavior. Results suggest that games that reward violent actions can increase aggressive behavior by increasing aggressive thinking.

Adult↗