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PubMed1997

Reactive and proactive aggression in school children and psychiatrically impaired chronically assaultive youth.

The authors proposed that reactively aggressive and proactively aggressive types of antisocial youth would differ in developmental histories, concurrent adjustment, and social information-processing patterns. In Study 1, 585 boys and girls classified into groups called reactive aggressive, proactive aggressive, pervasively aggressive (combined type), and nonaggressive revealed distinct profiles. Only the reactive aggressive groups demonstrated histories of physical abuse and early onset of problems, adjustment problems in peer relations, and inadequate encoding and problem-solving processing patterns. Only the proactive aggressive groups demonstrated a processing pattern of anticipating positive outcomes for aggressing. In Study 2, 50 psychiatrically impaired chronically violent boys classified as reactively violent or proactively violent demonstrated differences in age of onset of problem behavior, adjustment problems, and processing problems.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1989

The role of early aggressive behavior in the frequency, seriousness, and types of later crime.

This study reports on the relation between aggressive behavior at early school age and later delinquent activities of 1,027 subjects (517 boys and 510 girls) prospectively followed from late childhood to adulthood. The research group was a fairly unbiased age sample of children, covering most of the range of social and psychological upbringing conditions for 10-year-old children in a Swedish community. Aggressiveness was measured by teacher ratings at ages 10 and 13 years. Delinquency, defined as registered lawbreaking, was covered through age 26. There was a strong connection between both the aggressiveness ratings at ages 10 and 13 and adult delinquency for boys, with the majority of delinquents and recidivists being recruited from the early-aggressive boys. High ratings of aggressiveness were characteristic of boys who later committed violent crimes and damage to public property and generally of subjects with a diversified offense pattern. Aggressiveness was not predictive of later crime for girls until they reached the age of 13. For both sexes the relation between aggressiveness and crime was to a large extent independent of intelligence and family education. The possibility of making individual prognoses and the role of aggressiveness for the sexes are discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1984

Interpersonal aggression and the type A coronary-prone behavior pattern: a theoretical distinction and practical implications.

Past research suggests that Type As are more aggressive than Type Bs. However, little is known about the nature of that aggression. The present two studies investigated the theoretical distinction between hostile aggression and instrumental aggression and examined the practical implications of this distinction. Study 1 used a modified version of the Buss teacher-learner procedure that allowed the isolation of hostile from instrumental acts. Results indicated that a prior task frustration produced greater aggression by Type As than Type Bs but only under conditions where the aggressive act could not affect a confederate's immediate performance (i.e., hostile aggression). Study 2 examined the representation of Type As and Type Bs among perpetrators of intrafamily violence. Results indicated that Type As were more likely than Type Bs to exhibit the extreme hostility found in child abuse. Both studies suggest that a lack of control may underlie the greater aggression displayed by Type As than Type Bs.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

A test of sex differences in aggressive response to hypothetical conflict situations.

Male (n = 289) and female (n = 268) college students were administered the Leifer-Roberts Response Hierarchy (Reinisch Revision) to evaluate the utility of this measure in reflecting sex differences in self-described potential for aggressive response. The Response Hierarchy provides a retrospective estimate of where physical and verbal aggression reside in an individual's hierarchy of possible behavioral responses to hypothetical conflict situations in adolescence. A score is obtained for: (a) physical aggression, (b) verbal aggression, (c) nonaggressive coping, and (d) withdrawal. When asked to respond as they would have or did at age 13 years, verbal aggression was the most frequent response with no significant sex difference in mean scores. Men selected physical aggression significantly more often than women (p less than .001). Using the binomial effect size display (BESD) to illustrate the magnitude of the sex difference, 69% of the men would be classified as physically aggressive (above the median), whereas only 31% of the women would be so classified. It was concluded that the Response Hierarchy consistently demonstrates sex differences among college students in retrospectively reported preference for choosing physical aggression versus other coping strategies as a response to hypothetical interpersonal conflict situations of adolescence.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1990

Effects of situational aggression cues: a quantitative review.

Meta-analytic procedures were used to assess the degree to which aggression-related cues present in the environment facilitate aggressive responding among negatively aroused subjects. The first study, which examined the so-called weapons effect, the effect of name-mediated cues, and other cue effects, showed clear evidence that aggression cues augment aggressive responses in negatively aroused subjects. This was true for the overall analysis and for name-mediated cues, but confirmation of the weapons effect was restricted to cases wherein subject sophistication and evaluation apprehension were low. A second study used partial correlation analysis to assess independently the effects of seven potential mediators of aggression cue effects. Of these, target-based facilitation and harm capacity of the aggressive response were found to mediate the magnitude of cue-facilitated aggression. A third study showed that these mediators augmented cue effects among neutral as well as negatively aroused subjects. These outcomes are interpreted as emphasizing the role of cognitive factors in the expression of both impulsive and nonimpulsive aggression.

Affect↗
PubMed1992

The aggression questionnaire.

A new questionnaire on aggression was constructed. Replicated factor analyses yielded 4 scales: Physical Aggression, Verbal Aggression, Anger, and Hostility. Correlational analysis revealed that anger is the bridge between both physical and verbal aggression and hostility. The scales showed internal consistency and stability over time. Men scored slightly higher on Verbal Aggression and Hostility and much higher on Physical Aggression. There was no sex difference for Anger. The various scales correlated differently with various personality traits. Scale scores correlated with peer nominations of the various kinds of aggression. These findings suggest the need to assess not only overall aggression but also its individual components.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2000

Executive functioning: a conceptual framework for alcohol-related aggression.

The causal mechanisms underlying alcohol-related aggression are not well understood. This article presents a conceptual framework designed to guide thinking and generate new research in this area of study. According to the framework, executive functioning is both a mediator and a moderator of intoxicated aggression. Literatures describing associations between alcohol and aggression, executive functioning and aggression, and the acute effects of alcohol on executive functioning are reviewed. On the basis of these findings, it is proposed that (a) executive functioning mediates the alcohol-aggression relation in that acute alcohol intoxication disrupts executive functioning, which then heightens the probability of aggression, and (b) executive functioning moderates the alcohol-aggression relation in that acute alcohol consumption is more likely to facilitate aggressive behavior in persons with low, rather than high, executive functioning.

Aggression↗
PubMed2005

Avoidance of relatively aggressive male Japanese Quail (Coturnix japonica) by sexually experienced conspecific females.

Sexually experienced female Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica) that are offered a choice between 2 conspecific males previously observed engaging in an aggressive encounter prefer to affiliate with the less aggressive male. The authors determined whether this apparent preference for less aggressive males results from females approaching less aggressive individuals or avoiding more aggressive individuals. The authors found that females that had seen 2 males fight before choosing, in counterbalanced order, between each of them and a neutral stimulus were indifferent to less aggressive males but avoided more aggressive males. The results are consistent with the view that in species in which male courtship and mating are potentially harmful to females, females keep away from relatively aggressive males in order to avoid the physical punishment that can result from contact with them.

Aggression↗
PubMed2003

Activation of serotonergic neurotransmission during the performance of aggressive behavior in rats.

High aggression is often linked to lowered serotonin (5-HT) neurotransmission. Although this may hold for high aggression as a trait characteristic of an individual, serotonergic activity is probably increased during performance of aggressive behavior. To test this hypothesis, first, the 5-HT1A agonist alnespirone and gamma aminobutyric acid-A agonist muscimol were administered into the dorsal raphe nucleus. These treatments, which inhibit 5-HT neuronal activity, were shown to decrease performance of aggressive behavior. Second, after a resident-intruder test, the activation of 5-HT neurons (measured by c-fos expression) was increased in high-aggressive rats, compared with low-aggressive rats or control rats that were not subjected to a social confrontation. Results show that performance of aggressive behavior increases 5-HT neuronal activity and that preventing this activation inhibits expression of aggressive behavior.

Aggression↗
PubMed2006

Examining the correlates of psychological aggression among a community sample of couples.

In this study, the authors examined the correlates of psychological aggression victimization and perpetration among a community sample of 145 heterosexual couples. For both women and men, psychological aggression victimization was associated with greater psychological distress, anxiety, and physical health symptoms beyond the effects of physical aggression. Psychological aggression victimization was also uniquely associated with higher levels of depression for women. Trait anger and poor relationship adjustment were the strongest correlates of psychological aggression perpetration across genders. Childhood father-to-child and father-to-mother aggressions were associated with psychological aggression perpetration for men only, suggesting possible distinct etiologies across genders. These data highlight the importance of the further development of models for psychological aggression in both women and men.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

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.

Administrative Personnel↗
PubMed2006

Gender differences in the negative affective priming of aggressive behavior.

The negative affective priming of aggression was examined across different aversive contexts (general stress exposure and frustration) with a laboratory aggression paradigm that measured the intensity of shocks participants delivered to a putative employee. Participants' emotional responses were gauged via startle eyeblink reactions and self-report mood ratings. Aside from gender differences in overall aggression, men but not women exposed to general stress showed significant increases in aggression across blocks. However, frustration produced increases in aggression in both genders. Although both genders showed robust startle increases during stress, startle activation was related to increases in aggression in men and decreases in aggression in women. These findings suggest that general stress and experiences of negative emotion trigger physical aggressive responses more strongly in men than in women.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Competitive interactions in Drosophila melanogaster: recurrent selection for aggression and response.

Recurrent selection programmes for both high response and low aggression have been employed in the Texas population of Drosophila melanogaster. Five main points have emerged from this investigation. First, the population exhibits extensive genetic variation for the aggression and response components of competitive interactions which take place in genetically heterogeneous cultures. Secondly, the two components of such interactions, namely aggression and response, can be adjusted by the selection of particular groups of genes. Thirdly, the rapid change in the selected components in the early generations suggests that a considerable amount of additive genetic variation is involved in the control of aggression and response. This is further supported by estimates of the realised heritability taken over the whole selection programme which amount to 0.79 and 0.74 for the low aggression and high response selections respectively. Fourthly, the rapidity with which changes in aggression and response approached plateaux suggests that such changes in the earlier generations are primarily due to the assortment of major chromosomes as units. Fifthly, it was concluded that aggression and response do not behave entirely independently or dependently. The results suggest that a single array of genes might be responsible for the determination of both characters. The observed results would then be consistent with certain of these genes having a much larger effect on aggression than they do on response.

Aggression↗
PubMed2000

Evaluating theories of alcohol-related aggression using observations of young adults in bars.

AIMS: The objective of the present study is to evaluate 36 explanations of alcohol-related aggression that have been proposed in the research literature in terms of their relevance to naturally-occurring incidents of aggression involving alcohol. DESIGN: The study involved content analysis of descriptions of 105 incidents of aggression. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: Bars frequented by young adults. MEASUREMENTS: Step-by-step descriptions of incidents of aggression reported by researcher-observers based on 93 nights of observation in bars between midnight and 3 a.m. FINDINGS: Some explanations relating to the effects of alcohol (e.g. focused on the present, reduced anxiety about sanctions or danger, heightened emotionality) and the environment (e.g. generally permissive environment, expectation by patrons that aggression will be tolerated) were found to be relevant to most incidents, while other explanations (e.g. crowding, release of pent-up anger) were directly relevant to only a few or no incidents. Incidents involving male-to-male aggression were more likely than incidents involving both males and females to be attributable to expectations, acceptance of aggression, power concerns, male honor and "macho" values. Principal components analysis identified five groupings of explanations: risk-taking effects of alcohol, cognitive impairment from alcohol, hyperemotional effects of alcohol, "macho" subculture, and permissive environment. CONCLUSIONS: The findings are consistent with a model of alcohol-related aggression that involves multiple contributing factors including alcohol effects and situational contexts. The greater relevance of certain explanations and the natural groupings of explanations point to directions for future research.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1997

Reduced aggressive behaviour in mice with targeted disruption of the oxytocin gene.

Oxytocin (OT) has been reported to mediate aggressive and affiliative behaviours in several species. The behavioural role of OT has been established with physiological manipulations that potentially affected blood pressure, which may have indirectly affected the behaviours under study. To provide converging evidence of the physiological role of OT in aggressive behavior, wild type (WT), heterozygous (OT-/+), and homozygous (OT-/-) mutant mice were tested in two aggression paradigms. In general, there was no significant difference in aggressiveness between WT and OT-/+ mice. However, there were significant reductions in the duration of aggressive behaviors among OT-/- animals, especially in agonistic encounters within neutral arenas. The OT-/- mice did not exhibit any sensorimotor deficits or display any altered general anxiety levels that may have accounted for the observed reduction in aggressive behavior. These data indicate that aggression is mediated in part by OT in mice and that increased aggressiveness is not an obligatory phenotypic result of targeted genetic disruption of any gene.

Aggression↗
PubMed2000

The active phase-related increase in corticosterone and aggression are linked.

Recently we demonstrated that corticosterone exerts an acute facilitatory effect on aggression in male rats. Corticosterone production reaches a maximum at the onset of the dark period, while male rats are more aggressive in the dark. Here we present evidence demonstrating that the corticosterone increase at the beginning of the dark period is causally linked to the increase in aggressiveness. We measured plasma corticosterone and quantified aggressive behaviour of male territorial rats at various time points of the day-night transition. Low aggression levels were observed in the full light period when plasma concentrations of corticosterone were low. An increase in plasma corticosterone occurred just prior to the dark phase, when aggressive responding was the highest. Aggressive behaviour remained high in the early dark period when corticosterone was still high. We found that blocking the high affinity mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) with spironolactone (5 or 10 mg/kg) during the early dark period dramatically and specifically reduced territorial aggression.

Aggression↗
PubMed1997

The experience of thought-disordered individuals preceding an aggressive incident.

The purpose of this qualitative study was to increase the understanding of the experiences of individuals with thought disorders, which precede incidents of aggression. Twelve individuals, from two hospitals, who had a nursing diagnosis of thought disorder and a history of aggression were interviewed, between one and four times, to collect baseline information and information about particular aggressive incidents. The participants described in their own words their thoughts, feelings and experiences preceding the aggressive incidents. Three themes emerged. First, participants perceived themselves to be strongly affected by the external environment; their responses to aspects of the environment were influential in precipitating the aggressive incident. Second, participants perceived themselves, paradoxically, to be both powerful and powerless; the act of aggression becomes an incident of brief self-empowerment. Third, the aggressive incident occurred in spite of the participants' acknowledgement and previous use of anger-controlling strategies; the participants' perceptions of themselves as powerless in an oppressive environment may have mitigated against the success of these strategies. Nurses need to know what triggers aggressiveness in psychiatric patients, in order to intervene effectively. Mental health professionals must also reexamine the psychiatric hospital environment, to make sure they are not needlessly exacerbating their patients' powerlessness with policies that are unjustifiably controlling.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

Reducing aggressive behaviour and staff injuries: a multi-strategy approach.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the impact of a multi-strategy approach on the management of patient aggression and staff injury rates at a stand-alone mental health facility. METHODS: A multi-strategy aggression management program was developed and introduced over a 2-year period. The program had four components; staff education/training, a staff support program, risk assessment tools, and a computerised incident monitoring system. Aggressive incidents by patients, staff injuries due to patient aggression and compensation payments to staff for the 2-year period before implementation of the aggression management program were compared with the 3-year period following implementation of the program. RESULTS: There was a significant decrease in the number of staff injuries reported in the 3-year period following the implementation of the aggression management program. Although the number of aggressive incidents reported did decrease over the study period, the decrease was not statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: Despite the increasing acuity of the clients at the study facility, there was a significant decrease in staff injuries due to aggressive behaviour. The strategies implemented seem to offset the potential for violence. It is likely that the combined impact of the strategies is greater than the impact of individual strategies implemented consecutively.

Aggression↗