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Current Opinion in Psychology Feb 2018Studies on gender differences in aggressive behavior are examined. In proportions of their total aggression scores, boys and girls are verbally about equally aggressive,... (Review)
Review
Studies on gender differences in aggressive behavior are examined. In proportions of their total aggression scores, boys and girls are verbally about equally aggressive, while boys are more physically and girls more indirectly aggressive. There are genetic determinants of both physical and indirect aggression, suggesting that both types of aggression give evolutionary advantages. Analyses of 2D:4D finger length ratios indicate that the prenatal hormonal environment is crucial for the development of these aggressive strategies.
Topics: Aggression; Emotional Intelligence; Female; Fingers; Humans; Male; Pregnancy; Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects; Sex Characteristics; Testosterone
PubMed: 29279220
DOI: 10.1016/j.copsyc.2017.03.030 -
L'Encephale Sep 2022Aggressive behaviors could be considered as a dynamic of communication, in which aggression is a language to be understood, to be deciphered by two protagonists : the... (Review)
Review
Aggressive behaviors could be considered as a dynamic of communication, in which aggression is a language to be understood, to be deciphered by two protagonists : the aggressor coping with a stressful and threatening situation and the aggressed individual coping with an aggressive acting out. The following questions are addressed: (a) What does aggression mean to the aggressor, what does it mean to the aggressed individual? (b) What does the aggressor want or try to express, and why does he or she use this mode of expression and action over another? (c) How does the aggressed individual react, and what is the impact of his or her response on the aggressor? This article reviews studies on the definition of aggression, its measurement, its developmental role and its associated risk factors in children and adolescents. First, aggression in children and adolescents with typical and atypical development is examined based on a developmental approach, clinical case studies in child and adolescent psychiatry, and an empirical study on aggression in autism. Then, in light of these studies, the problem of violence among younger and younger children and adolescents, is discussed. Finally, taking together these studies and discussion, a model is proposed that accounts for factors involved in aggressive behaviors and for different possible levels of intervention. Physical and/or psychic threats generate stress and may therefore lead to offensive or defensive aggression. Stress has to be considered in its physiological dimension (biological stress responses) and psychological dimension (perceived stress). This model reveals a vicious circle: when the main response to aggression is repression, it may reinforce physical/psychic threats and stress perceived by the aggressor, and in turn aggressive behaviors. Intervention can occur at three levels: the stressful situation, the aggressor (perception of the stressful situation and his or her response), and the aggressed individual (perception of the aggression and his or her response). This model, like all models, is limited but it offers a discussion and perspectives to understand the different links that form the "chain of aggressive behavior" and the relationships between exposure to violence and expression of violence. The article concludes on the interest of a muldisciplinary approach to aggression integrating physiological, psychological and sociological dimensions.
Topics: Adaptation, Psychological; Adolescent; Adolescent Behavior; Aggression; Child; Communication; Female; Humans; Language; Male; Violence
PubMed: 36088175
DOI: 10.1016/j.encep.2022.08.007 -
Current Topics in Behavioral... 2018The neuropeptide oxytocin (OT) has a solid reputation as a facilitator of social interactions such as parental and pair bonding, trust, and empathy. The many results... (Review)
Review
The neuropeptide oxytocin (OT) has a solid reputation as a facilitator of social interactions such as parental and pair bonding, trust, and empathy. The many results supporting a pro-social role of OT have generated the hypothesis that impairments in the endogenous OT system may lead to antisocial behavior, most notably social withdrawal or pathological aggression. If this is indeed the case, administration of exogenous OT could be the "serenic" treatment that psychiatrists have for decades been searching for.In the present review, we list and discuss the evidence for an endogenous "hypo-oxytocinergic state" underlying aggressive and antisocial behavior, derived from both animal and human studies. We furthermore examine the reported effects of synthetic OT administration on aggression in rodents and humans.Although the scientific findings listed in this review support, in broad lines, the link between a down-regulated or impaired OT system activity and increased aggression, the anti-aggressive effects of synthetic OT are less straightforward and require further research. The rather complex picture that emerges adds to the ongoing debate questioning the unidirectional pro-social role of OT, as well as the strength of the effects of intranasal OT administration in humans.
Topics: Administration, Intranasal; Aggression; Animals; Humans; Interpersonal Relations; Oxytocin; Social Behavior
PubMed: 28864975
DOI: 10.1007/7854_2017_13 -
Cell Jan 2023The hypothalamus regulates innate social behaviors, including mating and aggression. These behaviors can be evoked by optogenetic stimulation of specific neuronal...
The hypothalamus regulates innate social behaviors, including mating and aggression. These behaviors can be evoked by optogenetic stimulation of specific neuronal subpopulations within MPOA and VMHvl, respectively. Here, we perform dynamical systems modeling of population neuronal activity in these nuclei during social behaviors. In VMHvl, unsupervised analysis identified a dominant dimension of neural activity with a large time constant (>50 s), generating an approximate line attractor in neural state space. Progression of the neural trajectory along this attractor was correlated with an escalation of agonistic behavior, suggesting that it may encode a scalable state of aggressiveness. Consistent with this, individual differences in the magnitude of the integration dimension time constant were strongly correlated with differences in aggressiveness. In contrast, approximate line attractors were not observed in MPOA during mating; instead, neurons with fast dynamics were tuned to specific actions. Thus, different hypothalamic nuclei employ distinct neural population codes to represent similar social behaviors.
Topics: Animals; Sexual Behavior, Animal; Ventromedial Hypothalamic Nucleus; Hypothalamus; Aggression; Social Behavior
PubMed: 36608653
DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2022.11.027 -
Hormones and Behavior Jul 2020Testosterone is often considered a critical regulator of aggressive behaviour. There is castration/replacement evidence that testosterone indeed drives aggression in... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis Review
Testosterone is often considered a critical regulator of aggressive behaviour. There is castration/replacement evidence that testosterone indeed drives aggression in some species, but causal evidence in humans is generally lacking and/or-for the few studies that have pharmacologically manipulated testosterone concentrations-inconsistent. More often researchers have examined differences in baseline testosterone concentrations between groups known to differ in aggressiveness (e.g., violent vs non-violent criminals) or within a given sample using a correlational approach. Nevertheless, testosterone is not static but instead fluctuates in response to cues of challenge in the environment, and these challenge-induced fluctuations may more strongly regulate situation-specific aggressive behaviour. Here, we quantitatively summarize literature from all three approaches (baseline, change, and manipulation), providing the most comprehensive meta-analysis of these testosterone-aggression associations/effects in humans to date. Baseline testosterone shared a weak but significant association with aggression (r = 0.054, 95% CIs [0.028, 0.080]), an effect that was stronger and significant in men (r = 0.071, 95% CIs [0.041, 0.101]), but not women (r = 0.002, 95% CIs [-0.041, 0.044]). Changes in T were positively correlated with aggression (r = 0.108, 95% CIs [0.041, 0.174]), an effect that was also stronger and significant in men (r = 0.162, 95% CIs [0.076, 0.246]), but not women (r = 0.010, 95% CIs [-0.090, 0.109]). The causal effects of testosterone on human aggression were weaker yet, and not statistically significant (r = 0.046, 95% CIs [-0.015, 0.108]). We discuss the multiple moderators identified here (e.g., offender status of samples, sex) and elsewhere that may explain these generally weak effects. We also offer suggestions regarding methodology and sample sizes to best capture these associations in future work.
Topics: Aggression; Clinical Trials as Topic; Correlation of Data; Criminals; Female; Humans; Male; Testosterone; Violence
PubMed: 31785281
DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2019.104644 -
Journal of Personality and Social... May 2015Narcissists are thought to exhibit "narcissistic rage," an explosive mix of anger and hostility arising from threats to narcissists' fractured sense of self. Building on...
Narcissists are thought to exhibit "narcissistic rage," an explosive mix of anger and hostility arising from threats to narcissists' fractured sense of self. Building on clinical views of narcissism, we present empirical evidence on the nature and sources of narcissistic rage. Findings from 4 studies reveal narcissistic vulnerability (but not grandiosity) as a powerful driver of rage, hostility, and aggressive behavior, fueled by suspiciousness, dejection, and angry rumination. Consistent with theorizing about narcissistic rage, Study 1 showed that vulnerable (but not grandiose) narcissism predicted more anger internalization and externalization, as well as poorer anger control. Study 2 revealed vulnerable narcissism as a stronger indicator of shame and aggressiveness, especially hostility and anger. Study 3 identified distrust of others and angry rumination as key factors accounting for vulnerable narcissists' reactive and displaced aggression. Study 4 provided behavioral evidence that vulnerable (but not grandiose) narcissism amplifies reactive and displaced aggression in the face of provocation. Taken together, the findings not only establish narcissistic vulnerability as a key source of narcissistic rage but also reveal an important pathway to narcissistic aggression that does not involve competitiveness or exploitativeness. In addition, the results support clinical views of narcissistic aggression and implicate deficient self-esteem as an important driver of aggressive behavior.
Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Aggression; Anger; Defense Mechanisms; Female; Hostility; Humans; Male; Narcissism; Rage; Self Concept; Shame; Social Behavior; Young Adult
PubMed: 25545840
DOI: 10.1037/pspp0000013 -
Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health Oct 2018Aggression in children is a common transdiagnostic symptom associated with a wide range of developmental and mental health problems. It emerges early and without... (Review)
Review
Aggression in children is a common transdiagnostic symptom associated with a wide range of developmental and mental health problems. It emerges early and without intervention, may increase in severity as the child grows stronger. Aggressive children are more likely to experience physical and mental illness, unemployment, poverty and forensic problems as adults. Strategies to prevent aggression must address risk factors: low maternal education, adolescent pregnancy, in utero exposure to tobacco and alcohol, poverty, coercive parenting, childhood maltreatment and bullying victimisation. The aggressive child requires a comprehensive assessment to identify and manage underlying or comorbid problems, to understand the reasons for the aggressive behaviour and to detect modifiable factors that exacerbate or perpetuate the aggression. Psychosocial interventions include parenting skills training and child-directed cognitive behavioural therapy, whereas pharmacotherapy may be used to treat underlying developmental or mental health problems or to manage the aggression.
Topics: Adolescent; Adolescent Behavior; Aggression; Child; Child Behavior Disorders; Cognitive Behavioral Therapy; Humans
PubMed: 30294979
DOI: 10.1111/jpc.14182 -
Journal of Child and Adolescent... Oct 2019Aggressive behavior is among the most common reasons for referral to psychiatric clinics and confers significant burden on individuals. Aggression remains poorly... (Review)
Review
Aggressive behavior is among the most common reasons for referral to psychiatric clinics and confers significant burden on individuals. Aggression remains poorly defined; there is currently no consensus on the best ways to recognize, diagnose, and treat aggression in clinical settings. In this review, we synthesize the available literature on aggression in children and adolescents and propose the concept of impulsive aggression (IA) as an important construct associated with diverse and enduring psychopathology. Articles were identified and screened from online repositories, including PubMed, PsychInfo, the Cochrane Database, EMBase, and relevant book chapters, using combinations of search terms such as "aggression," "aggressive behavio(u)r," "maladaptive aggression," "juvenile," and "developmental trajectory." These were evaluated for quality of research before being incorporated into the article. The final report references 142 sources, published from 1987 to 2019. Aggression can be either adaptive or maladaptive in nature, and the latter may require psychosocial and biomedical interventions when it occurs in the context of central nervous system psychopathology. Aggression can be categorized into various subtypes, including reactive/proactive, overt/covert, relational, and IA. IA in psychiatric or neurological disorders is reviewed along with current treatments, and an algorithm for systematic evaluation of aggression in the clinical setting is proposed. IA is a treatable form of maladaptive aggression that is distinct from other aggression subtypes. It occurs across diverse psychiatric and neurological diagnoses and affects a substantial subpopulation. IA can serve as an important construct in clinical practice and has considerable potential to advance research.
Topics: Adolescent; Aggression; Child; Humans; Impulsive Behavior; Mental Disorders
PubMed: 31453715
DOI: 10.1089/cap.2019.0039 -
Hormones and Behavior Jul 2020Exhibiting behavioral plasticity in order to mount appropriate responses to dynamic and novel social environments is crucial to the survival of all animals. Thus, how... (Review)
Review
Exhibiting behavioral plasticity in order to mount appropriate responses to dynamic and novel social environments is crucial to the survival of all animals. Thus, how animals regulate flexibility in the timing, duration, and intensity of specific behaviors is of great interest to biologists. In this review, we discuss how animals rapidly respond to social challenges, with a particular focus on aggression. We utilize a conceptual framework to understand the neural mechanisms of aggression that is grounded in Wingfield and colleagues' Challenge Hypothesis, which has profoundly influenced how scientists think about aggression and the mechanisms that allow animals to exhibit flexible responses to social instability. Because aggressive behavior is rooted in social interactions, we propose that mechanisms modulating prosocial behavior may be intricately tied to mechanisms of aggression. Therefore, in order to better understand how aggressive behavior is mediated, we draw on perspectives from social neuroscience and discuss how social context, species-typical behavioral phenotype, and neural systems commonly studied in relation to prosocial behavior (i.e., neuropeptides) contribute to organizing rapid responses to social challenges. Because complex behaviors are not the result of one mechanism or a single neural system, we consider how multiple neural systems important for prosocial and aggressive behavior (i.e., neuropeptides and neurosteroids) interact in the brain to produce behavior in a rapid, context-appropriate manner. Applying a systems neuroscience perspective and seeking to understand how multiple systems functionally integrate to rapidly modulate behavior holds great promise for expanding our knowledge of the mechanisms underlying social behavioral plasticity.
Topics: Aggression; Animals; Brain; Cognitive Neuroscience; Humans; Mental Processes; Social Behavior; Social Environment
PubMed: 31002771
DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2019.04.010 -
Aggressive Behavior Jan 2015This editorial to the special section "Automatic Processes in Aggression: Conceptual and Assessment Issues" introduces major research lines, all of which culminate in...
This editorial to the special section "Automatic Processes in Aggression: Conceptual and Assessment Issues" introduces major research lines, all of which culminate in recent advances in the measurement of automatic components in aggressive behavior. Researchers of almost all psychological disciplines have stressed increasingly the importance of automatic components to gain a comprehensive psychological understanding of human behavior. This is reflected in current dual-process theories according to which both controlled processes and rather automatic processes elicit behavior in a synergistic or antagonistic way. As a consequence, complementing self-reports (assumed to assess predominantly controlled processes) by the use of implicit measures (assumed to assess predominantly automatic processes) has become common practice in various domains. We familiarize the reader with the three contributions that illuminate how such a distinction can further our understanding of human aggression. At the same time, it becomes evident that there is a long way that method-oriented researchers need to go before we can fully comprehend how to best measure automatic processes in aggression. We see the present special section as an invigorating call to contribute to this endeavor. Aggr. Behav. 41:44-50 2015. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Topics: Aggression; Humans
PubMed: 27539873
DOI: 10.1002/ab.21576