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Aggressive Behavior Jan 2021The effects of neuropathic, formalin, and acetic acid-induced visceral pain were investigated on the social and aggressive behaviors in the Swiss male mice. Neuropathic...
The effects of neuropathic, formalin, and acetic acid-induced visceral pain were investigated on the social and aggressive behaviors in the Swiss male mice. Neuropathic pain was induced by tibial nerve transection (TNT). Also, somatic and visceral pain was conducted by intraplantar injection of diluted formalin (1%, 20 μl) and intraperitoneal administration of acetic acid (0.6%, 200 μl), respectively. Fourteen and twenty one days after the TNT surgery, and also, 1 and 7 days following formalin and acetic acid administration, the three-chambered test was used to determine sociability and preference for social novelty and resident/intruder test was used for the evaluation of the aggressive behaviors. In the sociability phase of the three-chambered test, all the three models of pain did not change the animal's sociability. However, in the social novelty preference phase, the animals in pain showed deficits in social novelty preference by a significant increase in the time spent with the familiar mice compared to the control groups. Also, animals in pain significantly showed more aggressive behaviors like biting and clinching and have much less attack latency in comparison to the control groups. Pain-induced changes in the social novelty preference and aggressive behaviors continued in the neuropathic group until the end of the experiment. However, 7 days following the induction of both formalin and visceral pain, animals' social memory, and aggression almost returned to the standard value. These results suggest that long-lasting pain could lead to social memory impairment and increase aggressive behaviors in mice.
Topics: Aggression; Animals; Male; Mice; Pain; Social Behavior
PubMed: 32662216
DOI: 10.1002/ab.21912 -
Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry and... May 2021Aggressive behavior is one of the most disturbing symptoms of Alzheimer disease and other progressive neurodegenerative dementias. Development of strategies for...
Aggressive behavior is one of the most disturbing symptoms of Alzheimer disease and other progressive neurodegenerative dementias. Development of strategies for management of aggressive behaviors in people with dementia is hindered by a lack of recognition that aggression is not a uniform behavioral construct. It is possible to distinguish 2 types of aggression: reactive or impulsive aggression and proactive or premeditated aggression. Research concerning aggressive behaviors in people with dementia is hindered by scales describing behavioral symptoms of dementia which do not distinguish between reactive and proactive aggressions because they do not consider the factors leading to these behaviors. Reactive aggression is caused by lack of understanding, leading to rejection of care, while proactive aggression could be caused by a psychopathic personality, hallucinations or delusions, and other determinants. It is difficult to underestimate the importance of distinguishing reactive and proactive aggressions in people with dementia because there are different strategies that can be used for management of these behaviors. For reactive aggression, delayed treatment, distraction, improved communication, and change in treatment strategy is useful, while antipsychotic medication may be needed for treatment of proactive aggression. Dementia is increasing the risk of both types of aggressions and antidepressant treatment can be helpful. Most importantly, persons exhibiting reactive aggression should not be labeled "aggressors" because this behavior could be caused by unmet persons' needs, pain and poor communication with care providers.
Topics: Aggression; Antidepressive Agents; Antipsychotic Agents; Antisocial Personality Disorder; Dementia; Humans
PubMed: 32410494
DOI: 10.1177/0891988720924706 -
Aggressive Behavior 2015Individual differences in justice sensitivity and rejection sensitivity have been linked to differences in aggressive behavior in adults. However, there is little...
Individual differences in justice sensitivity and rejection sensitivity have been linked to differences in aggressive behavior in adults. However, there is little research studying this association in children and adolescents and considering the two constructs in combination. We assessed justice sensitivity from the victim, observer, and perpetrator perspective as well as anxious and angry rejection sensitivity and linked both constructs to different forms (physical, relational), and functions (proactive, reactive) of self-reported aggression and to teacher- and parent-rated aggression in N = 1,489 9- to 19-year olds in Germany. Victim sensitivity and both angry and anxious rejection sensitivity showed positive correlations with all forms and functions of aggression. Angry rejection sensitivity also correlated positively with teacher-rated aggression. Perpetrator sensitivity was negatively correlated with all aggression measures, and observer sensitivity also correlated negatively with all aggression measures except for a positive correlation with reactive aggression. Path models considering the sensitivity facets in combination and controlling for age and gender showed that higher victim justice sensitivity predicted higher aggression on all measures. Higher perpetrator sensitivity predicted lower physical, relational, proactive, and reactive aggression. Higher observer sensitivity predicted lower teacher-rated aggression. Angry rejection sensitivity predicted higher proactive and reactive aggression, whereas anxious rejection sensitivity did not make an additional contribution to the prediction of aggression. The findings are discussed in terms of social information processing models of aggression in childhood and adolescence.
Topics: Adolescent; Adolescent Behavior; Adult; Aggression; Anger; Anxiety; Child; Child Behavior; Crime Victims; Female; Humans; Male; Psychological Distance; Social Justice; Young Adult
PubMed: 25136820
DOI: 10.1002/ab.21556 -
Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology Jan 2017This study was designed to examine whether proactive and reactive aggression are meaningful distinctions at the variable- and person-based level, and to determine their...
This study was designed to examine whether proactive and reactive aggression are meaningful distinctions at the variable- and person-based level, and to determine their associated behavioral profiles. Data from 587 adolescents (mean age 15.6; 71.6 % male) from clinical samples of four different sites with differing levels of aggression problems were analyzed. A multi-level Latent Class Analysis (LCA) was conducted to identify classes of individuals (person-based) with similar aggression profiles based on factor scores (variable-based) of the Reactive Proactive Questionnaire (RPQ) scored by self-report. Associations were examined between aggression factors and classes, and externalizing and internalizing problem behavior scales by parent report (CBCL) and self-report (YSR). Factor-analyses yielded a three factor solution: 1) proactive aggression, 2) reactive aggression due to internal frustration, and 3) reactive aggression due to external provocation. All three factors showed moderate to high correlations. Four classes were detected that mainly differed quantitatively (no 'proactive-only' class present), yet also qualitatively when age was taken into account, with reactive aggression becoming more severe with age in the highest affected class yet diminishing with age in the other classes. Findings were robust across the four samples. Multiple regression analyses showed that 'reactive aggression due to internal frustration' was the strongest predictor of YSR and CBCL internalizing problems. However, results showed moderate to high overlap between all three factors. Aggressive behavior can be distinguished psychometrically into three factors in a clinical sample, with some differential associations. However, the clinical relevance of these findings is challenged by the person-based analysis showing proactive and reactive aggression are mainly driven by aggression severity.
Topics: Adolescent; Adolescent Behavior; Aggression; Female; Humans; Male
PubMed: 27113216
DOI: 10.1007/s10802-016-0149-5 -
Journal of Psychiatric Research Feb 2019Research in aggression has distinguished two major subtypes of aggressive behavior: hostile and instrumental. Previous research has examined these subtypes in healthy...
Research in aggression has distinguished two major subtypes of aggressive behavior: hostile and instrumental. Previous research has examined these subtypes in healthy individuals and forensic samples but not in intermittent explosive disorder (IED), a disorder characterized by recurrent and severe aggressive behavior. We examined aggression subtypes in individuals with IED, healthy subjects, and psychiatric control subjects. We also considered the relationship between aggression subtypes and measures of trait anger and impulsivity to evaluate whether the hostile/instrumental dichotomy adequately captures the heterogeneity of aggressive behavior in this sample. Finally, we consider the implications of these results for research on aggression, including neuroscience research on aggression.
Topics: Adult; Aggression; Disruptive, Impulse Control, and Conduct Disorders; Female; Humans; Male; Middle Aged
PubMed: 30551023
DOI: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2018.10.013 -
Health & Social Care in the Community Nov 2022This study explored health outcomes following workplace aggression among social workers in Israel. Grounded in the social exchange theory, a relationship-based...
This study explored health outcomes following workplace aggression among social workers in Israel. Grounded in the social exchange theory, a relationship-based perspective was used to explain the mechanism through which exposure to workplace aggression results in employee outcomes. Reports of employees and managers were analysed with respect to the impact of varied forms of aggressive behaviours perpetrated by clients and co-workers on posttraumatic stress and somatic symptoms. The intervening effects on symptoms of two forms of perceived organisational support, organisational procedural support and interpersonal co-worker support operationalised as team trust were examined. Overall, 548 employees and 89 managers in 31 social services departments completed self-report questionnaires. Results revealed positive associations between exposure to both co-worker and client aggression, and posttraumatic stress and somatic symptoms. Importantly, while perceived organisational support is often equated with social support, this study found that two elements, organisational procedural support and team trust, had differing impacts on somatic and posttraumatic stress symptoms following WPA. Specifically, team trust was negatively associated with symptoms, while organisational procedural support showed no effect. This study has important implications for timely prevention measures to deal with workplace aggressions and valuable directions for future studies.
Topics: Humans; Medically Unexplained Symptoms; Workplace; Aggression; Social Support; Outcome Assessment, Health Care
PubMed: 35285997
DOI: 10.1111/hsc.13793 -
Deutsches Arzteblatt International Jun 2019Psychomotor agitation and aggressiveness in the context of mental illnessare medical emergencies. In a survey of six German psychiatric hospitals, 1.7 to 5 aggressive... (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND
Psychomotor agitation and aggressiveness in the context of mental illnessare medical emergencies. In a survey of six German psychiatric hospitals, 1.7 to 5 aggressive attacks per patient-year were reported. If talking to the patient has no calming effect, intervention with drugs is required. In this article, we review the evidence on tranquilizing drugs and discuss clinically relevant ethical and practical questions, e.g., with respect to involuntary medication.
METHODS
This review is based on pertinent articles retrieved by a selective search in MEDLINE, supplemented by a reference search.
RESULTS
The evidence for the treatment of psychomotor agitation with antipsychotic drugs and benzodiazepines is relatively good. Randomized, controlled trials and a number of Cochrane reviews are available. These publications, however, contain data only on patients who were able to give informed consent. Their findings are often not applicable to real-life emergencies, e.g., when the patient is intoxicated with alcohol or suffers from a pre-existing disease. Haloperidol has a relatively weak effect on aggression when given alone and can also cause side effects such as early dyskinesia and epileptic seizures. It should, therefore, no longer be used as monotherapy. On the other hand, haloperidol combined with benzodiazepines or promethazine and monotherapy with lorazepam, olanzapine, ziprasidone, or aripiprazole intramuscular are effective options for the treatment of aggressive psychomotor agitation.
CONCLUSION
All of these drugs, if accepted by the patient, can also have an additional, beneficial placebo effect, with the patient calming down more rapidly than could be explained on pharmacological grounds alone. It is, therefore, important in emergencies (as at other times) for the patient to be involved in treatment decisions to the greatest possible extent.
Topics: Aggression; Antipsychotic Agents; Benzodiazepines; Haloperidol; Humans; Psychomotor Agitation; Psychotic Disorders
PubMed: 31431244
DOI: 10.3238/arztebl.2019.0445 -
Development and Psychopathology Nov 2014The majority of aggressive children exhibit symptoms of anxiety, yet none of our developmental models of aggression incorporate the role of anxiety, and our treatments... (Review)
Review
The majority of aggressive children exhibit symptoms of anxiety, yet none of our developmental models of aggression incorporate the role of anxiety, and our treatments ignore this comorbidity. This article outlines a novel theoretical model that specifies three hypotheses about comorbid anxious and aggressive children: (a) unpredictable parenting induces anxiety in children that in turn triggers aggressive behavior; (b) prolonged periods of anxiety deplete children's capacity to inhibit impulses and trigger bouts of aggression, and aggression in turn functions to regulate levels of anxiety; and (c) minor daily stressors give rise to anxiety while cognitive perseveration maintains anxious moods, increasingly disposing children to aggress. Little or no research has directly tested these hypotheses. Extant research and theory consistent with these claims are herein reviewed, and future research designs that can test them specifically are suggested. The clinical implications most relevant to the hypotheses are discussed, and to improve the efficacy of treatments for childhood aggression, it is proposed that anxiety may need to be the primary target of treatment.
Topics: Aggression; Anxiety; Child; Child Behavior; Humans; Models, Psychological; Parenting
PubMed: 25422976
DOI: 10.1017/S0954579414001175 -
Proceedings of the National Academy of... Jan 2018Two major types of aggression, proactive and reactive, are associated with contrasting expression, eliciting factors, neural pathways, development, and function. The...
Two major types of aggression, proactive and reactive, are associated with contrasting expression, eliciting factors, neural pathways, development, and function. The distinction is useful for understanding the nature and evolution of human aggression. Compared with many primates, humans have a high propensity for proactive aggression, a trait shared with chimpanzees but not bonobos. By contrast, humans have a low propensity for reactive aggression compared with chimpanzees, and in this respect humans are more bonobo-like. The bimodal classification of human aggression helps solve two important puzzles. First, a long-standing debate about the significance of aggression in human nature is misconceived, because both positions are partly correct. The Hobbes-Huxley position rightly recognizes the high potential for proactive violence, while the Rousseau-Kropotkin position correctly notes the low frequency of reactive aggression. Second, the occurrence of two major types of human aggression solves the execution paradox, concerned with the hypothesized effects of capital punishment on self-domestication in the Pleistocene. The puzzle is that the propensity for aggressive behavior was supposedly reduced as a result of being selected against by capital punishment, but capital punishment is itself an aggressive behavior. Since the aggression used by executioners is proactive, the execution paradox is solved to the extent that the aggressive behavior of which victims were accused was frequently reactive, as has been reported. Both types of killing are important in humans, although proactive killing appears to be typically more frequent in war. The biology of proactive aggression is less well known and merits increased attention.
Topics: Adaptation, Physiological; Aggression; Biological Evolution; Competitive Behavior; Female; Humans; Male; Neural Pathways; Reward; Social Behavior; Violence
PubMed: 29279379
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1713611115 -
PloS One 2023Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) display high levels of agonistic behavior in aquaculture farms, resulting in fin damage and chronic stress. Aggression affects fish growth...
Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) display high levels of agonistic behavior in aquaculture farms, resulting in fin damage and chronic stress. Aggression affects fish growth and performance negatively, and presents a serious welfare problem. Indeed, it would be beneficial to identify, separate or exclude overly aggressive individuals. Research on behavioral syndromes suggests that aggressive behavior may correlate with other behavioral traits, such as boldness and locomotory activity. We aimed to develop a high-throughput method to quantify and predict aggressive behavior of individual parr in hatchery-reared Baltic salmon (Salmo salar L.). We screened approximately 2000 parr in open field (OF) and mirror image stimulation (MIS) tests. We extracted seven variables from video tracking software for each minute of the tests; distance moved and duration moving (activity), the duration in and number of entries to the center of the arena (boldness), the distance moved in and duration spent in the area adjacent to the mirror during the MIS test (aggressiveness) and head direction (lateralization). To investigate the relationship between activity, boldness and aggression we first correlated the first six variables to one another. Second, we assigned individuals to high, medium, low or zero aggression groups based on the MIS test and quantified activity and boldness in each group. Third, we analyzed whether the fish viewed the mirror with the left or right eye. Our results show that medium and low aggressive fish were the most active, while highly aggressive fish showed average activity. Aggressive groups did not differ in boldness. Activity and boldness were positively correlated. Finally, we detected a preference for fish to view the mirror with the left eye. We conclude that aggressiveness cannot be predicted from the results of the OF test alone but that the MIS test can be used for large-scale individual aggression profiling of juvenile salmon.
Topics: Animals; Aggression; Agonistic Behavior; Salmo salar; Behavior, Animal
PubMed: 37471414
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0287836