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Aggressive Behavior Mar 2023Adolescence is a high-risk age for exposure to violent media (EVM) and bullying. Some previous theories and empirical studies have highlighted a moderated mediating...
Adolescence is a high-risk age for exposure to violent media (EVM) and bullying. Some previous theories and empirical studies have highlighted a moderated mediating model that normative beliefs about aggression (NBA) as a mediator and self-control (SC) as a moderator for the link between EVM and aggressive behaviors (including bullying behaviors). However, most previous studies analyzed traditional bullying (TB) and cyberbullying (CB) separately, which is not conducive to finding the differences between the two bullying behaviors. Therefore, this study aims to compare the differences between risk prediction models of TB and CB among adolescents. A total of 777 Chinese adolescent students (336 girls; M = 13.57 ± 0.98) completed questionnaires including EVM, NBA, TB, CB, and SC. The results showed that: (1) EVM was positively related to adolescent TB/CB; (2) NBA mediated the above relations; and (3) SC buffers the direct effect of EVM on TB and the effect of NBA on TB. However, SC buffers the effect of NBA on adolescent CB but not buffers the direct effect of EVM on CB. This study highlights the necessity of distinguishing offline and online situations in aggressive behavior research. We suggested "online disinhibit hypothesis" would be adopted to explain why protector factors (e.g., SC) do not buffer the link between aggression-related risk factors (e.g., EVM) and online aggression (e.g., CB).
Topics: Adolescent; Female; Humans; Child; Cyberbullying; Crime Victims; Aggression; Bullying; Self-Control
PubMed: 36317677
DOI: 10.1002/ab.22057 -
Neuropharmacology Sep 2024There is an important relationship between the immune system and aggressive behavior. Aggressive encounters acutely increase the levels of proinflammatory cytokines, and... (Review)
Review
There is an important relationship between the immune system and aggressive behavior. Aggressive encounters acutely increase the levels of proinflammatory cytokines, and there are positive correlations between aggressive traits and peripheral proinflammatory cytokines. Endotoxin lipopolysaccharide (LPS) treatment, which results in peripheral immune activation, decreases aggressive behavior as one of the sickness behavioral symptoms. In contrast, certain brain infections and chronic interferon treatment are associated with increased aggression. Indeed, the effects of proinflammatory cytokines on the brain in aggressive behavior are bidirectional, depending on the type and dose of cytokine, target brain region, and type of aggression. Some studies have suggested that microglial activation and neuroinflammation influence intermale aggression in rodent models. In addition, pathological conditions as well as physiological levels of cytokines produced by microglia play an important role in social and aggressive behavior in adult animals. Furthermore, microglial function in early development is necessary for the establishment of the social brain and the expression of juvenile social behaviors, including play fighting. Overall, this review discusses the important link between the immune system and aggressive traits and the role of microglia as mediators of this link.
Topics: Aggression; Microglia; Animals; Humans; Immune System; Cytokines; Social Behavior; Brain
PubMed: 38825308
DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2024.110021 -
Aggressive Behavior Nov 2019Based on the General Aggression Model (GAM), the current study investigated the interactive effect of personal factors (e.g., sensation-seeking) and situational factors...
Based on the General Aggression Model (GAM), the current study investigated the interactive effect of personal factors (e.g., sensation-seeking) and situational factors (e.g., violent video games exposure [VVGE]) on the trait aggressive behavior, and the mediating role of individual difference trait (e.g., moral disengagement, anger, and hostility). We recruited 547 undergraduates (48.45% male) from five Chinese universities. The results showed that VVGE was positively associated with moral disengagement, disinhibition, and the four aggressive traits (physical aggression, verbal aggression, anger, and hostility), which were positively associated with each other. Moral disengagement was positively associated with both the disinhibition and the four aggressive traits. Disinhibition was positively associated with the four aggressive traits as well. When controlled for gender, moral disengagement, anger, and hostility wholly mediated the relationship between VVGE and aggression, but the moderation effect of disinhibition was not significant. These findings support the framework of GAM and indicate that moral disengagement, anger, and hostility may be the factors that increase the risk of a higher level of aggression following repeated exposure to violent video games.
Topics: Adolescent; Aggression; Anger; Exposure to Violence; Female; Hostility; Humans; Individuality; Male; Problem Behavior; Students; Video Games
PubMed: 31436326
DOI: 10.1002/ab.21860 -
Social Cognitive and Affective... Nov 2020Despite aggression being detrimental to children's physical health, mental health and social development, the dispositional and neurological antecedents of aggression in...
Despite aggression being detrimental to children's physical health, mental health and social development, the dispositional and neurological antecedents of aggression in the child are poorly understood. Here we examined the relationship between trait aggression as measured by Buss and Warren's Aggression Questionnaire and personality traits measured with Big Five Questionnaire for Children in 77 primary-school children and recorded resting-state brain activity (fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations [fALFF]) and resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) using functional magnetic resonance imaging. The present results showed that trait aggression was negatively correlated with agreeableness and positively correlated with neuroticism. The brain analyses showed that children with a higher propensity for aggression had a lower fALFF mainly in the left superior temporal gyrus, right parahippocampal gyrus and left supramarginal gyrus. Physical and total aggressions were negatively associated with rsFC between the right parahippocampal gyrus and the right putamen. Further analysis revealed that this rsFC could moderate the influence of neuroticism on total aggression. Moreover, the results suggest the presence of a sex difference in the neurodevelopmental mechanisms underlying aggression in middle childhood. Overall, our findings indicate that aggressive children have lower agreeableness and higher neuroticism, and the underlying neural systems are mainly implicated in social judgment and empathy.
Topics: Aggression; Brain; Brain Mapping; Child; Female; Humans; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Male; Personality; Sex Characteristics
PubMed: 32991698
DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsaa134 -
Clinical Child and Family Psychology... Mar 2023Aggressive behavior is one of the most common reasons for referrals of youth to mental health treatment. While there are multiple publications describing different types... (Review)
Review
Aggressive behavior is one of the most common reasons for referrals of youth to mental health treatment. While there are multiple publications describing different types of aggression in children, it remains challenging for clinicians to diagnose and treat aggressive youth, especially those with impulsively aggressive behaviors. The reason for this dilemma is that currently several psychiatric diagnoses include only some of the common symptoms of aggression in their criteria. However, no single diagnosis or diagnostic specifier adequately captures youth with impulsive aggression (IA). Here we review select current diagnostic categories, including behavior and mood disorders, and suggest that they do not provide an adequate description of youth with IA. We also specifically focus on the construct of IA as a distinct entity from other diagnoses and propose a set of initial, provisional diagnostic criteria based on the available evidence that describes youth with IA to use for future evaluation.
Topics: Adolescent; Child; Humans; Aggression; Impulsive Behavior; Mental Disorders; Psychotherapy
PubMed: 36609931
DOI: 10.1007/s10567-022-00422-3 -
Acta Psychologica Sep 2023Social exclusion can induce negative emotions and aggression. While previous studies have investigated the effect of trait acceptance on emotional experience and... (Randomized Controlled Trial)
Randomized Controlled Trial
Social exclusion can induce negative emotions and aggression. While previous studies have investigated the effect of trait acceptance on emotional experience and aggression during social exclusion, it is still unclear how different forms of acceptance strategy can downregulate negative emotions and whether this potential reduction of negative emotions should mediate the effect of acceptance on aggression. To address these questions, 100 participants were recruited and randomly divided into three groups: control group (CG, N = 33), conscious acceptance group (CAG, N = 33) and unconscious acceptance group (UAG, N = 34). Negative emotions were induced by the cyberball game and measured by the modified PANAS. Aggressive behavior was assessed by the hot sauce allocation task. Results showed that anger, rather than other negative emotions, mediated the effect of acceptance on aggressive behavior. Conscious and unconscious acceptance both effectively regulated anger, hurt feelings and aggressive behavior during social exclusion. Compared to conscious acceptance, unconscious acceptance was associated with less reduction of positive emotion and had a better effect on reducing sadness. These findings highlight the advantage of applying unconscious acceptance strategy to regulating social exclusion-induced emotions for the purpose of reducing aggressive behavior.
Topics: Humans; Anger; Emotions; Aggression; Consciousness
PubMed: 37562322
DOI: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2023.104000 -
Aggressive Behavior Sep 2021Using an experimental design, we examined whether retaliatory normative beliefs mediated the relation between peer victimization and reactive aggression and whether...
Using an experimental design, we examined whether retaliatory normative beliefs mediated the relation between peer victimization and reactive aggression and whether self-perspective moderated the relations among peer victimization, retaliatory normative beliefs, and reactive aggressive behavior in a sample of 381 junior high-school students (165 girls) in Grades 7 and 8. Findings revealed that retaliatory normative beliefs fully mediated the relation between peer victimization and reactive aggression. Moreover, the mediating effect of retaliatory normative beliefs was moderated by self-perspective. Specifically, for the self-distanced group, peer victimization demonstrated a weaker impact on retaliatory normative beliefs than that of the self-immersed group and the control group. These results suggest that adolescents' beliefs about the acceptability of retaliatory aggression (rather than peer victimization) are directly associated with reactive aggression, and that self-distancing may be a protective factor against retaliatory normative beliefs and reactive aggression in provocative situations. The implications and limitations of these findings are discussed.
Topics: Adolescent; Aggression; Crime Victims; Female; Humans; Interpersonal Relations; Peer Group; Schools; Students
PubMed: 34085295
DOI: 10.1002/ab.21982 -
Social Cognitive and Affective... May 2018Social rejection is a painful event that often increases aggression. However, the neural mechanisms of this rejection-aggression link remain unclear. A potential clue...
Social rejection is a painful event that often increases aggression. However, the neural mechanisms of this rejection-aggression link remain unclear. A potential clue may be that rejected people often recruit the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex's (VLPFC) self-regulatory processes to manage the pain of rejection. Using functional MRI, we replicated previous links between rejection and activity in the brain's mentalizing network, social pain network and VLPFC. VLPFC recruitment during rejection was associated with greater activity in the brain's reward network (i.e. the ventral striatum) when individuals were given an opportunity to retaliate. This retaliation-related striatal response was associated with greater levels of retaliatory aggression. Dispositionally aggressive individuals exhibited less functional connectivity between the ventral striatum and the right VLPFC during aggression. This connectivity exerted a suppressing effect on dispositionally aggressive individuals' greater aggressive responses to rejection. These results help explain how the pain of rejection and reward of revenge motivate rejected people to behave aggressively.
Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Aggression; Anger; Brain Mapping; Female; Humans; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Male; Neostriatum; Nerve Net; Neuropsychological Tests; Pain; Prefrontal Cortex; Rejection, Psychology; Reward; Theory of Mind; Young Adult
PubMed: 29618118
DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsy025 -
The American Psychologist 2015This article reviews current research on the relational processes involved in peer bullying, considering developmental antecedents and long-term consequences. The... (Review)
Review
This article reviews current research on the relational processes involved in peer bullying, considering developmental antecedents and long-term consequences. The following themes are highlighted: (a) aggression can be both adaptive and maladaptive, and this distinction has implications for bullies' functioning within peer social ecologies; (b) developmental antecedents and long-term consequences of bullying have not been well-distinguished from the extant research on aggressive behavior; (c) bullying is aggression that operates within relationships of power and abuse. Power asymmetry and repetition elements of traditional bullying definitions have been hard to operationalize, but without these specifications and more dyadic measurement approaches there may be little rationale for a distinct literature on bullying--separate from aggression. Applications of a relational approach to bullying are provided using gender as an example. Implications for future research are drawn from the study of relationships and interpersonal theories of developmental psychopathology.
Topics: Aggression; Bullying; Child; Child Development; Crime Victims; Humans; Peer Group
PubMed: 25961312
DOI: 10.1037/a0038658 -
Aggressive Behavior Jul 2021This study identified subgroups of adolescents with distinct patterns of involvement with overt and relational in-person and cyber aggression and victimization. We also...
This study identified subgroups of adolescents with distinct patterns of involvement with overt and relational in-person and cyber aggression and victimization. We also assessed subgroup similarities and differences in exposure to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), exposure to community violence, and trauma symptoms. Using latent class analysis, we identified three subgroups among 265 adolescents (M = 14.3 years; 57% female; 96% African American) residing in three urban high-burden communities that included youth who reported: (a) combined (cyber and in-person) aggression and victimization (17%), (b) in-person aggression and victimization (51%), and (c) adolescents with limited involvement (32%). Youth in the combined aggressive-victims subgroup had the highest probability of endorsing exposure to community violence, trauma symptoms, and a higher number of ACEs overall as well as higher rates of both verbal and physical abuse compared to the other subgroups. Our results indicated that the adolescents who reported the highest frequencies of aggressive behavior were also the most victimized and traumatized. These findings provide context to aggressive behavior among adolescents living in high-burden, urban communities and underscore the need for trauma-informed prevention interventions.
Topics: Adolescent; Adolescent Behavior; Aggression; Bullying; Crime Victims; Female; Humans; Male; Violence
PubMed: 33844292
DOI: 10.1002/ab.21966