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At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1991

Lesbians in currently aggressive relationships: how frequently do they report aggressive past relationships?

Findings are reported from a survey examining the frequency with which women in currently aggressive same-sex relationships also report aggressive past relationships involving female partners, male partners, or members of their family of origin. Particular attention is paid to victims who also used aggression and their perceptions of whether their aggressive behavior was self-defensive or mutually aggressive. Results indicate that about one-fourth of participants had been victims of aggression in current relationships, roughly two-thirds had been victimized by a previous male partner, and almost three-fourths had experienced aggression by a previous female partner. Among those reporting having been both victims and users of aggression, about one-fifth had used aggression in their current relationship, almost one-third used aggression with a previous male partner, and nearly two-thirds had used aggression with a previous female partner. A majority of victims who had also used aggression with a previous male partner characterized this use as self-defense, as compared to only 30% of those who had used aggression with a female partner. Instead, aggression in relationships involving a female partner was most frequently described as mutually aggressive in nature.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

The role of aggression in peer relations: an analysis of aggression episodes in boys' play groups.

Although aggression is frequently cited as a major cause of peer social rejection, no more than half of all aggressive children are rejected. Aggressive episode data from experimental play groups of 7- and 9-year-old black males were coded to examine whether qualitative aspects of aggressive behavior, as well as frequency of aggression, determine the relation between aggressiveness and peer rejection. Reactive aggression and bullying were related to peer status among 9-year-olds, but not 7-year-olds, whereas instrumental aggression was characteristic of highly aggressive, rejected boys at both ages. Qualitative features of aggressive interaction suggested a greater level of hostility toward peers and a tendency to violate norms for aggressive exchange among rejected, aggressive boys at both ages in contrast to other groups of boys. The descriptive data provide a distinctive picture of reactive, instrumental, and bullying aggression as well as differing social norms for target and aggressor behavior in each of these 3 types of aggression.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1989

Stability in aggression and aggression control in a sample of primary school children in China.

The aim was to study the stability of aggression and aggression control in Chinese children. Olweus' Aggression Inventory was retested after 18 months in a sample of Chinese primary school children in Beijing (average age 12 years; 267 children; 139 boys and 128 girls; 92% of the initial study sample). Compared with relevant studies in Scandinavian countries, this study shows that a degree of stability in aggression behaviour is also found in Chinese primary school children despite strong societal pressures against aggressive behaviour and towards aggression control. The result supports the earlier evidence that aggression was a somewhat more global or less differentiated phenomenon for Chinese children. Nevertheless, the average aggression response level for the Chinese children is clearly low and quite high for aggression control. Positive self-report, which reflects good adjustment and psychological health, was still clearly related to aggression control, but slightly less for the boys. The average difference between boys and girls in general aggression and aggression control was stable over time. Girls showed a lower level of general aggression and a higher level of aggression control compared with boys.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1989

Psychological aggression predicts physical aggression in early marriage.

Psychological aggression by self and partner, physical aggression by the partner, and marital dissatisfaction were examined as longitudinal predictors of first instances of physical aggression during marriage. Subjects who were not physically aggressive at a premarital assessment were selected from a sample of 393 engaged couples. Couples participated in three subsequent assessments over the first 30 months of marriage. As hypothesized, individuals' own psychological aggression predicted their initial incidents of physical aggression in marriage. Psychological aggression by their partners also predicted initial incidents of physical aggression. Prior physical aggression by their partners was inconsistently associated with first instances of physical aggression. Contrary to our hypothesis, previous levels of marital dissatisfaction did not predict initial incidents of physical aggression. These findings were consistent across sexes. The results underscore the progression from psychological to physical abuse and have clear implications for understanding the development and prevention of interspousal aggression.

Adult↗
PubMed1979

Effects of external incentive and aggressive predisposition on aggression reduction.

Female undergraduates (N = 40) received four counteraggression strategies (0%, 10%, 50%, and 150% retaliation) in response to their aggression in a complex reaction time task. They either were or were not offered a monetary incentive to beat their opponent and were divided into those low and high in their initial predisposition to aggression. Four major findings resulted: 1) escalation of aggression to 150% retaliation supported reciprocity over contingent punishment theory. 2) Ss low in aggression were unaffected by strategies, rather than being most responsive to pacifism, as predicted. 3) Ss high in aggression reduced their aggression most to the intermediate 10% and 50% retaliation strategies. 4) An external (monetary) incentive for beating the opponent did not parallel the aggressiveness personality factor as expected. The external incentive reduced the difference between low and high aggression participants and resulted in a linear relationship between retaliation strategy and aggression reduction. This is the first study showing minimum (10%) retaliation to be more effective than pacifism (0% retaliation), but the effect occurred only among the 25% most aggressive Ss when there was no monetary incentive.

Adult↗
PubMed1977

Muscarine- and carbachol-induced aggressions: fear and irritable kinds of aggressions.

In unaneasthetized and unrestrained cats, muscarine and carbachol were injected into the cerebral ventricles. The kind of aggressive behaviour depended on the cholinomimetic drug and was classified as fear and an irritable kind of aggression. Muscarine induced the fear kind of aggression. The aggressive behaviour was usually preceded by attempts to escape and the attack was relevant to the situation. For the attack the presence of some threatening agent was needed. The aggression was accompanied by intense motor but less autonomic activation. On the other hand, carbachol induced an irritable kind of aggression and had the following characteristics: for the attack the presence of some threatening agent was not needed; the attack was not relevant to the situation; the aggression was not preceded by attempts to escape; and the aggressive behaviour was accompanied by intense motor and autonomic activation. It is concluded that cholinoceptive mechanisms are involved in the control of aggressive behaviour.

Aggression↗
PubMed1992

Aggression in boys with attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder: methylphenidate effects on naturalistically observed aggression, response to provocation, and social information processing.

High and low-aggressive boys with attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) were compared and the effects of methylphenidate were examined on measures from three domains of aggression: (1) directly observed verbal and nonverbal aggressive behaviors exhibited in the context of a day treatment program, (2) aggressive responding when provoked during a laboratory task, and (3) social information processing patterns exhibited on tasks designed to tap the putative cognitive components of aggression. The high-aggressive (HA) and low-aggressive (LA) subgroups differed significantly on observational measures of aggression and on the laboratory provocation task, but the HA group showed more deviant cognitions on only one of the numerous measures of social information processing. Regarding medication effects on the direct observation measures, methylphenidate decreased aggression for both subgroups. On the laboratory provocation task, methylphenidate had only minimal effects. Significant drug effects were obtained on only two recall social information processing measures.

Aggression↗
PubMed1987

Mammary stimulation and maternal aggression in rodents: thelectomy fails to reduce pre- or postpartum aggression in rats.

In mice, tactile stimulation of the nipples appears to be critical for the onset of postpartum maternal aggression. Surgical removal of the nipples (thelectomy) blocks aggression if performed prior to parturition. In rats, indirect evidence suggests a similar role for nipple stimulation in maternal aggression. Two experiments were undertaken to determine whether thelectomy prior to mating reduces pregnancy-induced and/or postpartum aggression in this species. In the first, thelectomized and sham-thelectomized females were subjected to home cage tests (pups, if any, present) with unfamiliar male intruders on Gestation Days 18 and 21 and Lactation Days 3 and 5. Additional groups of thelectomized females were tested one time only on either Lactation Day 5 or 12. Thelectomized and control females were equally aggressive; postpartum, nearly all females in both groups attacked. Experiment 2 used females that were hysterectomized-ovariectomized (HO) on Gestation Day 16. Such females are not aggressive prior to initiating maternal behavior, but become highly aggressive (over 80% attacking) after commencing maternal care. Females again were thelectomized or sham-thelectomized prior to mating. On Day 16 HO was performed, and 48 hr later continuous exposure to pups was begun. After the females had displayed maternal behavior for 1.5-2 days, intruder tests were conducted. All females attacked at least once, with no differences between treatment groups. Thus thelectomy does not reduce maternal aggression in the rat. This finding, however, does not preclude a role for tactile ventral stimulation in mediating maternal aggression.

Aggression↗
PubMed1990

Hormone-dependent aggression in female rats: testosterone implants attenuate the decline in aggression following ovariectomy.

Female rats were individually housed with a sterile male for a 4- to 5-week period. Each female was then tested for aggression toward an unfamiliar female intruder at weekly intervals. Those females that displayed a high level of aggression on each of three weekly tests were ovariectomized and given subcutaneous implants of testosterone-filled tubes, ovariectomized and given subcutaneous implants of empty tubes, or sham-ovariectomized and implanted with empty tubes. These implants should produce a serum testosterone concentration of about 0.6 ng/ml, compared to 0.17 ng/ml in intact females. Beginning 1 week postoperatively, the aggression of each female was tested weekly for 4 weeks. Ovariectomized females with testosterone implants displayed a level of aggression significantly higher than that of ovariectomized females with empty implants on 3 of 4 weekly tests. The level of aggression by females with testosterone implants was not significantly different from that of sham-ovariectomized females on the first postoperative test. Additional observations showed that testosterone implants did not produce an increase in aggression in females whose preoperative level of aggression was low. Further, Silastic implants containing estrogen (1 to 2 mm long) sufficient to maintain a serum estrogen level of 20 to 30 pg/ml also attenuated the decline of aggression following ovariectomy. These results suggest that testosterone and estrogen may both contribute to the biological substrate of hormone-dependent aggression in female rats.

Aggression↗
PubMed1975

Perception of aggression and overt aggressive behavior.

Investigated the relationship between thresholds for perception of aggressive cues and overt aggressive behavior in 86 male undergraduate students. Overt aggressive behavior was measured by the amount of shock the subject attempted to inflict on his presumed opponent. It was found that individuals with low thresholds for aggressive cues expressed less overt aggressive behavior while individuals with high thresholds for aggression expressed more overt aggression. Thus an inverse relationship was found with respect to perceptual recognition thresholds for aggressive stimuli and overt aggressive behavior. The implications of these findings for projective techniques and their relevance to perception as it relates to overt behavior were discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Husband's aggression toward wives and mothers' and fathers' aggression toward children: moderating effects of child gender.

This study assesses the role of child gender in moderating the association between husbands' aggression toward wives and parental aggression toward children. Participants were 73 mothers who experienced at least one incident of marital aggression during the past 12 months. Each mother had a child between 5 and 16 years of age. Hierarchical regression analyses indicate that the Husbands' Aggression Toward Wives x Child Gender interaction contributed unique variance to the prediction of both mothers' and fathers' aggression toward children after husbands' aggression toward wives, child gender, and child age were controlled. Pearson correlations indicate that husbands' aggression toward wives correlated positively with mothers' and fathers' aggression toward boys but not toward girls.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1975

Witnessed aggression: influence of an observer's sex and values on aggressive responding.

Two experiments investigated the effects of the presence of an observer on aggressive responding. In one experiment, male subjects observed by a male aggressed more than those observed by a female. When the male observer was removed from the situation, subjects' level of aggressiveness more closely matched the level manifested by the opponent. The removal of the female observer had little effect on the subjects' behavior. In the second experiment, the male or female observer of the subject's behavior was disguised as a member of an organization with explicit values (aggressive or pacifistic) regarding the use of aggression. In this case, significant differences in aggression were associated with the observer's values but not the observer's sex. Following the departure of the observer, the shock settings of subjects in the two aggressive-value observer groups showed a signifcant decrease. The average shock setting of subjects in the two pacifistic-value observer groups remained at about the same level. In sum, the results indicated that the subjects' aggressive behavior was apparently a function of their expectations of approval for such behavior, based on the inferred or explicit values of the observer. The results were further discussed in terms of social learning theory.

Aggression↗
PubMed1986

The Overt Aggression Scale for the objective rating of verbal and physical aggression.

The authors describe the design and reliability of a rating scale that measures aggressive behaviors in adults and children. On the Overt Aggression Scale (OAS), aggression is divided into four categories: verbal aggression, physical aggression against objects, physical aggression against self, and physical aggression against others. In addition, specific interventions related to each aggressive event can be recorded on the OAS. The clinical and research applications of this scale are discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1989

Quantitative and comparative analyses of pro-aggressive actions of benzodiazepines in maternal aggression of rats.

The pro-aggressive effects of low doses of benzodiazepines on maternal aggression in rats were studied. Chlordiazepoxide, diazepam, oxazepam and alprazolam produced bell-shaped dose-response curves, with increased aggression at low doses. Only alprazolam significantly reduced aggression at higher doses. A comparison of the drug effects on different aggressive elements revealed that chlordiazepoxide and oxazepam increased the frequency of more elements of the aggressive repertoire than diazepam or alprazolam. Thus, although all benzodiazepine receptor agonists increased aggression, there were significant quantitative differences in their effects.

Aggression↗
PubMed1976

Correlated response in selection for aggressiveness in female mice. I. Male aggressiveness.

Males from the fifty selected generation of a selection program for aggressiveness in female Mus musculus (Ebert and Hyde, 1976) were tested to determine whether male aggressiveness showed a correlated response in selection for female aggressiveness. The results indicated that male aggression had not shown a correlated response. Differences among males from the high, control, and low lines were not statistically significant in one replication and were significant but not in the predicted order in the other replication. There were marginally significant line X sex interactions. The rank correlation between male and female aggression scores was 0.20, which was not significant. The results suggest that male aggressiveness and female aggressiveness are under separate genetic control. Data for generation S5 females are also reported; differences among the high, control, and low lines continue to be significant.

Aggression↗
PubMed1991

Aggression by a female rat cohabitating with a sterile male: termination of pseudopregnancy does not abolish aggression.

At the end of that time, each female was assessed for aggressiveness toward an unfamiliar female intruder once each week for 3 weeks. Those females displaying a high level of aggression had their male cagemate changed. For half of the females, the new male cagemate was a castrated male with a testosterone implant. For the other half, the new cagemate was a castrated male without a testosterone implant. Replacement males had been subjected to surgery 9 weeks previously. There were no differences in the aggressiveness of females of the two groups on any of 3 subsequent weekly tests of aggression. In a 3-h evaluation of male sexual behavior, none of the 9 castrated males without testosterone replacement displayed sexual activity with an estrogen/progesterone primed ovariectomized female, but 6 of 9 males with testosterone replacement did. Reanalysis of the aggression data comparing the females whose males had no testosterone replacement and females housed with the 6 males that were sexually active also revealed no differences in aggression over the 21-day test period. Since pseudopregnancy is known to last 13 days, these results indicate that the continuous presence of pseudopregnancy is not required for maintenance of aggression by a female cohabiting with a sterile male.

Aggression↗