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What leads children to become aggressive and violent? Many aggressive children and adolescents have grown up in violent homes and neighborhoods, but some become violent for other reasons, as in the student shootings at Columbine High School and other schools. In particular, are there psychological or family variables that constrain children toward such a developmental pathway? Many analysts assume that demographic and socioeconomic factors account for most child aggression. Past studies on antecedents of aggression have reported that in general there is no one single cause of aggression. Specifically, there are probably multiple pathways by which individuals become aggressive and/or violent. When this study was started, the focus in the aggression literature was on the environmental antecedents/risk factors of aggression, with little on psychological and personality factors. This study attempts to delve into some of the latter issues while revisiting the environmental factors previously described in the literature. The study, which was funded by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, was presented at the biannual conference of the Society for Research in Child Development and the European Conference of Developmental Psychology. Findings The most powerful predictor was parents’ physical punishment and violence, which also related to exposure to victimization and violent fantasies. Inhibited temperament was the only personality characteristic that predicted aggression, which suggests possible connections with the isolated, alienated children and adolescents who have committed school attacks. The important factors for predicting aggression seemed to be fearfulness in general and apprehension/lack of confidence about school, not simple shyness. Inhibited children may react to problems with peers and schools by making negative attributions against others and thus becoming more likely to act aggressively against others. Inhibited children in this study were characterized as socially withdrawn, uncomfortable or distressed in new situations, and anxious about making new friends or trying new activities. Examples of aggressive behavior included fighting and lashing out at their peers both physically and verbally, insulting them, hitting and pushing them, attacking them with weapons, and, in extreme cases, criminal aggression, including murder. In summary, the following factors did predict aggression:
Most demographic and socioeconomic factors made little contribution to predicting aggression. Although aggression increased with age as expected, there was little effect of socioeconomic status, race, ethnicity, or gender. Also, many potential psychological and environmental predictors such as family environment (other than parental violence), sensation seeking, self-worth, and degree of fantasy played little role. In summary, the following factors did not predict aggression:
Findings indicate that most of the study children were not very aggressive, fitting national norms. Specifically, 25 out of the 440 children in the original sample were above the clinical line on the CBCL. So far, two children have been jailed for severe criminal aggression, including murder. Participants Methods A wide range of demographic, family, and psychological factors were assessed in interviews, with standardized instruments including the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL), Self in Relationships, the Slaby Fighting Scale and the Harter Self Esteem Scale, Conflict Tactics Scale, Reznick’s Childhood Inhibition Scale, Moos’s Family Environment Scale, Harter’s Perceived Competence Scale, Fischer’s Self-in-Relationships Interview, the Adolescent Health and YRB surveys, and the WISC, as well as additional interview items and assessments of neighborhood and household characteristics. These instruments helped researchers examine a number of psychosocial factors including:
Researchers used regression and structural equation modeling. Data was collected at four separate time points. About the Researchers For more information Respond to this press release with an e-mail to the editor HGSE News, Harvard Graduate School of Education
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