Appetitive Aggression and Adverse Childhood Experiences Shape Violent Behavior in Females Formerly Associated with Combat

Abstract

This study investigated the impact of violent experiences during childhood, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and appetitive aggression on everyday violent behavior in Burundian females with varying participation in war. Moreover, group differences in trauma-related and aggression variables were expected. Appetitive aggression describes the perception of violence perpetration as fascinating and appealing and is a common phenomenon in former combatants. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 158 females, either former combatants, supporters of armed forces or civilians during the civil war in Burundi. The PTSD Symptom Scale Interview was used to assess PTSD symptom severity, the Appetitive Aggression Scale to measure appetitive aggression and the Domestic and Community Violence Checklist to assess both childhood maltreatment and recent aggressive behavior. Former combatants had experienced more traumatic events, perpetrated more violence and reported higher levels of appetitive aggression than supporters and civilians. They also suffered more severely from PTSD symptoms than civilians but not than supporters. The groups did not differ regarding childhood maltreatment. Both appetitive aggression and childhood violence predicted ongoing aggressive behavior, whereas the latter outperformed PTSD symptom severity. These findings support current research showing that adverse childhood experiences and a positive attitude toward aggression serve as the basis for aggressive behavior and promote an ongoing cycle of violence in post-conflict regions. Female members of armed groups are in need of demobilization procedures including trauma-related care and interventions addressing appetitive aggression.

A combination of combat experience, early abduction, and severe traumatization fuels appetitive aggression and violence among abductees of rebel war in Northern Uganda

“…Our study results suggest that among the LRA abductees, individuals with combat experience showed higher levels of appetitive aggression than the ones without combat experience. This confirms the findings of a previous study with women formerly associated with combat in Burundi (Augsburger et al, 2015), however, in our study, we also included men. Interestingly, we could not detect any sex differences in our analysis for appetitive aggression.…”

Trauma, Aggression, and Post Conflict Perpetration of Community Violence in Female Former Child Soldiers—A Study in Eastern DR Congo

“…However, once adults become fighters, the same level of substantial appetitive aggression can be seen in both males and females ( 47 ). While the relationship between violence exposure and mental health per se may be similar in male and female samples, recent investigations have suggested distinct trajectories to aggression for female (ex)combatants, e.g., in interaction with childhood adversities ( 20 ). Separate studies for male and female survivors of combat are therefore required to understand the needs of these individuals and successfully mitigate the consequences of violence at the individual and societal levels.…”

Succumbing to the Call of Violence – Sex-Linked Development of Appetitive Aggression in Relation to Familial and Organized Violence

“…While initially the attraction to violence was considered a potentially predominantly male phenomenon (Nell, 2006; Elbert et al, 2010), recent studies have revealed the occurrence of similar levels of appetitive aggression in both sexes involved in post-conflict regions (Augsburger et al, 2015; Meyer-Parlapanis et al, 2016). Appetitive aggression is likely to contribute to an elevated risk of rejoining an armed force after demobilization or a gang after a prison sentence (Maedl et al, 2010; Sommer et al, 2017).…”