Pathways to Aggression in Children and Adolescents

Watson, Malcolm W.; Fischer, Kurt W.; Andreas, Jasmina Burdzovic; Smith, Kevin

doi:10.17763/haer.74.4.h3771xn5524082q0

Cited by 31 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…Past research has shown that earlier aggressive behavior is strongly predictive of later aggressive behavior [Eron and Huesmann, 1990;Farrington, 1991;Fine et al, 2004;Vitaro et al, 2002;Watson et al, 2004]. The results of this study confirmed this finding, and also found maternal use of discipline (regardless of type) to be similarly stable over time.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 87%

“…Past studies using this sample [e.g., Watson et al, 2004] found a significant negative relationship between aggression and age, but no significant, direct relationships between aggression and the other demographic variables listed above. To maximize model fit, nonsignificant paths from demographic variables to latent variables were subsequently dropped from the models with the exception of the age variable, which was retained to address the age/time confound (i.e., range of ages at each data collection point).…”

Section: Structural Equation Modelingmentioning

confidence: 66%

“…The original sample consisted of 242 male and 198 female children. ZIP codes with greater proportions of minority residents were over-sampled to obtain a more equal representation of African American (38%), Hispanic (29%), and European American (33%) children [for more details regarding the sampling procedure, see Watson et al, 2004].…”

Section: Original Sampling Procedures and Participantsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Reciprocal influences between maternal discipline techniques and aggression in children and adolescents

Sheehan

Watson

2007

Aggressive Behavior

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Most studies assessing the link between parental discipline and child aggression have focused primarily on discipline as a cause and aggression as an outcome. In addition to the pathway from discipline to aggression, however, aggressive behavior on the part of the child may lead to future use of discipline by the parent. In this study, structural equation modeling was used to assess reciprocal influences over time between a mothers' use of discipline and aggression in children. Data were drawn from the Springfield Child Development Project, a longitudinal study of middle childhood and adolescence, focusing on antecedents of aggression. The original sample consisted of 440 mother-child dyads living in the city of Springfield, MA. Children in the sample were between 7 and 14 years of age at the first data collection period and between 12 and 19 years of age at the final data collection period. Four hypotheses were tested: (1) a mother's use of aggressive discipline predicts an increase in later child aggression, (2) child aggression predicts an increase in later use of aggressive discipline, (3) the use of reasoning predicts a decrease in later child aggression, and (4) child aggression predicts an increase in later use of reasoning. All hypotheses except number 3 were supported to some degree. Results suggest that children's early aggressive behavior leads to an increase in their mothers' use of both reasoning and aggressive discipline; in turn, increased use of aggressive discipline leads to an increase in aggression during both childhood and adolescence.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 87%

Section: Structural Equation Modelingmentioning

confidence: 66%

Section: Original Sampling Procedures and Participantsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Reciprocal influences between maternal discipline techniques and aggression in children and adolescents

Sheehan

Watson

2007

Aggressive Behavior

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“…This study used data from the Springfield Child Development Project [SCDP; Watson et al, 2004]. The SCDP is a longitudinal research endeavor, launched with the goal of identifying antecedents and pathways to aggression in a normative, community-based sample.…”

Section: Methods Participantsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Toward a refined view of aggressive fantasy as a risk factor for aggression: interaction effects involving cognitive and situational variables

Smith¹,

Fischer²,

Watson

2009

Aggressive Behavior

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Over three decades of research have established a positive connection between fantasizing about aggression and enacting aggression. Such findings have provided strong evidence against the catharsis view of aggressive fantasy. However, little attention has been paid to the potentially nuanced nature of the link between fantasy aggression and actual aggression. In the present article, we examined the influence of four variables in the aggressive fantasy-aggressive behavior link: gender, exposure to violence, fantasy absorption, and level of fantasy about harm befalling loved ones and the self (dysphoric fantasy). Using data from a diverse, community-based sample of 7-14-year olds and their mothers, we replicated the general finding that aggressive fantasy is positively associated with real-world aggressive behavior. However, we also found that the interaction of aggressive fantasy and exposure to violence related significantly to aggression, as did the relation between aggressive fantasy and dysphoric fantasy. When exposure to violence was low, even high levels of aggressive fantasizing did not predict aggressive behavior, and, when aggressive fantasizing was low, even high levels of exposure to violence did not predict aggressive behavior. Similarly, when dysphoric fantasy was high, the connection between fantasy aggression and real aggression was markedly attenuated. The implications of these findings for intervention efforts and future research are considered.

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“…Many previous studies have attempted to explain aggression with biologically based temperamental characteristics [9][10][11][12][13][14] and parenting 12,[14][15][16][17][18] or complex interplay between temperament and social experiences with parent and peer. 19 But most previous studies were cross-sectional in study design.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Temperament, parenting, and South Korean early adolescents’ physical aggression: A five-wave longitudinal analysis

Lee

2013

Health Education Journal

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Objective: This study examined the growth pattern in physical aggression over a five-year period among South Korean early adolescents and the effects of temperament (anger/frustration and emotion regulation) and parenting (harsh parenting and parental monitoring) on early adolescents' physical aggression. Design: A five-year longitudinal design was used to explore the growth pattern in physical aggression. Method: Participants were 2844 early adolescents (1320 girls and 1524 boys; M age = 9.86 years, SD = 0.35 at wave 1) in the Korea Youth Panel Study (KYPS), a national representative of Korean children and adolescents. The latent growth curve model (LGM) was used for data analysis. Results: There was a significant linear growth over time in physical aggression during early adolescence. However, there were significant individual differences of developmental trajectories of adolescent aggression. The initial level of aggression in early adolescence was positively associated with anger/frustration, and the rate of change in aggression was negatively related to emotion regulation. Parenting variables, which were harsh parenting and parental monitoring, were not related to the initial level and rate of change in physical aggression. Conclusion: Temperament variables (anger/frustration, emotion regulation) cause the individual differences in initial level of aggression and rate of change in aggression.

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Pathways to Aggression in Children and Adolescents

Cited by 31 publications

References 33 publications

Reciprocal influences between maternal discipline techniques and aggression in children and adolescents

Reciprocal influences between maternal discipline techniques and aggression in children and adolescents

Toward a refined view of aggressive fantasy as a risk factor for aggression: interaction effects involving cognitive and situational variables

Temperament, parenting, and South Korean early adolescents’ physical aggression: A five-wave longitudinal analysis

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