Adult Aggressive Behavior Research Articles

Is the fact of having been victims of childhood emotional abuse and/or neglect found in the aggressors’ history?

Background: Early exposure to trauma and stressors can hinder development and accumulate stress over one's lifetime, leading to adverse long-term outcomes. Objective: This study aims to investigate whether individuals exhibiting aggressive behavior may have been victims of emotional abuse and/or neglect during childhood. These experiences profoundly impact development, persisting into adulthood. Four hypotheses were formulated to guide the investigation. Methods: The sample comprised 615 Portuguese adults aged 18 and above. Data collection utilized various instruments including a sociodemographic questionnaire, the Impulsive and Premeditated Aggression Scale, the Life History of Aggression Scale, the Childhood Adversity History Questionnaire, the Difficulties in Emotional Regulation Scale, the Personality Inventory, and the Triarchic Psychopathy Measure. Results and Conclusions: The hypotheses were confirmed, indicating a positive correlation between childhood emotional abuse/neglect and adult aggressive behavior, emotional regulation challenges, elevated neuroticism, openness to experience, boldness, disinhibition, and meanness. Also, emotional regulation difficulties, personality traits, and psychopathy fully mediate the relationship between childhood maltreatment and impulsive/ premeditated aggression, as well as between a history of aggression and impulsive/ premeditated aggression.

Exercise in the Treatment of Repetitive, Self-Injurious, and Aggressive Behavior in Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Neurobiological Analysis

Objective: Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by markedly impaired social interaction and restricted/ repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, and activities. Maladaptive behaviors associated with ASD can include stereotyped, self-injurious, and aggressive behaviors. Current evidence-based interventions for ASD involve specialist availability, financial, time, and side effect constraints. Physical exercise has received increasing attention in the treatment of children with ASD, but research in adults is comparatively scarce. The purpose of this paper is to explore possible mechanisms by which exercise can reduce repetitive, self-injurious, and aggressive behaviors in adults with ASD. Methods: The literature on the neurobiology of exercise is reviewed and compared with the literature on the neurobiology of ASD. Information from this comparison is then used to formulate possible mechanisms by which exercise may reduce maladaptive behaviors in adults with ASD. Results: Plausible mechanisms for an exercise-induced beneficial effect on maladaptive behaviors in adults with ASD include modulation of neurotransmitter release and function, facilitation of endocannabinoid release, increased expression of neurotrophic factors, improved functional connectivity in higher-level cognitive networks, reduced oxidative stress, improved HPA axis function, treatment of comorbid depression, and reduction in amyloid beta deposition in cortical GABAergic neurons and subcortical structures. Conclusions: Future research should attempt to confirm the efficacy of exercise in reducing maladaptive behaviors in adults with ASD as well as the proposed mechanisms for such a relationship. Verification of these issues would have major implications in terms of supporting an evidence-based, inexpensive, widely available, and broadly beneficial treatment for adults with ASD.

The German S3guidelines on prevention of coercion and treatment of aggressive behavior: from evidence to consensus, from consensus to implementation

The German S3 guidelines on prevention of coercion: prevention and therapy of aggressive behavior in adults (2018) are cross-sectional guidelines that in addition to medical scientific evidence also touch to agreat extent on questions of ethics and law as well as organizational structures of the healthcare system. Accordingly, in addition to the research on evidence, the consensus process also had astrong weighting in the development of the recommendations. The appropriate participation of experts from various fields and their representation in the consensus group was therefore of central importance. Particularly important is the implementation into clinical practice by means of the recommendations for implementation of the German Association for Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics (DGPPN) for psychiatric wards, psychiatric clinics, and care regions. For psychiatric wards, the recommendations are being evaluated with amulticenter randomized controlled trial (RCT), the PreVCo study.

The Meaning of Life Moderates the Relationship between Connectedness to Nature and Aggressive Behavior in Adults

The Meaning of Life Moderates the Relationship between Connectedness to Nature and Aggressive Behavior in Adults

Early life stressful experiences escalate aggressive behavior in adulthood via changes in transthyretin expression and function

Escalated and inappropriate levels of aggressive behavior referred to as pathological in psychiatry can lead to violent outcomes with detrimental impact on health and society. Early life stressful experiences might increase the risk of developing pathological aggressive behavior in adulthood, though molecular mechanisms remain elusive. Here, we provide prefrontal cortex and hypothalamus specific transcriptome profiles of peripubertal stress (PPS) exposed Balb/c adult male mice exhibiting escalated aggression and adult female mice resilient to such aberrant behavioral responses. We identify transthyretin (TTR), a well known thyroid hormone transporter, as a key regulator of PPS induced escalated aggressive behavior in males. Brain-region-specific long-term changes in Ttr gene expression and thyroid hormone (TH) availability were evident in PPS induced escalated aggressive male mice, circulating TH being unaltered. Ttr promoter methylation marks were also altered being hypermethylated in hypothalamus and hypomethylated in prefrontal cortex corroborating with its expression pattern. Further, Ttr knockdown in hypothalamus resulted in escalated aggressive behavior in males without PPS and also reduced TH levels and expression of TH-responsive genes (Nrgn, Trh, and Hr). Escalated aggressive behavior along with reduced Ttr gene expression and TH levels in hypothalamus was also evident in next generation F1 male progenies. Our findings reveal that stressful experiences during puberty might trigger lasting escalated aggression by modulating TTR expression in brain. TTR can serve as a potential target in reversal of escalated aggression and related psychopathologies.

Dysregulation of prefrontal parvalbumin interneurons leads to adult aggression induced by social isolation stress during adolescence.

Social isolation during the juvenile stage results in structural and functional impairment of the brain and deviant adult aggression. However, the specific subregions and cell types that underpin this deviant behavior are still largely unknown. Here, we found that adolescent social isolation led to a shortened latency to attack onset and extended the average attack time, accompanied by anxiety-like behavior and deficits in social preference in adult mice. However, when exposed to social isolation during adulthood, the mice did not show these phenotypes. We also found that the structural plasticity of prefrontal pyramidal neurons, including the dendritic complexity and spine ratio, was impaired in mice exposed to adolescent social isolation. The parvalbumin (PV) interneurons in the prefrontal infralimbic cortex (IL) are highly vulnerable to juvenile social isolation and exhibit decreased cell numbers and reduced activation in adulthood. Moreover, chemogenetic inactivation of IL-PV interneurons can mimic juvenile social isolation-induced deviant aggression and social preference. Conversely, artificial activation of IL-PV interneurons significantly attenuated deviant aggression and rescued social preference during adulthood in mice exposed to adolescent social isolation. These findings implicate juvenile social isolation-induced damage to IL-PV interneurons in long-term aggressive behavior in adulthood.

How Child Maltreatment Enduringly Impacts Aggression: A Perspective Based on Personality Solidification

It has been shown that early experiences of maltreatment can stably influence an individual’s internal and external aggressive behavior in adulthood. And on what mechanisms do this stability arise? From the perspective of personality solidification theory, this study sample of 1951 primary and secondary school students was used to explore the relationship between child maltreatment, Big Five personality and internalized and externalized aggression, as well as the different mechanisms of differentiation of personality components in child maltreatment on two different natures of aggression, using four scales: The Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ), Revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO-PI-R), None-suicidal Self-Injury Scale and Aggression Questionnaire. The findings suggest that (1) neuroticism plays the same mediating mechanism in the effect of child maltreatment on the persistence of internalized and externalized aggression; and (2) conscientiousness plays a different mechanism in effect of child maltreatment on both internalized and externalized aggression. Therefore, child maltreatment should be discouraged and the development of a sound personality should be guided, thus reducing future aggressive behavior and promoting child development and social harmony.

Mentalizing mediates the association between emotional abuse in childhood and potential for aggression in non-clinical adults

BackgroundEmotional abuse in childhood has been linked to a higher expression of aggressive behavior in adulthood. The identification of protective factors that mitigate this association is needed. Mentalizing—the capacity to understand behavior in terms of intentional mental states—appears to be a promising candidate factor that possibly modifies maladaptive consequences of early emotional abuse. ObjectiveThis study investigated associations between the history of emotional abuse, aggressive behavior in adulthood and mentalizing capacities in a non-clinical sample of adults. Methods214 healthy adults completed questionnaires measuring retrospectively rated experiences of emotional abuse in childhood, mentalizing capacities and aggressive behavior in a cross-sectional design. ResultsResults indicated associations between emotional abuse in childhood, uncertainty about mental states, and aggressive behavior in adulthood. Moreover, certainty about mental states counteracted the negative effect of emotional abuse and partially mediated the associations between emotional abuse and aggressive behavior in adulthood. ConclusionThis study extends current research and sheds further light on the relationship between emotional abuse in childhood, the health-promoting capacity of mentalizing, and aggressive behavior in non-clinical adults.

Sensory Processing and Aggressive Behavior in Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may be accompanied by aggressive behavior and is associated with sensory processing difficulties. The present study aims to investigate the direct association between sensory processing and aggressive behavior in adults with ASD. A total of 101 Dutch adult participants with ASD, treated in outpatient or inpatient facilities, completed the Adolescent/Adult Sensory Profile (AASP), the Reactive-Proactive Aggression Questionnaire (RPQ), and the Aggression Questionnaire—Short Form (AQ-SF). Results revealed that sensory processing difficulties are associated with more aggressive behavior (), more proactive () and reactive aggression (), more physical () and verbal aggression (), and more anger () and hostility (). Evidence was found for an interaction of the neurological threshold and behavioral response on total aggression and hostility. Participants with higher scores in comparison to the norm group in sensory sensitivity had the highest risk of aggressive behavior. In conclusion, clinical practice may benefit from applying detailed diagnostics on sensory processing difficulties when treating aggressive behavior in adults with ASD.

Adult aggressive behavior in humans and biomarkers: a focus on lipids and methylation

Aggression shows large variation between individuals, with about 50% explained by genetic factors. Biomarkers related to aggression have been reported for lipid metabolism and for epigenetic marks. Methylation and blood lipid levels are not independent and differential methylation can be a consequence of variation in blood lipid levels. We hypothesized that the methylation level of such loci in blood can inform us if aggression is associated with long-term exposure to lipid levels. If this is the case, we expect to find that loci where methylation levels are influenced by lipid levels to show differential methylation in aggressive individuals. Such loci might complement classic lipid level measures as a biomarker for lipid-related disturbances in aggression. As a first step, we examined the association of lipid levels and related biomarkers with aggression in a large adult population cohort (N = 5,588) and in 31 monozygotic (MZ) twin pairs who were discordant for aggression, as well as 12 extremely discordant MZ pairs. Biomarkers were not significantly associated with aggression in the population cohort. In the discordant MZ pairs we identified significant within-pair differences for glucose and marginally significant differences for lipids and cytokines, with the more aggressive twin showing lower levels of glucose and low density lipoprotein cholesterol and higher levels of fibrinogen, C-reactive protein and interleukin-6. The analysis of epigenetic data in the MZ pairs discordant for aggression did not show enrichment for lipid cytosine guanine dinucleotides (CpGs) and we observed no enrichment of lipid CpGs in an epigenome-wide association study of aggression in the population cohort. These results did not support the hypothesis that lipid CpGs show differential methylation in adult aggression. A next step will be to examine the role of biomarkers in aggression across the lifespan, including childhood, and to explore a more holistic biomarker approach, such as offered by metabolomics.

A quasi-experimental pilot study to the effects of Responsive Aggression Regulation Therapy (Re-ART) Outpatient for young adults.

It is important to provide treatment for juvenile and young adult violent offenders, since no or (too) late treatment increases the risk of recidivism and persistent aggressive behavior in adulthood. In this study, we investigated the efficacy of the intervention Responsive Aggression Regulation Therapy (Re-ART) Outpatient, which has been developed for adolescents and young adults between 16 and 24years old with severe aggression problems. This quasi-experimental (pilot) study compared the effects of Re-ART Outpatient (n=47) with a control group (n=29) receiving treatment as usual on measures regarding risk of violent recidivism, impulsivity, emotional/personal functioning, family functioning, motivation, handling anger, self-reported problem behavior, coping skills, and cognitive distortions. Re-ART showed significantly better results than the control group on risk of violent recidivism, impulsivity, emotional/personal functioning, motivation, handling anger, certain coping skills, and certain cognitive distortions. Family functioning and self-reported rule-breaking behavior did not differ significantly between the groups. The results implicate that Re-ART is a promising outpatient intervention for young adults with severe aggressive behavior. The results can be explained by the fact that Re-ART treats both systemically and individually and pays specific attention to stress reduction and the improvement of executive functions.

Behavioural, psychiatric and psychosocial factors associated with aggressive behaviour in adults with intellectual disabilities: A systematic review and narrative analysis.

BackgroundAggressive behaviour is prevalent in people with intellectual disabilities. To understand the aetiology, it is important to recognize factors associated with the behaviour.MethodA systematic review was conducted and included studies published between January 2002 and April 2017 on the association of behavioural, psychiatric and psychosocial factors with aggressive behaviour in adults with intellectual disabilities.ResultsThirty‐eight studies were included that presented associations with 11 behavioural, psychiatric and psychosocial factors. Conflicting evidence was found on the association of these factors with aggressive behaviour.ConclusionsThe aetiology of aggressive behaviour is specific for a certain person in a certain context and may be multifactorial. Additional research is required to identify contributing factors, to understand causal relationships and to increase knowledge on possible interaction effects of different factors.

Implementation of Guidelines on Prevention of Coercion and Violence (PreVCo) in Psychiatry: Study Protocol of a Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT).

BackgroundCoercive measures are among the most controversial interventions in psychiatry. There is a large discrepancy between the sheer number of high-quality guidelines and the small number of scientifically accompanied initiatives to promote and evaluate their implementation into clinical routine. In Germany, an expert group developed guidelines to provide evidence- and consensus-based recommendations on how to deal with violence and coercion in psychiatry.MethodsThe study presented examines whether coercive measures on psychiatric wards can be reduced by means of an operationalized implementation of the guidelines “Prevention of coercion: prevention and therapy of aggressive behavior in adults”. Out of a set of 12 interventions offered, wards are free to choose three interventions they want to implement. The primary outcome is the number of coercive measures per bed and month/year. Secondary outcomes are cumulative duration of coercive measures per bed and month/year. The most important control variable is the number of aggressive incidents. We plan to recruit 52 wards in Germany. Wards treating both voluntary and compulsorily admitted patients will be included. A 1:1 stratified randomized controlled trial will be conducted stratified by the amount of coercive measures and implemented aspects of the guidelines. In addition to the control group analysis, a waiting list design allows a pre-post analysis for all participating wards of the waiting list group. A parallel qualitative study will examine factors related to successful implementation and to successful reduction of coercion as well as relevant barriers.DiscussionWe are planning a nationwide study on the implementation of evidence- and consensus-based guidelines in psychiatric hospitals. This study intends to promote the transfer of expert knowledge as well as results from clinical trials into clinical routine with the potential to change supply structures in mental health sector.Clinical Trial Registration www.isrctn.com, identifier ISRCTN71467851.

Digit ratio and prosocial behavior: the role of innate aggression in public goods and trust games

Following previous studies that found individuals with shorter index fingers relative to ring fingers (low digit ratio) exhibit aggressive behavior in adulthood, in this study we use the left digit ratio, a putative marker for in-utero testosterone exposure [Manning et al. 1998], as an indicator of predisposition towards aggression to investigate its relation to prosocial behavior in the context of economic games. First, we ask if aggressive individuals and not-aggressive ones inherently differ in their prosocial behavior, independent of the features of the game. Second, we ask if the differences in their initial or subsequent prosocial behavior, if any, are conditioned by their respective experiences as the game progresses. Applying regression analyses on sample observations from two classroom experiments of modified public-goods games and trust games (by Carlos and Marasigan [2017] and Amante and Daro [2018], respectively), our results show that innate aggression per se is not associated with prosocial behavior. We find some evidence that innately aggressive, prosocial players who have experienced unfavourable or unfair outcomes in previous rounds tend to punish more intensely the non-cooperative players in public goods games, but continue to be generous towards selfish co-players in trust games. Thus, we posit that aggressive individuals who want to establish their perceived dominance (status) in a team behave prosocially initially, then later either elicit the cooperation of other players through aggressive punishment in the public goods game or unilaterally improve social welfare even at a personal cost to them in the trust game. JEL classification: C71, C91, C92, D91

Pre-adult aggression and its long-term behavioural consequences in crickets.

Social experience, particularly aggression, is considered a major determinant of consistent inter-individual behavioural differences between animals of the same species and sex. We investigated the influence of pre-adult aggressive experience on future behaviour in male, last instar nymphs of the cricket Gryllus bimaculatus. We found that aggressive interactions between male nymphs are far less fierce than for adults in terms of duration and escalation. This appears to reflect immaturity of the sensory apparatus for releasing aggression, rather than the motor system controlling it. First, a comparison of the behavioural responses of nymphs and adults to mechanical antennal stimulation using freshly excised, untreated and hexane-washed antennae taken from nymphs and adults, indicate that nymphs neither respond to nor produce sex-specific cuticular semiochemicals important for releasing aggressive behaviour in adults. Second, treatment with the octopamine agonist chlordimeform could at least partially compensate for this deficit. In further contrast to adults, which become hyper-aggressive after victory, but submissive after defeat, such winner and loser effects are not apparent in nymphs. Aggressive competition between nymphs thus appears to have no consequence for future behaviour in crickets. Male nymphs are often attacked by adult males, but not by adult females. Furthermore, observations of nymphs raised in the presence, or absence of adult males, revealed that social subjugation by adult males leads to reduced aggressiveness and depressed exploratory behaviour when the nymphs become adult. We conclude that social subjugation by adults during pre-adult development of nymphs is a major determinant of consistent inter-individual behavioural differences in adult crickets.

Fight and flight: Examining putative links between social anxiety and youth aggression

Abstract Somewhat surprisingly, social anxiety has been linked with aggressive behavior in adults. Among youth, this connection has been demonstrated with anxiety symptoms more broadly. This review extends previous work by evaluating this association specifically with social anxiety in the child and adolescent literature. Given the complexities of aggressive behavior, the review is organized by its various forms (relational and physical) and functions (reactive and proactive). Findings from sixteen identified studies are suggestive of links between social anxiety and reactive and relational forms of aggression. Albeit more tenuous, there appear to be associations with physical aggression as well. Overall, though suggestive of connections between social anxiety and aggression, confidence in the findings is attenuated by the relatively small number of relevant studies combined with inconsistent gender findings. Before suggesting directions for further study, we propose putative dysfunctional biological, emotional, and cognitive processes as factors that may underlie associations between social anxiety and these particular forms of aggression. Future research should target differences in age, gender, relationship type, and anxiety subtype. Determining the extent to which these associations may be attributable to comorbid pathology such as depression or a broader internalizing syndrome is also important.

Genetic and Psychosocial Predictors of Aggression: Variable Selection and Model Building With Component-Wise Gradient Boosting.

Rationale: Given datasets with a large or diverse set of predictors of aggression, machine learning (ML) provides efficient tools for identifying the most salient variables and building a parsimonious statistical model. ML techniques permit efficient exploration of data, have not been widely used in aggression research, and may have utility for those seeking prediction of aggressive behavior.Objectives: The present study examined predictors of aggression and constructed an optimized model using ML techniques. Predictors were derived from a dataset that included demographic, psychometric and genetic predictors, specifically FK506 binding protein 5 (FKBP5) polymorphisms, which have been shown to alter response to threatening stimuli, but have not been tested as predictors of aggressive behavior in adults.Methods: The data analysis approach utilized component-wise gradient boosting and model reduction via backward elimination to: (a) select variables from an initial set of 20 to build a model of trait aggression; and then (b) reduce that model to maximize parsimony and generalizability.Results: From a dataset of N = 47 participants, component-wise gradient boosting selected 8 of 20 possible predictors to model Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire (BPAQ) total score, with R2 = 0.66. This model was simplified using backward elimination, retaining six predictors: smoking status, psychopathy (interpersonal manipulation and callous affect), childhood trauma (physical abuse and neglect), and the FKBP5_13 gene (rs1360780). The six-factor model approximated the initial eight-factor model at 99.4% of R2.Conclusions: Using an inductive data science approach, the gradient boosting model identified predictors consistent with previous experimental work in aggression; specifically psychopathy and trauma exposure. Additionally, allelic variants in FKBP5 were identified for the first time, but the relatively small sample size limits generality of results and calls for replication. This approach provides utility for the prediction of aggression behavior, particularly in the context of large multivariate datasets.

Understanding the Mind of Violent Aggressors: Review of a Ten-Year Study Depicting a Pathway to Destructive, Anti-Social Mannerisms and Mental Dysfunction

Violence can be considered among the most far-reaching conditions now confronting the nation and its schoolage children. Nationwide, schools are showing an increase in violent acts since the tragic, 1999 Columbine shootings. Since Columbine, there has been a surge in violence and aggressive behavior in students across the nation with high-profile tragedies at Sandy Hook and the most recent deadly shooting in Parkland, Florida. This article will review the findings from a ten-year study (1999-2010) in which data from this longitudinal investigation identified a pattern of behavioral characteristics common to individual(s) who commit different levels of violent acts. Along with this pattern surfaced a series of stages that progressed from the least violent stage to the most destructive stage of aggressive behavior-the stage in which a purging of conscience occurs and where conditions are conducive for a violent act(s) to be carried out. The research presented in this paper was conducted not long after the 1999 Columbine incident and concluded at the end of 2010. Results were presented in 2012 at the 19th World Congress of International Association for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Allied Professions held in Beijing, China (Appendix A). While the study focused on elementary, middle, high school, and early college students, outcomes can also be integrated into adult aggressive behavior and stage advancement as compatible effects.

An Independent Investigation Into the Psychometric Properties of the Adult Scale of Hostility and Aggression (A-SHARP)

ABSTRACTBackground: The Adult Scale of Hostility and Aggression (A-SHARP) rating scale assesses the frequency/severity (problem scale) and the reactive-proactive motivation (provocation scale) of aggressive behaviors in adults with intellectual disabilities (ID). Items are assigned to five subscales (Verbal Aggression, Physical Aggression, Hostile Affect, Covert Aggression, and Bullying). Although psychometric properties reported by the scale’s developers were very good, we wanted to corroborate them independently. We were also interested in whether the reactive-proactive distinction of aggressive behavior is related to a behavioral/functional classification. Method: Staff at a day-treatment program for adults with ID completed ratings for 155 clients using the A-SHARP, the Behavior Problems Inventory-01 (BPI-01), and the Questions about Behavioral Function (QABF). Results: Internal consistency was found to be excellent, and the A-SHARP Physical Aggression subscale had good congruent and clinical validity. Confirmatory factor analysis showed sufficient evidence toward the factorial validity of the A-SHARP’s problem scale. The reactive-proactive classification of aggressive behavior motivation by the A-SHARP’s provocation scale was independent of the functional classification. Conclusions: The A-SHARP is a useful addition to a small number of existing instruments for assessing aggressive behavior in adults with ID, especially its problem scale. We discuss how the A-SHARP provocation scales might provide therapy-relevant information. Empirical evidence for the clinical utility of the A-SHARP provocation scale will have to be established by future research.

Construct Validity of Adults’ Retrospective Memory for Childhood TV Viewing: Self-Reported Early Exposure to Violent TV Programs Predicts Current Aggression

ABSTRACTConstruct validity was investigated of a measure of remote past television viewing in which adults reported their childhood viewing of specific television series. Good recall of past viewing was predicted due to two robust memory capabilities, specifically, high accuracy at estimating frequency of exposure to stimuli, and durable long-term memories for repeatedly-encountered material. Validity was tested by examining relationships between self-reported childhood TV viewing and current aggression. Results indicated that recalled childhood viewing of programs containing violent content was positively related to adult aggressive behavior directly, and aggressive cognitions indirectly, independently of adult exposure to violent TV programs, exposure to nonviolent TV programs, parental disciplinary style, and sex. A valid self-report measure of remote past TV viewing behavior can enable researchers to examine, in a relatively quick and inexpensive manner, long-term relationships between early viewing of any television content and any later psychological outcomes of interest.