Impulsive Aggression Research Articles

Trait anger and aggression among male violent offenders: The mediating effect of sadistic impulse and the moderating effect of emotion regulation

We investigated the mediating role of sadistic impulse and the moderating role of emotion regulation strategy in the relationship between trait anger and aggressive behaviour in violent offenders. A total of 492 male violent offenders (mean age = 34.06 years, SD = 6.67 years) completed the Trait Anger Scale, Emotion Regulation Questionnaire, Short Sadistic Impulse Scale, and Impulsive/Premeditated Aggression Scale. We tested a moderated mediation model by multiple linear regression analysis (Bootstrap n = 5 000). The results showed that sadistic impulse mediated the relationship between trait anger and aggressive behaviour in violent offenders. Higher level of sadistic impulse was associated with a higher likelihood of aggressive behaviour. Emotion regulation strategy moderated the relationship between trait anger and aggressive behaviour. Specifically, those with lower emotional regulation were more likely to exhibit aggressive behaviour compared to those with higher emotional regulation. The mediated moderation model applied to both impulsive and premeditated aggression. In the low emotion regulation group, the mediating effects of trait anger on impulsive and premeditated aggression were significant. In the high emotion regulation group, the mediating effects of trait anger on impulsive and premeditated aggression were lower, but still significant. Our findings are consistent with the emotion regulation theory of aggression stating that people with sadism may assault others to improve their mood.

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder-Associated Impulsive Aggression Psychopharmacological Considerations.

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder-Associated Impulsive Aggression Psychopharmacological Considerations.

Prof. Nevzat Tarhan: "Wars can turn children into crime machines..."

Psychiatrist Prof. Nevzat Tarhan drew attention to the aggressive impulses in the human brain according to neuroscience.

A state of in-betweenness: the challenges of working with disavowal

A presentation of emotional detachment is sometimes encountered in working with challenging patients. The term “disavowal” describes a particular kind of splitting of consciousness in which the person repudiates awareness of disturbing realities or their meanings. Disavowal involves a distortion of emotional significance, rather than a distortion of perception, as would be the case of a dissociative split in con-sciousness. Detachment protects the individual from emotional contact, which is experienced as potentially overwhelming. Safety is achieved, but at the cost of denuding mental life of meaning. With the help of detailed clinical material, the chal-lenges of working with a person who has established a psychic retreat based upon disavowal are outlined in this article. I describe the clinical challenges of working with someone who places themselves out of reach of emotional engagement. A state of in-betweenness protects the person from knowing about their aggressive impulses, their need for care, and the passing of time. This forestalls their experi-ence of dangerous, shameful feelings of dependence. The clinician needs to recog-nise the necessity for the defensive retreat, whilst being patiently ready to enter engagement when the patient becomes available.

Intimate Female Partner Homicide Suicide: demographic and psychopathology aspects of perpetrators and a potential not yet classified diagnostic entityAnalyses of data taken from newspapers in Italy from 2009 to 2019.

The homicide of the female partner followed by suicide of the perpetrator (Intimate Female Partner Homicide Suicide - IFPHS) has been a growing phenomenon over last years, but its psychosocial and psychopathological aspects have not been analyzed in-depth yet. The aim of this study was to investigate common psychopathological elements in different IFPHS and a specific risk profile for both the couple and the male partner, with the possibility to define a new serial mental condition not classified to date. A series of 50 cases of greater media coverage was reconstructed from the Italian newspapers in the period from 2009 to 2019 and information was collected through a predefined form. The characteristics of the perpetrators and the modalities through which the events occurred have been considered. No definite mental disorder is present in the history of almost all cases. A more common psychological profile is found for the homicide/suicide male partner, mainly characterized by jealousy, possessiveness, mood reactivity, rage, and impulsiveness. It can be hypothesized that such a severe act may express a form of mental disorder not yet classified, with main features of an acute state of mixed depressive mood, emotional discontrol and aggressive impulsiveness, on a personality basis of jealousy and possessiveness, possibly reinforced by previous dependent traits of the female partner. But the methodological limitations of gathering information from the press make it necessary the study in depth, based on more direct and objective methodologies, of such a highly dramatic and heterogeneous phenomenon.

Impulsivity, aggression, and impulsive aggression in suicidality

BackgroundImpulsivity and aggression are individual differences that receive considerable attention as psychological targets in suicide prevention. Their proposed roles in predicting suicidality, however, are conflicting and they may act together under the broader psychopathology of ‘impulsive aggression’. AimTo investigate the nature of associations between impulsivity, aggression, and impulsive aggression, and suicidal ideation and behavior. MethodImpulsivity, aggression, impulsive aggression, and suicidal ideation and behavior, were assessed in 624 participants (aged 16 years and over) via an online survey. Participants were categorized as those with (1) no history of suicidal ideation or suicide attempts, (2) a history of suicidal ideation but not of suicide attempts, and (3) a history of suicidal ideation and suicide attempts. ResultsTwo pathways were associated with suicidality. First, all three constructs were associated with increased suicidality overall. Second, they were each associated with an increased likelihood to have a history of both suicidal ideation and action. LimitationsWe assessed psychological traits and further work is required to determine whether state-based measures yield consistent results. ConclusionImpulsivity, aggression, and impulsive aggression are each associated with increased suicidality overall and with the likelihood of having a history of both suicidal ideation and suicide attempts. The results will contribute to the development of suicide risk formulation and prevention by demonstrating how key psychological constructs contribute to the development of suicidality.

Fantasy and fiction in religion: monster-bodies as abject in the book of Job: a psychoanalytic perspective

The question about fantasy and fiction in religion is probably as old as the first interrogation and critique of revealed religion. However, the relation between fiction and religion is a two-way street. Underlying both is imagination which brings into play the psychological dimension of both but this in turn is always based on the body. Fantasy dreamily imagines the perfect body precisely to try and fill the gap left by imperfection. As an example from religious fiction, the two monstrosities in the second divine speech virtually at the end of the book of Job will be viewed through the hermeneutical lens of abjection, as explained by Julia Kristeva. As projections of the sick protagonist’s own frustrated sexual and aggressive impulses embodied as abject animal bodies they are surprisingly celebrated by the Divine who can contain the id in its protest against the superego. In the tension between play and seriousness in this transitional space negotiated by the ego creativity rooted in the chaotic and free, polymorph perversity opens the door to the revelation from the unconscious. The fundamental question remains, however, if this creativity is purely human meaning-making or tapping into the divine through some kind of intuition.

Childhood maltreatment, impulsive aggression, and suicidality among patients diagnosed with bipolar disorder.

Bipolar disorder is associated with a history of childhood maltreatment, impulsive aggression, and lethal suicide attempts. Often, aggression and violence prevent the diagnosed individual from receiving timely access to mental health care, leading to adverse outcomes such as repeated psychiatric hospitalization or even incarceration. In this study, we recruited a sample of 150 low-income patients with bipolar disorder from an outpatient behavioral health clinic affiliated with an urban public hospital in Southeastern United States. We explored whether different types of childhood maltreatment (physical, sexual, emotional) are associated with impulsive aggression among individuals with bipolar disorder. Additionally, we examined whether impulsive aggression is related to suicidality. Finally, we sought to test the potential mediated effect of impulsive aggression on the relationship between childhood maltreatment and suicidality. Findings suggest that all direct associations were significant and that impulsive aggression was a significant mediator in the relationship between childhood emotional and sexual abuse. However, when childhood physical abuse was included as an independent variable in the model, impulsive aggression did not mediate the association, even though impulsive aggression was related to suicidality. Results from this study suggest that impulsive aggression exerts a wide-ranging impact on suicidality in the context of childhood trauma in those with bipolar disorder. In the future, targeted interventions to address the underlying etiologies of aggression may translate into an improved quality of life, decreased rates of suicidality, and positive clinical outcomes among individuals with bipolar disorder. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

35.3 Scores on the Novel Measure of Impulsive Aggression Associated With the Use of Medication for Aggression, Irritability, and ADHD

35.3 Scores on the Novel Measure of Impulsive Aggression Associated With the Use of Medication for Aggression, Irritability, and ADHD

14.3 Psychopharmacology Management: Mood Instability and Impulsive Aggression in Youth With ASD

Children and adolescents with ASD are frequently referred for treatment of maladaptive behaviors, including aggression, self-injury, mood dysregulation, and irritability. Concern about the potential for harm to themselves and others in addition to the failure of behavioral interventions creates a need for evidence-based pharmacotherapy. Participants will review: 1) evidence-based pharmacological interventions that reduce the frequency and intensity of acute agitation, self-injurious behaviors, irritability, and impulsive aggression in youth with ASD; 2) safety strategies for outpatient visits; and 3) treatment options for patients with ASD and co-occurring conditions such as ADHD and bipolar disorder, which may be challenging due to side effects.

What If I Feel Rejected? Borderline Personality, Pathological Narcissism, and Social Rejection in Daily Life.

The authors investigate whether and how borderline and pathological narcissistic traits differ in their associations with trait and state rejection sensitivity, and with affective reactions to experiences of social rejection occurring in daily life. Community adults (N = 189) completed baseline measures of rejection sensitivity, borderline personality, and pathological narcissism, and daily measures of perceived social rejection and affective states for 7 days. Vulnerable narcissism was the main driver of negative anticipated emotions for social rejection. Borderline personality made people prone to experiencing social rejection in daily life. Moreover, borderline personality traits predicted greater self-directed aggressive impulses when experiencing social rejection. Grandiose narcissism showed only a negative association with anticipatory anxiety for rejection. These findings highlight that sensitivity to social rejection is crucial in both borderline personality and pathological narcissism.

The Psychology of Comedy

The Psychology of Comedy

Regulation of Emotions in Crowd Control Police

Emotion is an important factor for achieving positive performance. Especially crowd control police performance. In certain situations, there is confrontation and violence. A narrative of riots was created, because police clashed with demonstrators. The emotion regulation and their physiological indicators becomes a co-occurring phenomenon in a riot of demonstrations. Police anger in violent demonstration situations needs to be clearly mapped. This study intends to map the dominance of emotion regulation by involving heart rate indicators. Riot demonstration stimulus was given to participants to stimulate aggressive impulses, heart rate was measured when participants watched the video. Research participants come from Crowd Control Police in the Jakarta working area. Research data is tested by correlating emotion regulation with heart rate, provocation, and impulsive aggression. The results found the dominance of emotion regulation to other variables. The pulsating impulse of the riot stimulus effect is suppressed by emotion regulation. Research findings recommend the need to optimize the role of emotion regulation in dealing with violent demonstration situations. Optimization is done to apply emotion regulation consistently. Optimization to apply emotion regulation consistently

Реалізація тривожності і агресивності у щурів з алкогольною залежністю в умовах зоосоціального конфлікту

The aim of the work was to study the features of the relationship between anxiety and aggressiveness in rats with alcohol dependence when modeling a long-term zoo conflict situation. Neuroethological studies were carried out using a multi-parameter method for assessing anxiety. Aggressiveness and submissiveness were studied when creating agonistic collisions as a result of conflict social interactions and psychoemotional stress in a confined space using the sensory contact technique and the “partition” test. Alcohol dependence in rats was caused by voluntary intake of alcoholized food. The experimental group consisted of rats subjected to alcoholization and agonistic collisions. The comparison group included rats with agonistic collisions. Alcoholization of rats increased the baseline low level of anxiety. Confrontational relationships caused in 54% of alcoholized rats a consistently high level of impulsive aggression together with the desired aggression and a decrease in anxiety. At the same time, 46% of rats exhibited submissive behavior. In animals that had a baseline low level of anxiety and were not subjected to alcoholization, manifestations of aggression were noted only in 30% of rats and they had a fading character in the dynamics of zoo conflict relations. Animals with a baseline high level of anxiety exhibited submissive behavior under these conditions. Thus, the role of a basic low level of anxiety in the formation of emotional disorders was shown: an increase in the level of anxiety in alcoholism and the dominance of impulsive and desired aggression in conditions of zoosocial conflict.

Impulsivity, impulsive aggression and borderline personality features among violent spouses

ObjectiveSpousal violence in Pakistan is under researched but still not considered as a public health problem. The current study is intended to analyze the association between multiple measures of impulsivity, impulsive aggression, and borderline personality feature among violent spouses as well as to find out the moderating role of impulsive aggression between spousal violence and borderline personality features. MethodsA cross-sectional survey research design was used for conducting the research. The sample of 300 spouses, experiencing intimate partner relationships, was taken from different cities of the Hazara division through purposive sampling. ResultsPresent study demonstrated a significant positive correlation of spousal violence with impulsivity (r = .708∗∗, P < .001), impulsive aggression (r = .176∗∗, P < .001), and borderline personality features (r = .605∗∗, P < .001), while impulsivity was negatively correlated with impulsive aggression (r = -.018, P < .01). Impulsive aggression moderates the relationship between spousal violence and borderline personality features. The results showed that male and female spouses were found equally impulsive and impulsively aggressive. Likewise, impulsivity, impulsive aggression, and borderline personality features were found significant predictors of violence F = (3, 296) = 106. 67, P < .001. ConclusionCurrent research offers some important insights and consequences for physicians and practitioners who interact with individuals who have experienced violence. These results have significant therapeutic implications for the treatment of violent couples.

Role of Caffeine in Inducing Anxiety by Reducing Brain Serotonin Synthesis Blocking Adenosine Receptors (A1, A2A, A2B, and A3)

Abstract: Caffeine is well-known for its stimulant characteristics and is included in a wide variety of foods, drinks, and pharmaceutical formulations worldwide. However, the methods by which caffeine exerts its effects on the brain were unknown until the past decade, when the development of strong research tools enabled scientists to explore the drug's neuropharmacological and biochemical characteristics. Serotonin, especially in sensitive people, also tends to decrease anxiety. Most of their biological effects are caused by antagonising all kinds of adenosine receptors (ARs): A1, A2A, A2B, and A3. Serotonin is a key Central Nervous System (CNS) neurotransmitter. The deregulation of the transmission of serotonin in the CNS is known to be associated with many human mental illnesses, including impulsive aggressiveness, depression, and anxiety disorders.

Problems of Self-Regulation in Forms and Functions of Aggression

The role of self-regulation in aggression has typically been studied by neglecting the multidimensional nature of aggression, which differentiates between its forms (overt vs. relational) and functions (proactive vs. reactive). Besides, the contribution of two aspects of self-regulation (effortful control and reactive control) in the regulation of aggression has been ignored. Studies suggest that only reactive aggressive children have low effortful control because aggression results from the insufficient inhibition of an aggressive impulse. On the other hand, some studies suggest that proactive aggression has no deficits in effortful control, because proactive aggression is referred to as premeditated behaviour driven by instrumental goals. However, the conceptualization of proactive aggression as premeditated with higher levels of forethought and perseverance is not sustainable, because proactive aggression is associated with reactive undercontrol which corresponds to impulsivity. This paper addresses this problem by reviewing recent research suggesting that both forms and functions of aggression are related to inadequate effortful control. Studies suggest that forms and functions of aggression are related to various aspects of impulsivity. Further, reactive overcontrolled children are, due to their behavioural inhibition, better able to attenuate their aggression. Future studies should determine which forms and functions of aggression are characterized by low reactive overcontrol, i.e. low behavioural inhibition. For children whose aggression is driven by weak reactive control, effortful control is necessary to inhibit aggressive impulses. Interventions are suggested for reinforcing self-regulation in forms and functions of aggression.

Brain Anatomy in Boys with Conduct Disorder: Differences Among Aggression Subtypes.

Aggression is a core feature of conduct disorder (CD), but the motivation, execution of aggression may vary. A deeper understanding of the neural substrates of aggressive behaviours is critical for effective clinical intervention. Seventy-six Boys with CD (50 with impulsive aggression (I-CD) and 26 with premeditated aggression (P-CD)) and 69 healthy controls (HCs) underwent a structural MRI scan and behavioural assessments. Whole-brain analyses revealed that, compared to HCs, the I-CD group showed significant cortical thinning in the right frontal cortex, while the P-CD group demonstrated significant folding deficits in the bilateral superior parietal cortex. Both types of aggression negatively correlated with the left amygdala volume, albeit in different ways. The present results demonstrated that the complex nature of aggression relies on differentiated anatomical substrates, highlighting the importance of exploring differential circuit-targeted interventions for CD patients.

Aggression is an Emotional Reaction

Aggression is a behavior which is basically intended to cause harm, to injure someone physically or mentally. The basis of an aggressive urge is the internal physical and mental state. It appears with a feeling of anger and hostility; in frustrating situations when a physical or verbal threat or possible attack is felt.

Suicide behaviours in incarcerated males: Links to psychopathic traits, forms of aggression to others, personal characteristics, and current penitentiary variables

Self-injurious behaviours and suicide attempts among incarcerated people are higher when compared with the general population. The current research is designed to examine the prevalence of self-injurious behaviours and suicide attempts among incarcerated males in Spain, and the factors associated with these behaviours. 201 men imprisoned in Spain completed anonymous self-report measures of demographic variables (e.g., age, marital status), the Triarchic Psychopathy Model (boldness, meanness, and disinhibition) and impulsive/premeditated aggression and aggressive behaviour (including physical, verbal, hostility, and anger). Official records were also consulted for information related to criminality (i.e., prior imprisonment and type of offence). Overall, 37.5% of residents reported having injured themselves at a time of anger or despair and 24.9% reported attempting suicide at any point in their lives. Lower scores in meanness, higher scores on impulsive aggression, serious illnesses and previous imprisonment were associated with an increased risk of self-injurious and/or suicide attempting behaviours. Being married acted as a protective factor of attempting suicide. Trait variables related to psychopathy (lower meanness) and aggression (higher impulsive aggression) were associated with increased frequency of suicide attempts in prisoners even after controlling for personal and criminal variables. The prevention of high rates of suicide in prisons needs the treatment of those cognitive variables in addition to more contextual personal and criminal variables.