Frequency Of Aggression Research Articles

Identification of violence in the hospital environment: perceptions of nurses

IntroductionViolence is recognised by the WHO as a major and ubiquitous public health problem, that is constantly worsening.ObjectivesThe aim of our work was to estimate the frequency of aggressions against nurses in psychiatric and emergency departments, and to identify the factors associated with it.MethodsThis was a cross-sectional, descriptive and analytical study. It took place between January and March 2021, at both hospitals of Sfax (Tunisia).This study targeted 60 nurses in the psychiatry and emergency services.ResultsThe sample comprises 35 nurses (58%) from psychiatric services and 25 nurses (42%) from emergency services, mainly females (51%) and with average age of 35 years.(+/-9). The nurses interviewed were exposed to violence quite often, in 93% of cases. Almost all nurses (90 %) experienced verbal violence, 70 % experienced physical violence and more than half (62 %) experienced psychological violence. Nearly 11% of nurses reported a sexual violence. Factors that explain or contribute to violence mentioned by the participants were as follows; The Verbal violence was significantly correlated with poor reception conditions (p=0.013). The Sexual violence was significantly correlated with young age of nurse (p=0.005). As for psychological violence, it was significantly correlated with work overload (p=0.004), a poor caregiver-patient relationship (p=0.02) and poor patient care (p=0.04).ConclusionsOur study showed that violence against nurses was frequent in psychiatric and emergency departments. Various factors could modulate their occurrence such as training and improvement of the working conditions.DisclosureNo significant relationships.

Caregivers facing violence in long-term care setting: A cross analysis of incident reports and caregivers speech.

Workplace violence is frequent, especially in long-term care, but often unreported. The aim of this study is to identify workers experiences and coping strategies when they face physical aggression from residents and assess the value of incident reports for violence follow-up. This mixed method study is based on incident reports collected over 3 years from two different long-term care geriatric facilities in France and thematic analysis of 20 semi-structured interviews of nurses and nursing assistants. The reported frequencies of physical aggression among respondents range from none to daily aggression. Only 76 incident reports were submitted. Aggressions were under-reported by caregivers who often felt guilty for not having avoided them. Coping strategies included banalization and seeking support from colleagues. Incident reports can constitute a warning signal for the management team but are not a reliable tool for workplace violence follow-up. Our study emphasizes the complexity of workplace violence prevention in long-lerm care settings. Proposals can be formulated to train and support caregivers, but a shift from a task-oriented organisation to a patient-centred approach seems necessary to reduce violence. Situations to be reported should be better defined, aggression reporting encouraged and judgmental attitudes toward reports discouraged.

Peer Factors as Mediators of Relations Between Exposure to Violence and Physical Aggression in Middle School Students in a Low-Income Urban Community.

Although prior research has demonstrated that peers influence both physical aggression and exposure to violence during adolescence, few studies have investigated the extent to which peers play a role in relations between physical aggression and violence exposure. This longitudinal study examined peer pressure for fighting, friends' delinquent behavior, and friends' support for fighting as mediators of relations between exposure to violence through witnessing and victimization, and adolescents' frequency of physical aggression. Participants were 2,707 adolescents attending three urban middle schools (Mage = 12.4; 52% female; 79% African American, 17% Hispanic/Latino). Participants completed measures of their frequency of physical aggression, witnessing community violence, victimization by violence, and negative life events, and peer variables at four waves within the same school year. Cross-lagged analyses indicated that the role of peer variables as mediators varied as a function of the type of exposure and the direction of effects. Whereas peer pressure for fighting mediated relations between witnessing violence and changes in physical aggression, friends' delinquent behavior mediated relations between physical aggression and changes in witnessing violence and victimization. In contrast, violent victimization was not associated with changes in any of the peer factors when included in the same model as witnessing violence. These findings highlight the role of peers as both a cause and a consequence of adolescents' aggressive behavior and exposure to violence. They suggest focusing on peer variables as targets for interventions to disrupt connections between exposure to violence and physical aggression during early adolescence.

Aggressiveness of Breast Carcinoma in Young Pre-Menopausal Patients

Background: Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed malignancy in female population. Aim: To determine and compare the frequency of aggressiveness of breast cancer in pre and post-menopausal patients. Study design: Cross sectional study Place and duration of Study: Department of Histopathology, K.E. Medical University Lahore from 1st January 2016 to 31st December 2018. Methodology: One hundred and fifty female patients diagnosed with breast cancer to assess the aggressiveness of breast cancer in young - premenopausal patients. Post-Surgical Modified Radical Mastectomy specimens were submitted and evaluated for grade, stage, involved lymph nodes, tumor size and metastasis. Results: Sixty four percent of the tumors were left sided and the invasive ductal carcinoma was the most dominant histologic type (96%). Ninety two patients were premenopausal while 58 were post-menopausal. Nodal positivity in patients less than 40 years was more pronounced (74.2% versus 56.8%, p=0.029). Conclusion: Young premenopausal patients represent high risk group for advanced breast cancer. Key words: Breast Cancer, Young, Premenopausal, Post-menopausal, Invasive Ductal Carcinoma

Patterns of community violence exposure among urban adolescents and their associations with adjustment.

Community violence exposure is prevalent among urban and marginalized adolescents. Although there is strong evidence that community violence exposure is associated with negative consequences, prior studies and theories suggest that these associations may differ as a function of specific characteristics of exposure. This study identified patterns of community violence exposure that differed in form (witnessing vs. victimization), familiarity with the victim, and severity, and in their associations with adolescents' frequency of physical aggression and anxiety symptoms. Participants were 681 eighth-grade adolescents (58% female, 95% African American). Latent class analysis identified five subgroups who reported distinct patterns of violence exposure: limited exposure; witnessed less severe violence, not victimized; witnessed severe violence, not victimized; witnessed less severe violence, some victimization; and high violence exposure. The witnessed less severe, some victimization, and high violence exposure subgroups reported the highest frequency of physical aggression and levels of anxiety compared with all other subgroups. The limited exposure subgroup reported the lowest frequencies of physical aggression. The findings suggest that the form of exposure (witnessing or victimization) is an important distinction in examining associations with adolescent adjustment. Limited support was found for differences related to familiarity with the victim and severity of violence.

Analysis of rear-end crash potential and driver contributing factors based on car-following driving simulation

Objective The purpose of the study was to investigate the factors associating the car-following behavior, which could lead to rear-end crash potential. The safe distance in this study was when the traffic flow was in an asymptotic stability state. Method Traffic flow observation was conducted to observe how vehicle characteristics associating car-following behavior. However, it was not possible to determine the driver characteristics and their driving habits using the traffic flow observation alone. Therefore, a driving simulation and questionnaires were used in combination to investigate how driving characteristics were associate with car-following behavior. Result From the two observation methods, several factors were found to significantly associate the rear-end crash potential including vehicle types, traveling lanes, the purposes of vehicle usage, age, income, the number of driving hours per week, stress, and anger or aggressive behavior. Conclusion The traffic flow observation indicated that among the different types of vehicles, sedan/hatchback cars were more likely to be involved in rear-end crashes than others type of vehicles. Vehicles using the high-speed lane typically drove closer to each other and had a higher chance of rear-end collisions. The observation of driver characteristics showed that younger and high-income drivers were more likely to drive with less gap, resulting in higher possibilities of a rear-accident. Despite being in a normal emotional state, drivers with high frequency of stress, anger or aggression while driving had shorter headway distances and were more likely to cause rear-end collisions.

The Impact of Probiotic Bacillus subtilis on Injurious Behavior in Laying Hens.

Simple SummaryInjurious behavior prevention is a critical issue in the poultry industry due to increasing social stress, leading to negative effects on bird production and survivability, consequently enhancing gut microbiota dysbiosis and neuroinflammation via the microbiota–gut–brain axis. Probiotics have been used as potential therapeutic psychobiotics to treat or improve neuropsychiatric disorders or symptoms by boosting cognitive and behavioral processes and reducing stress reactions in humans and various experimental animals. The current data will first report that probiotic Bacillus subtilis reduces stress-induced injurious behavior in laying hens via regulating microbiota–gut–brain function with the potential to be an alternative to beak trimming during poultry egg production.Intestinal microbiota functions such as an endocrine organ to regulate host physiological homeostasis and behavioral exhibition in stress responses via regulating the gut–brain axis in humans and other mammals. In humans, stress-induced dysbiosis of the gut microbiota leads to intestinal permeability, subsequently affecting the clinical course of neuropsychiatric disorders, increasing the frequency of aggression and related violent behaviors. Probiotics, as direct-fed microorganism, have been used as dietary supplements or functional foods to target gut microbiota (microbiome) for the prevention or therapeutic treatment of mental diseases including social stress-induced psychiatric disorders such as depression, anxiety, impulsivity, and schizophrenia. Similar function of the probiotics may present in laying hens due to the intestinal microbiota having a similar function between avian and mammals. In laying hens, some management practices such as hens reared in conventional cages or at a high stocking density may cause stress, leading to injurious behaviors such as aggressive pecking, severe feather pecking, and cannibalism, which is a critical issue facing the poultry industry due to negative effects on hen health and welfare with devastating economic consequences. We discuss the current development of using probiotic Bacillus subtilis to prevent or reduce injurious behavior in laying hens.

Effect of a High Welfare Floor and a Concrete Slatted Floor on the Growth Performance, Behavior and Cleanliness of Charolais and Limousin Heifers: A Case Study.

Simple SummaryThe barn floor needs to provide a confident and comfortable walking surface while retaining durability and affordability. The floor of the barn is also important in order to achieve the best performance, health and welfare of the animals. Therefore, we compared a high welfare floor (HWF), which should offer higher comfort, to a concrete slatted floor (CSF), which is a standard housing system for cattle rearing. In the trials, Charolais and Limousin heifers were used testing the latter systems. We observed that heifers housed on an HWF tended to exhibit more species-specific behaviors, namely rubbing, grooming and aggression, and seemed to be cleaner than those housed on a CSF.Various floor systems are used in cattle housing with different characteristics in terms of roughness, abrasion, wetness, bedding material, ease of cleaning, etc. Thus, the activity and welfare of the animals are greatly influenced by the type of floor. The floor of the barn can influence the development of health diseases, technopathies and the production and quality of animal products. Therefore, in the present case study, we studied the effects of two different flooring systems on the performance and on some behavioral and cleanliness parameters in heifers. Two floor systems (concrete slatted flooring (CSF) and high welfare flooring (HWF)) and two breeds (Charolais and Limousin) were used in the experiment. Heifers on HWF tended to show a higher frequency of grooming, rubbing and aggression than those on CSF, but not of standing, lying, eating, drinking, rumination, resting, stereotypies and covering of the animals. In addition, animals housed on HWF also appeared to show higher cleanliness than those housed on CSF. Results indicated that animals housed on HWF exhibited more social and self-care behaviors, suggesting that animals housed on such floors show more species-specific behaviors and have higher welfare.

Prevalence of Behavioral and Psychological Symptoms in Patients With Cognitive Decline Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

ObjectivePreventive measures to limit the spread of COVID-19 are essential, but often cause social isolation, affecting the physical and mental health of older adults. Patients with dementia are likely to have worsening behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) owing to pandemic restrictions. To examine this, we described BPSD before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.MethodsWe identified patients at a memory clinic in Japan between October 2018 and December 2019 (15 months before the pandemic began, n = 1,384) and between April 2020 and June 2021 (15 months after the State of Emergency was declared; n = 675 patients). A propensity score was used to match 576 patients from each group. The Mini-Mental State Exam was used to classify cognitive function into mild and moderate/severe. Dementia Behavioral Disturbance Scale was used to evaluate BPSD. The association between BPSD before and during the pandemic was evaluated using binomial logistic regression models.ResultsThe levels of frequent night waking were higher in individuals before the pandemic than in those evaluated during the pandemic in both the mild group [adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 1.82, 95% CI 1.02–3.23] and the moderate/severe group (AOR = 1.96, 95% CI 1.19–3.23). During the pandemic, physical attacks were higher in the mild group (AOR = 4.25, 95% CI 1.12–16.07), while night wandering was higher in the moderate/severe group (AOR = 2.22, 95% CI 1.03–4.81).ConclusionIn patients with cognitive impairment, some BPSD were more prevalent during the pandemic, depending on dementia severity. The findings pertaining to the higher frequency of sleep disturbance and aggressiveness during COVID-19 should be used to guide BPSD screening in patients with dementia and to provide evidence-based interventions.

Perspective Taking Ability in Psychologically Maltreated Children: A Protective Factor in Peer Social Adjustment.

Perspective taking is conceptualized as a multidimensional construct characterized by three components: cognitive, affective, and visual. The experience of psychological maltreatment impairs the child’s emotional competence; in particular, maltreated children present difficulty in understanding and regulating emotions and in social understanding ability. In addition, the literature contains several contributions that highlight maladaptive behaviors of children with a history of maltreatment in peer interactions in the school context. Perspective taking ability has rarely been studied in maltreated children and the existing studies have produced different and often conflicting results that require further insights. On the grounds of these premises, the main objective of the present research is to investigate perspective taking ability in preschool children from maltreating and non-maltreating family contexts and its role in social adjustment, in terms of prosocial and aggressive behavior toward peers inside the kindergarten. A second objective is to verify the effectiveness of a training aimed to promote perspective taking ability in victims of psychological maltreatment. This research, organized into two separate studies, involved 249 preschool children: 206 children from non-maltreating family contexts and 43 brought up in psychologically maltreating families. Perspective taking was measured via the administration of several tests, and prosocial behavior and aggressiveness were observed via non-participant observations in the school context. The training involved maltreated children in small-group meetings based on familiar and appealing activities within the mother–child community. The overall results show that children’s perspective taking ability, in particular the affective perspective taking, contributed to social adjustment. In fact, greater affective perspective taking ability was correlated to a higher frequency of prosocial behaviors toward peers and minor frequency of aggressiveness. Finally, the results of the training (pre/post-test comparison) showed an increase in perspective taking, especially in the affective dimension, and a consequent increase in prosocial behaviors and a decrease in aggressive ones. Therefore, the affective perspective taking ability seems to represent a very significant protective factor, which should be focused and strengthened in order to improve the social adaptation of preschool children who are victims of psychological abuse.

Forensic Perspective of the Covid Pandemic Impact on the Number of Victims of Violence

Objectives. The present research is a longitudinal study with the aim of highlighting the effect of the pandemic on the frequency of aggressions from a forensic perspective. <br />The hypothesis started from the premise that the aggressions showed an increasing trend during the pandemic, indicating a significant difference between the number of aggressions in the previous period and the number of aggressions in the pandemic and post-pandemic period. <br />Population. The sample of the study consisted of 420 people who were identified by forensic findings at the Institute of Forensic Medicine of Cluj Napoca, as victims of aggression between 2019 -2022. The results showed significant differences in the number of aggressions during the pandemic period resulting in an upward trend. <br />Conclusions. The pandemic period had a significant impact on aggressive behaviors, with a tendency of an increased number of aggressions.

Healthcare professionals’ and patients’ attitudes toward the causes and management of aggression in Estonian psychiatric clinics: a quantitative cross-sectional comparative study

Background To enhance patient aggression management efficacy and to reduce the use of coercive interventions in inpatient psychiatric care, it is important to know the attitudes of all involved parties towards the aggression and its management. Aims This study aimed to explore attitudes of the psychiatrists, nurses and inpatients toward the causes and management of patient aggression in Estonian psychiatric clinics. A frequency of aggressive behaviour experienced by professionals, the relationships between the attitudes, participation in coercion, and a frequency of aggression, were also identified. Methods To assess attitudes towards the causes and management of patient aggression, the Management of Aggression and Violence Attitude Scale was implemented. Results The survey comprised of 63 psychiatrists, 197 nurses and 199 inpatients. The patients and the professionals had similar as well as different attitudes toward aggression and its management. Patients expected professionals to take a more personal approach when aggression occurs; in some cases, allowing the patients to deal with negative emotions on their own but, if necessary, isolating or restraining the violent people. Conclusions There is a need of training programs that focus on dealing patient aggression to foster a culture of safe, patient-centred care and to reduce aggression in psychiatric clinics.

Effects of genotype, horn and social rank on agonistic behaviours during food competition in goats

Objective: This study aimed at investigating the agonistic interactions among goats in food competition based on genotype, horn and dominance rank. Material and Methods: After determining the dominance rank of the Maltese and Turkish Saanen genotypes, a mixed group consisting of horned, polled and both horned and polled animals, 2 to 5 years old, consisting of 54 heads in total, nine heads each and a total of 6 groups with linear social rank were formed. The observations were evaluated on the basis of their agonistic behaviors in competition for roughage (oat hay) placed in the feeders. Results: Genotype significantly affected the frequency of agonistic behaviors except for displacement behavior in feeder (P≤0.05). Aggressive biting and threatening behaviors in Turkish Saanen were 2.36 and 1.78 times higher than in Maltese (P≤0.0001). The rate of absence at through of Turkish Saanen goats, which displayed higher aggression frequency was higher that of Maltese goats (P=0.0159). The frequency of agonistic behaviors except for flank butting differed according to horn groups (P≤0.05). Total mean frequency of total aggressive behaviors in the descending order ranked 27.73 times/h for hornless, 23.47 times/h for mixed and 18.48 times/h for horned groups. The absence at the feeder differed in horned groups and ranked in the descending order 38% for horn, 16% for mixed and 8% for hornless (P&amp;lt;0.0001). Conclusion: Maltese genotype is more peaceful than the Turkish Saanen genotype and this peacefulness may be useful in terms of food competition.

Investigation of the Prediction Status of Love Styles and Gender on Attitudes towards Dating Violence

Attitudes that support dating violence are also related to the severity and frequency of aggression in romantic relationships. It is therefore important to understand the variables that influence this attitude. The aim of this study was to reveal the mediation status of love styles in attitudes towards dating violence in gender in emerging adults aged 18-25. The study was conducted on 268 emerging adults (54% female, 46% male) aged 18-25 years (͞X͞=20.34). In the research, the “Dating Violence Attitude Scale” and “Love Attitudes Scale-Short Form” were used to measure attitudes towards dating violence and attitudes towards love, respectively. As a result of the mediation analysis, it was determined that the Ludus and Pragma love styles partially mediated the relationship between gender and attitudes towards general violence and physical violence in romantic relationships. The Ludus, Mania, and Pragma love styles were related to the relationship between gender and attitudes towards emotional violence in romantic relationships;. It was determined that the Eros, Pragma and Agape love styles partially mediated the relationship between gender and attitudes towards economic violence in romantic relationships. It was determined that only the Ludus love style mediated the relationship between gender and attitudes towards sexual violence in romantic relationships, while the Ludus, Mania and Pragma love styles partially mediated the relationship between gender and the mean attitudes towards violence in romantic relationships. Looking at the results of the mediation analysis, it was determined that the Ludus, Pragma, and Mania love styles partially mediated the relationship between gender and attitudes towards violence in romantic relationships. It can be said that men with the Ludus love style have a more accepting attitudes towards general, physical, emotional and sexual violence in romantic relationships compared to their female peers with this love style. It can be said that women with the Pragma love style have a more accepting attitudes towards general, physical, emotional and economic violence in romantic relationships compared to their female peers with this love style. It can be said that women with the Mania love style have a more accepting attitudes towards emotional violence in romantic relationships.

Daily Reports of Aggressive Behaviors in Interpersonal Conflicts.

Interpersonal conflicts are inevitable, but the probability that conflicts involve aggressive behavior varies. Prior research that has tended to focus on victimization in intimate partnerships reported through retrospective designs. Addressing these limitations, the current study examines daily reports of behaving aggressively in any conflict across relationships in a sample of 512 young adults drawn from the nationally representative iCOR cohort. Respondent attitudes and affective measures were collected at the end of the daily data collection period. Regression methods were applied to examine the probability and frequency of aggression, investigating early and recent exposure to adversities, attitudes, self-control, affect and emotional states, and alcohol use behavior. Recent adversities and the propensity to endorse a defensive honor code attitude, consistent with theory and retrospective studies of aggression, predicted both prevalence and frequency of aggressive behavior. The associations of childhood maltreatment and self-control with the prevalence of behaving aggressively were as expected, but these constructs were significantly associated with the frequency of aggression with unexpected, inverse directionality. Moreover, respondents' affect and other emotional states were only associated with the frequency, not the prevalence, of aggressive behavior. Overall, this daily data collection constructively distinguished risk and protective factors for behaving aggressively more often. Further research is needed to disentangle the extent to which affective states drive or is a consequence of frequent aggressive behavior.

Aggressive Script Rehearsal in Adult Offenders: Characteristics and Association With Self-Reported Aggression.

This study explored the frequency, recency, content, severity, and targets of aggressive scripts reported by 94 incarcerated Australian males. The scripts of participants who reported a history of repeated and severe aggression were compared with the scripts of participants who reported a history of less severe and less frequent aggression. As hypothesized, participants with a history of more frequent and severe aggressive behavior reported more severe aggressive script content and more frequent script rehearsal. Furthermore, participants with a history of more frequent and severe aggressive behavior reported feelings of anticipation and excitement when they rehearsed aggressive scripts as well as an increase in the severity of aggressive scripts rehearsed over time. These results have important implications for risk assessment and treatment of violent offenders.

A Comparison of Incidence of Patient Aggression in the University Psychiatric Clinic Ljubljana and at the Department of Psychiatry of the University Medical Centre Maribor

Purpose: Management of aggressive behaviour in patients with psychiatric diagnoses presents a challenge and burden for health staff. The present study compared two psychiatric institutions (the Department of Psychiatry of the University Medical Centre Maribor and the University Psychiatric Clinic Ljubljana) in terms of frequency and consequences of patient aggression. We compared frequencies of aggression between male and female patients, patients diagnosed with schizophrenia and other diagnoses, previously aggressive patients and patients who were aggressive for the first time. We also compared the use of special protective measures in both institutions.&#x0D; Methods: This study was retrospective and included the analysis of documentation of patients who were hospitalised at both institutions from 1 January 2012 to 31 June 2012. We identified patients with aggressive behaviour and acquired their sociodemographic data, diagnosis, number of hospitalisations, presence of alcohol or psychoactive substances and presence of aggressive behaviour. For assessment of aggressive behaviour, the Overt aggression scale was used. &#x0D; Results: One-hundred and forty-seven patients met the criteria for aggressive behaviour. There was no statistically significant difference in the frequency of aggression between genders or diagnoses. However, there was a statistically significant difference (p ≤ 0.01) in the frequency of aggression in patients who had previously been aggressive compared to those patients who had not exhibited such behaviour. There was no statistically significant difference in the use of special protective measures between the two institutions.&#x0D; Conclusions: Two hypotheses were confirmed: patients who had exhibited previous aggression were more frequently aggressive than those with no previous aggressive behaviour while the use of special protective measures between the two institutions was similar.

58.4 PSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY REVIEW AND SAFETY PLANNING FOR AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER YOUTH WITH IMPULSIVE AGGRESSION

Children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are often referred for mood dysregulation, aggression, and other maladaptive behaviors. Safety concerns create urgency for safe and effective pharmacotherapy and behavioral interventions. When comorbid conditions (eg, intellectual disability, mood disorders, psychosis, and ADHD) are present, pharmacological interventions are often complex and complicated by parental fears, medication interactions, and side effects. Participants will: 1) review research on pharmacological interventions that may reduce frequency and intensity of acute agitation, self-injurious behaviors, irritability, and impulsive aggression in youth with ASD; 2) learn strategies to manage safety during outpatient visits with youth with ASD; and 3) learn prescribing options when treating patients with ASD and co-occurring conditions that may be complicating the presentation. Therapeutic strategies to target maladaptive behaviors will be presented. Evidence from a PubMed review of literature to manage irritability and impulsive aggression in ASD will be reviewed. Strong evidence supports the use of atypical antipsychotics for severe irritability and aggression in ASD. However, there are limited randomized, placebo-controlled trials in other areas of impairment for ASD. Evidence for pharmacological interventions used to treat comorbid conditions (anxiety, bipolar disorder, mood instability, and ADHD) in this population will be presented. Limited evidence for novel agents (N-acetylcysteine, D-cycloserine, arbaclofen, cannabidiol oil, and naltrexone) will also be reviewed. Attendees will review recent literature on pharmacologic interventions to address mood dysregulation and impulsive aggression in youth with ASD. They will learn to develop a rational treatment plan based on treating the most serious presenting symptoms. As rates of ASD diagnosis continue to increase, it is essential for clinicians to be aware of current research to provide appropriate pharmacologic interventions. Caregiver stress for youth with ASD can be diminished when there is decreased frequency and intensity of aggression, mood dysregulation, and other maladaptive behaviors.

Chronicity of Challenging Behaviors in Persons with Severe/Profound Intellectual Disabilities Who Received Active Treatment During a 20‐Year Period

AbstractBackgroundEvidence of the chronicity of challenging behaviors in individuals with intellectual disabilities (ID) and autism spectrum disorder while receiving active treatment over long periods is limited. Analysis of the chronicity of these behaviors and the corresponding intensity of treatment has important implications for clinical practice and provision of services.Specific AimsThe aim was to examine chronicity of challenging behaviors in individuals with ID receiving residential treatment over a 20‐year period addressing the following questions: (1) What is the prevalence of challenging behaviors requiring a Behavior Support Plan (BSP) within the population of the facility during the study? (2) Is there a significant decline in frequency of challenging behaviors of these persons with ID over time? (3) Is there a significant decrease in intensity of intervention targeting challenging behaviors of these persons with ID over time?MethodsThe treatment records of 216 persons with ID were examined to identify individuals for whom challenging behaviors required a Behavior Support Plan. The chronicity of five categories of challenging behavior and associated treatment interventions over a 20‐year period was analyzed through repeated measures analyses.FindingsA significant decline was found for the frequency of Physical Aggression, and Physical Disruption over 20 years, but not for Self‐Injury, Verbal Disruption, and Program Refusal. There was a corresponding significant reduction of intervention intensity for Physical Aggression and Physical Disruption, however, the need for interventions persisted over time for all challenging behaviors.DiscussionResults demonstrate that rates of challenging behaviors are chronic, but remain relatively low in the repertoire of persons with ID. Parallel findings on interventions suggest that comprehensive treatment programs are needed to maintain low rates of these challenging behaviors with implications for provision of services for persons with ID, as well as planning and policy implications for managing challenging behaviors.

Parent-to-child aggression, intimate partner aggression, conflict resolution, and children's social-emotional competence in early childhood.

Early childhood is critical to the development of children's social-emotional competence, which predicts peer relations and school adjustment in later periods of childhood. The effects of experiencing or witnessing aggression on children's social-emotional development are well known, yet the role of conflict resolution within the family has not been sufficiently studied. Social information processing models suggests that children who experience positive forms of conflict resolution within the family are likely to generalize these experiences and related skills outside the family, and thus develop greater social-emotional competence. In this longitudinal study, 128 parents (representing 79 families) participated in four quarterly telephone interviews in which they described aggressive conflicts that occurred in their family for which their children were present, including the degree to which each conflict was resolved. They also reported on the frequency of intimate partner aggression (IPA) and parent-to-child aggression (PCA) that occurred while the child was in toddlerhood and preschool as well as children's social-emotional competence at the end of the study. Multi-level models reveal that parents' reports of positive conflict resolution mitigated the concurrent and longitudinal negative effects of children's exposure to both IPA and PCA on their social-emotional competence. These findings reinforce prevention scientists' emphasis on conflict resolution skills as an essential component of parent education programs.