Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-vdxz6 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-22T18:07:40.411Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

An Exploratory Study of Aggression in School-Age Children: Underlying Factors and Implications for Treatment

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 June 2013

Lynn E. Priddis*
Affiliation:
Curtin University of Technology, Curtin Health Innovation Research Institute (CHIRI), Perth, Western Australia, Australia
Sarah Landy
Affiliation:
Family Pathways, Princess Margaret Hospital, Perth, Western Australia
Darren Moroney
Affiliation:
Curtin University of Technology, Curtin Health Innovation Research Institute (CHIRI), Perth, Western Australia, Australia
Robert Kane
Affiliation:
Curtin University of Technology, Curtin Health Innovation Research Institute (CHIRI), Perth, Western Australia, Australia
*
address for correspondence: Dr L.E. Priddis, Department of Psychology, Curtin University, GPO Box U1987, Perth WA 6845, Australia. Email: [email protected]
Get access

Abstract

Aggressive behaviour in school-aged children presents a significant challenge for society. If not managed, it can result in adverse academic, social, emotional, and behavioural outcomes for the child. In addition, it can create stress for families and become a significant burden for the community as these children reach adolescence and adulthood, and engage in antisocial behaviours. Using a three-step exploratory analytical strategy, this study explored parent and child reports of a diverse range of underlying developmental and clinical variables that have been identified in the literature as predictors of aggressive child behaviour, and which could be addressed within an Australian school or community context. A total of 57 children and their parents were recruited from a referral-based Western Australian child mental health service, and the wider community. A group of 31 clinically aggressive children were identified and compared to a group of 26 non-aggressive children. The aggressive group was reported as having a greater prevalence of internalising symptoms, including anxiety and depression, and their aggressive behaviour was more likely to be of the callous/unemotional type, relative to their non-aggressive counterparts. Significant predictors of belonging to the aggressive group included child social problems, thought problems, attention problems, affective problems, narcissism, symptoms of ADHD and PTS, and low maternal self-esteem. Findings are presented and discussed in the context of established theories. Recommendations for principles of treatment for aggressive children and their families are suggested.

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Australian Academic Press Pty Ltd 2013 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Abiden, R.R. (1995). Parenting stress index (3rd ed.): Professional manual. Lutz, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources.Google Scholar
Achenbach, T. (2001). Child behavior checklist. Burlington, VT: University of Vermont.Google Scholar
American Psychiatric Association. (2000). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th ed., text revision). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association.Google Scholar
Arsenio, W. F., Adams, E., & Gold, J. (2009). Social information processing, moral reasoning, and emotion attributions: Relations with adolescents’ reactive and proactive aggression. Child Development, 80 (6), 17391755.Google Scholar
Asen, E., & Fonagy, P. (2012). Mentalization-based family therapy. In Bateman, A. & Fonagy, P. (Eds.), Handbook of mentalizing in mental health practice (pp. 107128). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Publishing.Google Scholar
Baron-Cohen, S., Golan, O., Chakrabarti, B., & Belmonte, M.K. (2008). Social cognition and autism-spectrum. In Sharp, C., Fonagy, P., & Goodyer, I.M. (Eds.), Social cognition and developmental psychopathology (pp. 2956). New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Belsky, J. (1999). Infant-parent attachment. In Balter, L. & Tamis-LeMonda, C.S. (Eds.), Child psychology: A handbook of contemporary issues (pp. 4563). New York: Psychology Press.Google Scholar
Blair, R.J.R., Budhani, S., Colledge, E., & Scott, S.K. (2005). Deafness to fear in boys with psychopathic traits. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 46, 327336.Google Scholar
Briere, J., & PAR Staff. (1996). Trauma symptom checklist for children: Professional manual. Lutz, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources.Google Scholar
Broidy, L.M., Tremblay, R.E., Brame, B., Fergusson, D., Horwood, J.L., Laird, R.,. . . Vitaro, F. (2003). Developmental trajectories of childhood disruptive behaviours and adolescent delinquency: A six site cross-national study. Developmental Psychology, 39, 222245.Google Scholar
Brown, K., Atkins, M.S., Osbourne, M.L., & Milnamow, M. (1996). A revised teacher and parent rating scale for reactive and proactive aggression. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 24, 473480.Google Scholar
Chaplin, T.M., & Cole, P.M. (2005). The role of emotion regulation in the development of psychopathology. In Hankin, B.L., & Abela, J.R.Z. (Eds.), Development of psychopathology: A vulnerability-stress perspective (pp. 4974). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Christian, R.E., Frick, P.J., Hill, N.L., Tyler, L., & Frazer, D.R. (1997). Psychopathy and conduct problems in children II: Implications for subtyping children with conduct problems. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 36, 233241.Google Scholar
Connor, D.F. (2002). Aggression and antisocial behaviour in children and adolescents: Research and treatment. New York: Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Crick, N.R., & Dodge, K.A. (1996). Social information-processing mechanisms in reactive and proactive aggression. Child Development, 67, 9931002.Google Scholar
Cutrona, C., & Russell, D. (1987). The provision of social relationships and adaptation to stress. Advances in Personal Relationships, 1, 3767.Google Scholar
Dadds, M.R., Fraser, J., Frost, A., & Hawes, D.J. (2005). Disentangling the underlying dimensions of psychopathy and conduct problems in childhood: A community study. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 73, 400410.Google Scholar
Dadds, M.R., Hawes, D. J., Frost, A.D.J., Vassallo, S., Bunn, P., Hunter, K., & Merz, S. (2009). Learning to ‘talk the talk’: The relationship of psychopathic traits to deficits in empathy across childhood. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 50 (5), 599606. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7610.2008.0205-8.xGoogle Scholar
Dodge, K.A. (1991). The structure and function of reactive and proactive aggression. In Pepler, D.J. & Rubin, K.H. (Eds.), The development and treatment of childhood aggression (pp. 201218). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.Google Scholar
Dodge, K.A., Coie, J.D., & Lynam, D. (2006). Aggression and antisocial behavior in youth. In Eisenberg, N. (Ed.), Handbook of child psychology: Social, emotional and personality development (6th ed., Vol 3., pp. 719788). New York: John Wiley.Google Scholar
Essau, C.A., Sasagawa, S., & Frick, P.J. (2006). Callous-unemotional traits in a community sample of adolescents. Assessment, 13, 454469.Google Scholar
Fearon, R.P., Bakersmans-Kranenburg, M.J., van IJzendoorn, M.H., Lapsley, A., & Roisman, G.I. (2010). The significance of insecure attachment and disorganization in the development of children's externalizing behaviour: A meta-analytic study. Child Development, 81, 435456.Google Scholar
Fite, P.J., Raine, A., Stouthamer-Loeber, M., Loeber, R., & Pardini, D.A. (2010). Reactive and proactive aggression in adolescent males: Examining differential outcomes 10 years later in early adulthood. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 37 (2), 141157. doi:10.1177/0093854809353051Google Scholar
Ford, J.D., Racusin, R., Ellis, C.G., Daviss, W.B., Reiser, J., Fleischer, A., & Thomas, J. (2000). Child maltreatment, other trauma exposure, and posttraumatic symptomatology among children with oppositional defiant and attention deficit hyperactivity disorders. Child Maltreatment, 5, 205217.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Forth, A.E., & Book, A S. (2010). Relationships of child and adolescent psychopathy to other forms of psychopathology. In Salekin, R.T. & Lynam, D.R. (Eds.), Handbook of child and adolescent psychopathy (pp. 251283). New York: Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Frick, P.J. (2001). Effective interventions for children and adolescents with conduct disorder. The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 46, 2637.Google Scholar
Frick, P.J., Bodin, S.D., & Barry, C.T. (2000). Psychopathic traits and conduct problems in community and clinic-referred samples of children: Further development of the Psychopathy Screening Device. Psychological Assessment, 12, 382393.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Frick, P.J., Cornell, A.H., Bodin, S.D., Dane, H.E., Barry, C.T., & Loney, B.R. (2003). Callous-unemotional traits and developmental pathways to severe conduct problems. Developmental Psychology, 39, 246260.Google Scholar
Frick, P.J., & Hare, R.D. (2001). The antisocial process screening device (APSD): Technical manual. Toronto: Multi-Health Systems.Google Scholar
Gerard, A.B. (1994). Parent-child relationship inventory (PCRI): Manual. Los Angeles, CA: Western Psychological Services.Google Scholar
Gottman, J.M., Katz, L.F., & Hooven, C. (1997). Meta-emotion: How families communicate emotionally. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.Google Scholar
Hinshaw, S.P. (2002). Process, mechanisms, and explanation related to externalizing behaviour problems. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 30, 431445.Google Scholar
Jensen, P.S., Youngstram, E. A., Steiner, H., Findling, R.L., Meyer, R.E., Malone, R.P., . . . Vitiello, B. (2007). Consensus report on impulsive aggression as a symptom across diagnostic categories in child psychiatry: Implications for medication studies. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 46, 309322.Google Scholar
Juffer, F., Bakermans-Kranenburg, M.J., & van IJzendoorn, M.H. (Eds.). (2008). Promoting positive parenting: An attachment-based intervention. New York: Taylor & Francis Group/Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.Google Scholar
Kazdin, A.E. (2005). Parent management training: Treatment for oppositional, aggressive, and antisocial behaviour in children and adolescents. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Kochanska, G. (2002). Mutually responsive orientation between mothers and their young children: A context for the early development of conscience. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 11, 191195.Google Scholar
Kochanska, G., & Aksan, N. (2006). Children's conscience and self-regulation. Journal of Personality, 74, 15871617.Google Scholar
Kovacs, M., & MHS Staff. (2003). Children's depression inventory (CDI): Technical manual. North Tonawanda, NY: Multi-Health Systems.Google Scholar
Lahey, B.B., & Waldman, I.D. (2003). A developmental propensity model of the origins of conduct problems during childhood and adolescence. In Lahey, B.B., Moffitt, T.E., & Caspi, A. (Eds.), Causes of conduct disorder and juvenile delinquency (pp. 76117). New York: Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Landy, S. (2006). Risk assessment measure. Unpublished manuscript.Google Scholar
Lewis, M.D., Granic, I., Lamm, C., Zelazo, P.D., Stieben, J., Todd, R.M., . . . Pepler, D. (2008). Changes in the neural bases of emotion regulation associated with clinical improvement in children with behaviour problems. Development and Psychopathology, 20, 913939.Google Scholar
Moffitt, T.E., Caspi, A., Harrington, H., & Milne, B.J. (2002). Males on the life-course-persistent and adolescent-limited antisocial pathways: Follow-up at age 26 years. Development and Psychopathology, 14, 179207.Google Scholar
Muris, P., Meesters, C., Smulders, L., & Mayer, B. (2005). Threat perception distortions and psychopathological symptoms in typically developing children. Infant and Child Development, 14, 273285.Google Scholar
Perry, B. (2008). Child maltreatment: The role of abuse and neglect in developmental psycho-pathology. In Beauchaine, T. & Henshaw, S. (Eds.), Child and adolescent psychopathology (pp. 93128). New York: Wiley.Google Scholar
Priddis, L.E., & Kane, R.T. (2013). The development of a scale for tuned-in parenting. Australian Journal of Psychology. doi:10.1111/ajpy.12021Google Scholar
Raine, A., Dodge, K., Loeber, R., Gatzke-Kopp, L., Lynam, D., Reynolds, C., Stouthamer-Loeber, M., & Liu, J. (2006). The reactive-proactive aggression questionnaire: Differential correlates of reactive and proactive aggression in adolescent boys. Aggressive Behavior, 32, 159171. doi:10.1002/ab.20115Google Scholar
Reyno, S.M., & McGrath, P.J. (2006). Predictors of parent training efficacy for child externalizing behaviour problems: A meta-analysis review. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 47, 99111.Google Scholar
Reynolds, C.R., & Richmond, B.O. (2008). Revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale (2nd ed.): Manual. Los Angeles, CA: Western Psychological Services.Google Scholar
Rosenberg, M. (1965). Society and the adolescent self-image. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Rowe, R., Rijsdijk, F.V., Maughan, B., Hosang, G.M., & Eley, T.C. (2008). Heterogeneity in antisocial behaviours and comorbidity with depressed mood: A behavioural genetic approach. The Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 49, 526534.Google Scholar
Rutter, M. (2009). Understanding and testing risk mechanisms for mental disorders. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 50, 7278.Google Scholar
Sameroff, A., & Fiese, B. (2000). Transactional regulation and early intervention. In Meisels, S. & Shonkoff, J. (Eds.), Handbook of early childhood intervention (pp. 119149). New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Scott, S., & Dadds, M.R. (2009). Practitioner review. When parent-training doesn't work: Theory-driven clinical strategies. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 50, 14411450.Google Scholar
Tabachnick, B.G., & Fidell, L.S. (2001). Using multivariate statistics. New York: Allyn & Bacon.Google Scholar
van der Kolk, B.A. (1998). The complexity of adaptation to trauma: Self-regulation, stimulus discrimination, and characterlogical development. In van der Kolk, B.A., McFarlane, A., & Weissaeth, L. (Eds.), The effects of overwhelming experience on mind, body, and society. New York: Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Viding, E. (2004). Annotation: Understanding the development of psychopathy. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 45, 13291337.Google Scholar