Developmental Psychobiology Of Aggression

This book is the outgrowth of a memorial conference to honour the scientific contributions of Robert B. Cairns, an internationally recognised interdisciplinary developmental scientist. It is organised around research themes that were an integral part of Dr Cairns' theories and research: neural and developmental plasticity; brain-behaviour bidirectionality; gene-environment interactions. Throughout this book, these themes are linked together by employing animal models and clinical investigations through multiple levels of analysis approach to understanding the origins, development, desistance and prevention of aggression. These studies will add to the compendium of basic knowledge on the developmental psychobiology of aggression and will aid in the ultimate translation of this knowledge to clinical and community settings. This book hopes to foster the legacy of Robert B. Cairns to facilitate the theoretical development and research of a new generation of developmental scientists dedicated to relieving the tragic consequences of aggression on the individual and society.

"Offering the first comprehensive analysis of this topic in over 30 years, this book is sure to fuel discussion and debate among researchers, practitioners, and students in developmental psychology, child clinical psychology, child and adolescent psychiatry, criminology, and related disciplines. In the classroom, it is a unique and valuable text for graduate-level courses."--BOOK JACKET.

First Published in 1991. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Conceived at a time when biological research on aggression and violence was drawn into controversy because of sociopolitical questions about its study, this volume provides an up-to-date account of recent biological studies performed -- mostly on humans. A group of scientists recognized the importance of freedom of inquiry and deemed it vital to address the most promising biological research in the field. The focus on biological mechanisms is not meant to imply that biological variables are paramount as a determinant of violence. Rather, biological variables operate in conjunction with other variables contributing to aggression or violence, and a complete understanding of this phenomenon requires consideration of all influences bearing on it. This book will familiarize readers with the rapidly growing and increasingly significant body of knowledge on the biological bases of human antisocial, aggressive, and violent behaviors. The editors concentrated on biological influences that support the basic physiological and biochemical processes of the brain and did not cover those biological influences that impact on the health of the individual such as head injury, pregnancy and birth complications, diet, and exposure to lead and other toxins. They focused on biological influences to illuminate their role in the complex behavioral phenomenon of violence. Three different approaches to the biological study of human antisocial, aggressive, and violent behaviors are represented -- genetic, neurobiological, and biosocial. Representing each of these three approaches, individual chapters from investigators in psychobiology, biological psychiatry, and basic-clinical neurosciences address the most recent experimental findings, methods, theory, and common misconceptions in the biological study of aggression and violence. The areas of primary focus are behavior and molecular genetics, neurochemistry and hormones, neuroimaging, psychophysiology and developmental psychobiology. Generally speaking, investigators following these different approaches have experience in different scientific backgrounds, select different methods, generate different analyses, employ different conceptual definitions for some of the same terms, and assume a different philosophical stance in attempting to explain violence. Nevertheless, all are united in their efforts to understand the biological underpinnings of violence. This book then assumes a comprehensive approach wherein different levels of analysis and different approaches inform each other. It is clear from the studies reported that aggression and violence are multidetermined phenomena and understanding them requires an interdisciplinary approach spanning economic, sociopolitical, psychological, sociological, and criminological as well as biomedical considerations. Nature (biology) and nurture (experience, context) are fundamentally inseparable in explaining aggression and violence; biology may affect experience or context, but experience or context also influences biology. Both need to be studied in a search for explanations of this phenomena.

First Published in 2007. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Research over the last few decades has revealed that individuals use a variety of mechanisms to hurt one another, many of which are not physical in nature. In this volume, editors Sarah M. Coyne and Jamie M. Ostrov turn their focus on relational aggression, behavior that is intended to cause harm to another individual's relationships or social standing in the group (e.g., gossiping, social exclusion, and spreading malicious rumors). Unlike physical aggression, the scars of relational aggression are more difficult to detect. However, victims (and their aggressors) may experience strong and long-lasting consequences, including reduced self-esteem, loneliness, depression, anxiety, and more. Over the past 25 years, there has been a growing body of literature on relational aggression and other non-physical forms of aggression that have focused predominantly on gender differences, development, and risk and protective factors. In this volume, the focus turns to the development of relational aggression during childhood, adolescence, and emerging adulthood. Here, Coyne, Ostrov, and their contributing authors examine a number of risk factors and socializing agents or models (e.g., parenting, peers, media, the classroom) that lead to the development of relational aggression over time. An understanding of how these behaviors develop will inform readers of important intervention strategies to curb the use of relational aggression in schools, peer groups, and in family relationships. The Development of Relational Aggression provides scholars, researchers, practitioners, students, and parents with an extensive resource that will help move the field forward in our understanding of the development of relational aggression for the future.

Human aggression is a fascinating research topic, but it is of much more than academic importance. To a large extent, the quality of life and perhaps even world survival depend on an adequate understanding of human aggression. Family vi o lence (child battering and spouse abuse), rape, assault, armed robbery, murder, terrorism, and war are all instances of various types of aggression. The ability to regulate and control such acts could have a crucial contribution to the improvement of the quality of life. Aggressive acts in children and youth need to be under stood for three major reasons. First, most Western cultures are witnessing an increasing involvement in violence by youths. Second, the aggressive dispositions formed early in life may set the tone for or contribute to adult aggression. Third, the quality of childhood and the formation of personal ity are influenced by both the expression and inhibition of aggression. The regulation and control of aggression in children and youth can have a profound effect on the institu tions of the family and the educational system as well as on society at large. Most societies are dedicated to maintain ing harmony and to providing nonviolent solutions to human problems and social conflict. A substantial amount of knowledge has accumulated about aggression and its regulation from empirical research, theory, and clinical sources. Because of the social importance of aggression, the study of human aggression in children and youth has become a popular area for scientific research.

Authors from Europe and the USA give a summary in this book of the current psychological knowledge about the socialization determinants of human aggressive behavior development and outline theoretical perspectives as wellas directions of future research. Thus, the volume includes theoretical and conceptual chapters concerning socialization and sources of aggression (Part I), chapters presenting a summary of empirical researchon early developmental determinants of aggressive and antisocial behavior patterns (Part II), chapters on the effects of social norms and education onaggression in children and youth (Part III), and finally contributions analyzing relationship between aggression as a psychological phenomenon and socio-cultural phenomena and processes (Part IV). The contributing authors have outstanding research experience and significant publications on socialization and aggression development. Their studies are embedded in various philosophical traditions and specific socio-cultural experiences; the book therefore provides a wide range of approaches and syntheses of current research.

From leading authorities, this book traces the development of female aggression and violence from early childhood through adulthood. Cutting-edge theoretical perspectives are interwoven with longitudinal data that elucidate the trajectories of aggressive girls' relationships with peers, with later romantic partners, and with their own children. Key issues addressed include the predictors of social and physical aggression at different points in the lifespan, connections between being a victim and a perpetrator, and the interplay of biological and sociocultural processes in shaping aggression in girls. Concluding commentaries address intervention, prevention, juvenile justice, and related research and policy initiatives.

After decades of neglect, researchers have begun to focus attention on the development and outcomes of girlhood aggression. This comprehensive volume provides an account of some of the pioneering research in the field. Its central aims are to highlight current understanding, identify key components for preventing and treating the complex array of problems experienced by aggressive girls, and raise new questions for future research. The perspectives presented by the authors highlight the diverse factors that moderate the emergence of aggression while offering insight into how to target that aggression at various stages of development. The problem is presented as a continuum from normative forms of behavior to extreme and serious attacks. The importance of relationships--particularly family relationships--is a theme that permeates the entire volume. A growing body of research indicates that aggression in girls is a predictor of long-term psychological, social, academic, health, and intergenerational problems. The knowledge provided by the authors has tremendous potential to inform practice with troubled girls, their families, and support systems.