The nonlinear effects of parental and teacher attachment on delinquency: Disentangling strain from social control explanations

Social control and general strain theory (GST) both predict that parental and teacher attachment will affect delinquency, but differ in their predictions about the form of this effect. Social control theory predicts that positively attached individuals will be much less deliquent than neutral and negatively attached individuals, with there being little difference in delinquency between the neutral and negatively attached individuals. GST predicts that negatively attached individuals will be much more delinquent than neutral and positively attached individuals, with there being little difference in delinquency between the neutral and positively attached individuals. These competing predictions are tested with data from a national sample of adolescent males. Results support the GST prediction, and thereby shed important light on the relationship between two of the central variables in the field and delinquency. This study also questions the tendency for criminologists to assume that effects are linear, and provides some guidance for investigating nonlinear effects.     

Self-Reported Aggression and Impulsivity in Forensic and Non-Forensic Populations: The Role of Gender and Experience

Gender differences in aggressive behavior are traditionally seen as extremely robust. Yet, on closer inspection, the reasons for these differences appear to be incredibly complex as a wide range of moderating variables appears to influence the behaviour. Further, the effect of these variables is often gender specific. We examined aggressive beliefs and self-rated aggressive behaviour and impulsivity in forensic (115 males, 133 females at three closed prisons in the North of England) and non-forensic populations (114 males, and 122 females at the University of Leeds). Participants completed the Revised EXPAGG Questionnaire, the Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire, the Aggressive Acts Questionnaire and the Barratt Impulsivity Scale. Violent men and women, while more aggressive than both undergraduates and non-violent offenders, were equally likely to report their involvement in physical acts of aggression and showed similar levels of aggression and impulsivity. Previous experience of aggression, together with elevated levels of anger and impulsivity were better predictors of aggressive behavior than gender in all participants. These results suggest that gender differences in self-report measures (on cognitive, affective, and behavioral dimensions) in forensic populations may be less clear-cut than many have previously believed, particularly in the most aggressive individuals.     

The effects of physical effort on police officers' perception and aggression in simulated shooting incidents

Abstract

In the present experiment the effects of physical effort on police officers' aggression and perception in simulates shooting incidents were investigated. Based upon Kahneman's (1973) variable-allocation capacity model it was hypothesized that physical effort will result in a decease in aggression towards aggressive offenders. Based upon Kahneman's model and Easterbrook's (1959) Cue-Utilization-Hypothesis it was further expected that this decrease in aggression will be caused by an incorrect judgement of the aggression of aggressive offenders (and not by an impaired perception). The findings confirmed these hypotheses.     

The testosterone–cortisol ratio: A hormonal marker for proneness to social aggression

Social aggression is an escalating hazard for individuals and society. It is most frequently observed as impulsive–reactive aggression in antisocial personality disorder (APD), but in psychopathic aggressive personalities instrumental social aggression is more prominent. However, the psychobiological mechanisms underlying human social aggression are still poorly understood. Here we propose a psychobiological mechanism that may explain human social aggression wherein the steroid hormones cortisol and testosterone play a critical role. High levels of testosterone and low levels of cortisol have been associated with social aggression in several species but it seems that in those individuals wherein these hormonal markers combine social aggression is most violent. In this review we discuss fundamental and clinical research which underscores the potential of the testosterone–cortisol ratio as a possible marker for criminal aggressive tendencies.     

Experiences with Parental Aggression During Childhood and Self-Concept in Adulthood: The Importance of Subjective Perceptions

That individuals' realities are subjectively constructed is a basic, fundamental concept in psychology. However, past research examining child maltreatment in relation to psychological functioning has only investigated the frequency with which parental aggression occurs. Here, adults' perceptions of the abusiveness of their parents' aggressive behaviors during childhood were investigated as a predictor of current self-concept. Participants (N = 119) completed questionnaires assessing the extent to which they experienced parental aggression during childhood, their subjective perceptions of their parents' behaviors, and their current self-concept. Results indicated that how participants perceived their parents' aggressive behaviors was a more important predictor of self-concept than was the frequency with which those aggressive parental behaviors occurred. How individuals characterize their experiences with parental aggression should be taken into account when examining the psychological effects of aggressive parental behaviors.     

Wife beating in South Africa: an imbalance theory of resources and power

This article develops an imbalance theory to explain physical violence against women in intimate relationships in South Africa. The theory proposes four typologies: dependence, compensation, submission, and transgression, through which imbalances in resource contribution and power distribution between spouses are hypothesized to contribute to violence. The dependence hypothesis suggests that economic dependence of the wife will lead to more violence. The compensation hypothesis argues that the husband will use force to compensate for his inability to live up to the male-provider norm. The submission hypothesis suggests that violence will increase due to the submission of women in male-dominated families. Finally, the transgression hypothesis argues that men in female-dominated families will use force to punish their wives for supposedly transgressing the gender norm of male dominance. Empirical evidence provided some support for the dependence, submission, and transgression hypotheses.     

STRAIN, PERSONALITY TRAITS, AND DELINQUENCY: EXTENDING GENERAL STRAIN THEORY

Although Agnew's (1992) general strain theory (GST) has secured a fair degree of support since its introduction, researchers have had trouble explaining why some individuals are more likely than others to react to strain with delinquency. This study uses data from the National Survey of Children to address this issue. Drawing on Agnew (1997) and the psychological research on personality traits, it is predicted that juveniles high in negative emotionality and low in constraint will be more likely to react to strain with delinquency. Data support this prediction.     

The relationship between aggressive behaviour in prison and violent offending following release

Aggression during incarceration impacts on parole release decisions. However, research examining the link between aggressive behaviour in custody and violence post-release is limited, particularly in relation to adult violent offenders. Several factors complicate the use of institutional aggression as a marker of risk for future violence, including environmental causes of aggressive behaviour and adaptation to prison. This study explored the association between aggressive behaviour in prison and violent recidivism post-release in a sample of 148 adult male violent offenders. Prisoners with three or more aggressive incidents recorded in prison incurred a violent charge more often and sooner after release than those with no aggressive incidents, when controlling for age, ethnicity, length of incarceration and risk for future violence. Subjects with one or two aggressive incidents were not at increased risk of violent recidivism. These findings suggest that institutional aggression can be used to identify individuals at risk of violence following release but only when repeated aggressive behaviour is evident. Importantly, some prisoners who were not aggressive in prison were charged with violent offences post-release and some prisoners with three or more aggressive incidents were not violent following release, highlighting the complexity of using in-prison aggression as a marker for violent recidivism.     

Sex and ethnic differences in past aggressive behaviors

To investigate gender and ethnic differences in experiences of violence, 415 Black and White males and females were asked about some of their aggressive behaviors in the past. In their most aggressive encounters, males were more likely than females to have received and instigated physical violence and females to have experienced violence in a sexual context; same-sex aggression was more common than cross-sex violence. More males than females had urged or screamed at others to be more aggressive, with males more likely to incite other males and females to urge other females to be aggressive. Males were more likely than females to have last been angry with a male, and a number of sex differences were found in the behaviors exhibited when last angry. Although positive consequences of aggression did not differ significantly by sex, females were more likely to have experienced negative interpersonal effects of behaving aggressively and males to have suffered physical harm or legal troubles. Relatively few differences between Black and White subjects were found, but Black males were more likely than Whites to keep their anger to themselves and to get the target in trouble; White males were more likely to yell at the target and tell the target of their anger. White females were more likely than Blacks to get the target in trouble. In general, the results are consistent with sex role stereotypes and suggest that the experiences of aggression and responses to anger may be substantially different for males and females.     

Self Reports of Violence

Self-report data are used to compare the relative incidence of aggression and violence among ex-mental patients, ex-offenders, and the general population and to examine the effect of socio-demographic variables on the frequency of these behaviors. Frequency was measured by reported frequencies of aggressive behaviors during the preceding year, by whether respondents could recall serious disputes, and by the recency of the disputes they recalled. In support of studies that have relied on official arrest statistics, the evidence suggests that ex-offenders engage in violence with greater frequency than the other two groups and that they have a greater tendency to physically attack and injure their antagonists when involved in violent disputes. Ex-mental patients appear to use weapons more frequently than the general population, but they are no more likely to injure antagonists. In contrast to labeling theory, police were no more likely to become involved or to make an arrest in incidents involving ex-patients or ex-offenders.     

The role of beliefs and trait aggression in prison bullying among young offenders

This study aimed to explore the characteristics of those involved in bullying, including trait aggression, beliefs, interpretation of potential threat and responses to aggression. Three hundred and thirteen young adult male offenders completed three measures; the Direct and Indirect Prisoner Behaviour Checklist, the Aggression Questionnaire, and the Threat Appraisal of Behaviour measure. Pure bullies and bully-victims were predicted to have higher trait aggression scores, and to be more likely to endorse beliefs supportive of aggression than other groups. Bully-victims were predicted to have higher levels of trait hostility and higher levels of fear than pure bullies. The results demonstrated that both bully groups had higher trait aggression scores, with bully-victims having higher scores on the hostility subscale than pure bullies or those not involved. Bully-victims viewed bullying as more of a threat and were more fearful of it than pure bullies and they were also more likely to endorse both aggressive and avoidant coping responses whereas pure bullies were more likely to endorse aggressive responding. Findings highlight differences between the two bully groups and offers an outline of the underpinning causes of bullying for each group.     

Cognitive tempo,violent video games,and aggressive behavior in young boys

In a factorial design, impulsive and reflective children played video games with aggressive or nonaggressive themes. Interpersonal aggression and aggression toward inanimate objects were assessed in a free-play setting and interpersonal aggression was assessed during a frustrating situation. Results indicated that subjects who played the video game with aggressive content exhibited significantly more object aggression during free-play and more interpersonal aggression during the frustrating situation than youngsters who played nonaggressive video games. Aggressive behavior was unaffected by cognitive tempo.     

Flunitrazepam: psychomotor impairment, agitation and paradoxical reactions

Benzodiazepines are sedatives used for anxiolysis, hypnosis, muscle relaxation and the treatment of epilepsy. Paradoxical reactions including agitation, talkativeness, confusion, disinhibition, aggression, violent behavior and loss of impulse control may, however, occur in some subjects. It has been claimed that high doses of flunitrazepam may cause aggression on a more regular basis in all individuals. The present study makes use of a Norwegian forensic toxicological database containing analytical results from drivers suspected of driving under the influence and suspects of violent crime to analyze the relationship between behavior and blood flunitrazepam concentration. Four-hundred and fifteen cases of drivers suspected of driving under the influence and seven cases of suspects of violent crime were studied. These selected cases had flunitrazepam as the only drug in blood samples and had been evaluated by a clinical test for impairment (CTI) performed by a police physician at the time of blood sampling. The impaired drivers had higher blood flunitrazepam concentrations than the not impaired drivers. Multivariate analysis revealed that both blood flunitrazepam concentration and age of the suspected drivers had independent impact on impairment, indicating tolerance with age. Most of the effects measured were sedative effects of flunitrazepam and these effects were related to flunitrazepam level. Possible paradoxical reactions were observed in a subgroup of 23 individuals (6%), but these reactions did not relate to blood flunitrazepam concentration. The suspects of violent crime showed similar degree impairment and had not more paradoxical reactions than the suspected drugged drivers. The findings were in agreement with other research that claims paradoxical reactions should be viewed as a reaction in certain individuals, and does not support the notion that flunitrazepam in high concentration produces aggression in all individuals taking the drug.     

Aggression,science, and law: The origins framework

Human societies have formalized instincts for compliance with reciprocal altruism in laws that sanction some aggression and not other aggression. Neuroscience makes steady advances toward measurements of various aspects of brain function pertinent to the aggressive behaviors that laws are designed to regulate. Consciousness, free will, rationality, intent, reality testing, empathy, moral reasoning, and capacity for self-control are somewhat subject to empirical assessment. The question becomes: how should law accommodate the wealth of information regarding these elements of mind that the science of aggression increasingly makes available? This essay discusses the evolutionary purpose of aggression, the evolutionary purpose of law, the problematic assumptions of the mens rea doctrine, and the prospects for applying the neuroscience of aggression toward the goal of equal justice for unequal minds. Nine other essays are introduced, demonstrating how each of them fits into the framework of the permanent debate about neuroscience and justice. It is concluded that advances in the science of human aggression will have vital, but biologically limited, impact on the provision of justice.     

Psychopathy and instrumental aggression: Evolutionary, neurobiological, and legal perspectives

In the study of aggression, psychopathy represents a disorder that is of particular interest because it often involves aggression which is premeditated, emotionless, and instrumental in nature; this is especially true for more serious types of offenses. Such instrumental aggression is aimed at achieving a goal (e.g., to obtain resources such as money, or to gain status). Unlike the primarily reactive aggression observed in other disorders, psychopaths appear to engage in aggressive acts for the purpose of benefiting themselves. This is especially interesting in light of arguments that psychopathy may represent an alternative life-history strategy that is evolutionarily adaptive; behaviors such as aggression, risk-taking, manipulation, and promiscuous sexual behavior observed in psychopathy may be means by which psychopaths gain advantage over others. Recent neurobiological research supports the idea that abnormalities in brain regions key to emotion and morality may allow psychopaths to pursue such a strategy—psychopaths may not experience the social emotions such as empathy, guilt, and remorse that typically discourage instrumentally aggressive acts, and may even experience pleasure when committing these acts. Findings from brain imaging studies of psychopaths may have important implications for the law.     

Intergroup Biases as a Function of Reflected Status Appraisals and Support for Legitimizing Ideologies: Evidence from the USA and Israel

Theory and research suggest that members of high-status groups feel more positively about their own group than members of low-status groups feel about their group. The studies presented here test two hypotheses derived from this general idea (1) that members of high-status groups will show greater bias in favor of the in-group when they believe that others perceive the status difference between their group and relevant low-status groups to be larger; and (2) that this relationship will be stronger when high-status group members also endorse ideologies legitimizing their privileged status. However, because low group status may have self-protective properties, it was hypothesized that imputed status differences would not relate to out-group bias among low-status group members, regardless of ideology endorsement. Two studies—using samples from the United States and Israel, respectively—provided clear support for these hypotheses. Implications for the study of both intergroup biases and legitimizing ideologies are discussed.     

Prospective associations among borderline personality disorder symptoms, interpersonal problems, and aggressive behaviors

This study examined the prospective relationships among borderline personality disorder (BPD) symptoms, interpersonal problems, and types of aggressive behaviors (i.e., experiencing psychological and physical victimization and perpetrating psychological and physical aggression) in a psychiatric sample (N = 139) over the course of 2 years. We controlled for other PD symptoms and demographic variables. BPD symptoms at baseline were associated with interpersonal sensitivity, interpersonal ambivalence, interpersonal aggression, need for social approval, and lack of sociability 6 months later. In turn, interpersonal sensitivity predicted not experiencing physical aggression, interpersonal aggression predicted experiencing physical aggression and perpetrating both psychological and physical aggression, need for social approval predicted experiencing both psychological and physical aggression, and lack of sociability predicted perpetrating physical aggression 2 years later. Results demonstrated that interpersonal problems mediated the relationship between BPD and later violent behaviors. Our findings suggest the importance of distinguishing between these groups of aggressive behaviors in terms of etiological pathways, maintenance processes, and treatment interventions.     

Racial differences in violence and self-esteem among prison inmates

Recent scholarship in social psychology suggests that individuals with an elevated sense of self-esteem may respond aggressively or violently when this heightened egoism is threatened. The present study explores differences in self-esteem, aggression, and violent behavior among a sample of 644 male state prison inmates. The results indicated that Black inmates expressed higher levels of self-esteem than White inmates. Although Blacks and Whites did not differ on a psychological measure of aggressive personality, Black prisoners reported more violent behavior than Whites. Moreover, high self-esteem predicted violent behavior inside prison, but only for Whites. This finding suggests that the relationship between high self-esteem and violence may be race-specific.     

Psychopathy Factors and Risk for Aggressive Behavior: A Test of the “Threatened Egotism” Hypothesis

The primary purpose of this study was to examine psychopathy within a model of aggressive behavior that encompasses narcissism and "threatened egoism." This model was advanced by Baumeister and his colleagues (e.g., R. F. Baumeister, L. Smart, & J. M. Boden, 1996; B. J. Bushman & R. F. Baumeister, 1998). We examined whether the threatened egotism model extends to the construct of psychopathy and whether the two factors underlying psychopathy exhibit different associations with aggression within this model. Self-report data, correctional officer and counselor reports, and disciplinary report information obtained for 98 male inmates provided partial evidence that psychopathic individuals tend to respond aggressively when confronted with an ego threat. Moreover, psychopathic individuals exhibited this pattern of aggression more strongly than did narcissistic individuals. These findings bear potentially useful implications for the understanding and treatment of aggression in forensic populations.