Adolescent Aggression

"Aggressive behavior during childhood and adolescence is an important risk factor for later serious and persistent adjustment problems in adulthood, including criminal behavior, school dropout as well as family-related and economic problems. Researchers have thus deployed considerable efforts to uncover what drives individuals to attack and hurt others. Each chapter explores the issue of aggression with an introduction, theoretical considerations, measures and methods, research findings, implications, and future directions"--

Antisocial acts by children and teens are on the rise – from verbal abuse to physical bullying to cyber-threats to weapons in schools. Strictly punitive responses to aggressive behaviour may even escalate a situation, leaving peers, parents, and teachers feeling helpless. This unique volume conceptualizes aggression as a symptom of underlying behavioural and emotional problems and examines the psychology of perpetrators and the power dynamics that foster intentionally hurtful behaviour in young people. It details for readers how bibliotherapy offers relevant, innovative, and flexible treatment – as a standalone intervention or as a preventive method in conjunction with other forms of treatment – and can be implemented with individuals and groups, parents, teachers, and even rivals. This unique, must-have resource is essential reading for school psychologists, school counselors, social workers, and clinical child psychologists and any allied educational and mental health professionals who work with troubled youth.

The primary objective for this study was to conduct an empirical investigation to gather information in the form of data from adolescent males and females in the Pretoria region of South Africa. Information was gathered with respects to their level of physical aggression, verbal aggression, anger, hostility and depression. The information was used to identify whether correlations exist between the three variables anger, aggression and depression for South African adolescents.

Reporting on the findings from a study of young people across 11 different world locations (Australia, Mainland China, Greece, India, Indonesia, Italy, Korea, The Philippines, Poland, Spain, and Taiwan), A Global Perspective of Young Adolescents’ Peer Aggression and Well-being looks beyond bullying to assess the harm to mental health and well-being of young people experiencing peer aggression in all its forms. The first book in a global movement that recommends a new dialogue on peer aggression, this book delves into the poorly understood nexus of peer aggression and bullying through the use of statistical data from questionnaires, as well as the students’ own words and illustrations. By considering data from multiple countries, it addresses critical questions about cultural variation in aggression and associated well-being. Addressing the issue that there is a growing focus on other forms of aggression other than bullying, A Global Perspective of Young Adolescents’ Peer Aggression and Well-being will offer invaluable insight for practicing teachers and school counsellors, as well as any researchers with an interest in the health and well-being of young adolescents.

Seminar paper from the year 2013 in the subject Psychology - Forensic Psychology and Penal System, ( Atlantic International University ), language: English, abstract: In the course of this paper we will deal with adolescent aggression. At the outset, the manner in which teenagers deal with their anger will be discussed. The progression from feelings of anger to displays of anger and aggression will be covered. We highlight the causes of adolescent anger, included here are triggers of aggression and the signs for parents to be aware of. Risk factors for aggressive behaviour among teenagers are outlined and the parallel between male and female displays of aggression are discussed. The manifestation of aggression has differences for boys and girls and concepts such as physical and verbal aggression are covered. The presence of both direct and passive aggression with relevance to sex differences is important to the content of this paper. The potential for the development of oppositional defiant disorder and conduct disorder are also covered. Guidelines for parents with children who manifest aggressive behaviour will conclude the paper. Aggression is a serious problem Aggressive behaviour of teenagers takes a number of forms; these include but are not limited to physical aggression, verbal aggression and indirect aggression. Physical aggression includes actions such as hitting, pushing, kicking, punching and hair-pulling but often escalates into stabbings, shootings and rape. Verbal aggression in contrast, includes intimidating type actions, threatening peers, displays of teasing, name-calling and taunting. The intention to harm another person constitutes aggression, but aggressive behaviour is often not as direct – indirect aggression is equally as harmful and includes actions such as the creation of rumours, gossiping about a peer and the deliberate exclusion of a peer from a group setting or the encouraging of exclusive behaviour among teens. The display of aggression is fairly common among younger children but becomes more dangerous as the child moves into his teenage years and young adulthood. Statistics from research conducted with teenagers, indicates that around twenty percent of teenagers had been bullied during the past year. Up to thirty-three percent indicated that they had been involved in a physical fight and shockingly, thirty-two percent of females and forty percent of males had been involved in a serious violent act such as aggravated assault, robbery and even rape by the age of seventeen...

This comprehensive volume reviews and synthesizes a vast body of knowledge on maladaptive aggression and antisocial behavior in youth. Written from a clinical-developmental perspective, and integrating theory and research from diverse fields, the book examines the origins, development, outcomes, and treatment of this serious problem in contemporary society. Major topics addressed include the types and prevalence of aggressive and antisocial behavior; the interplay among neuropsychiatric, psychosocial, and neurobiological processes in etiology; known risk and protective factors; gender variables; and why and how some children "grow out of" conduct disturbances. Chapters also discuss current approaches to clinical assessment and diagnosis and review the evidence for widely used psychosocial and pharmacological interventions.