Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
Hostname: page-component-5b777bbd6c-sbgtn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-06-20T05:31:14.316Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

7 - Origins, Development, and Prevention of Aggressive Behavior

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 May 2011

By
Richard E. Tremblay
Edited by
Daniel P. Keating
Richard E. Tremblay
Affiliation:
University of London
Daniel P. Keating
Affiliation:
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
Get access

Summary

What is aggressive behavior? When does it start? How does it develop? Can we prevent the development of chronic physical aggression? These are the four main questions that are addressed in this chapter. Research on the development and prevention of violent behavior is a growing industry. Paradoxically, the more humans become “civilized,” the more they appear to be preoccupied by violence. The development of aggressive behavior is central to most theories of human behavior and is addressed by disciplines as varied as zoology, psychiatry, economy, psychology, public health, and political sciences.

WHAT DO WE MEAN BY “AGGRESSIVE BEHAVIOR”?

It may be a surprise that the major problem with this area of research is one of definition. Investigators have been putting their finger on this problem over and over again, but no simple solution has been found (Berkowitz, 1962; Burt, 1925; Buss, 1961; Cairns, 1979; Coie & Dodge, 1998; Hartup & de Wit, 1974; Parke & Slaby, 1983; Pitkanen, 1969). The best way to observe the difficulties faced by investigators is to examine the content of the “aggression” scales that have been used over the past decades. The content of the scales defines what is measured. The popular scales used to assess children's and adolescents' aggressive behavior contain a mix of behaviors that range from physical aggression to attention seeking and disobedience.

Type
Chapter
Information
Nature and Nurture in Early Child Development , pp. 169 - 187
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2010

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.)

Book purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

Achenbach, T. M., Edelbrock, C. (1983). Manual for the child behavior checklist and revised child behavior profile. Burlington, VT: University of Vermont, Department of Psychiatry.Google Scholar
Alink, L. R. A., Zeijl, J., Stolk, M. N. et al. (2006). The early childhood aggression curve: Development of physical aggression in 10- to 50-month-old children. Child Development, 77, 954–66.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Archer, J., & Browne, K. (1989). Human aggression: Naturalistic approaches. London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Arseneault, L., Moffit, T. E., Caspi, A. et al. (2003). Strong genetic effects on cross-situational antisocial behavior among 5-year-old children according to mothers, teachers, examiner-observers, and twins' self-reports. Journal of Child Psychology & Psychiatry, 44, 832–48.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Arseneault, L., Tremblay, R. E., Boulerice, B., & Saucier, J. F. (2002). Obstetrical complications and violent delinquency: Testing two developmental pathways. Child Development, 73, 496–508.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Berkowitz, L. (1962). Aggression: A social psychological analysis. New York: McGraw-Hill.Google Scholar
Blumstein, A., Cohen, J., & Farrington, D. P. (1988). Criminal career research: Its value for criminology. Criminology, 26(11).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Boivin, M., Vitaro, F., & Poulin, F. (2005). Peer relationships and the development of aggressive behavior in early childhood. In Tremblay, R., Hartup, W., & Archer, J., (Eds.) Developmental origins of aggression (376–97). New York: Guilford.Google Scholar
Bridges, K. M. B. (1931). The social and emotional development of the preschool child. London: Kegan Paul.Google Scholar
Broidy, L. M., Nagin, D. S., Tremblay, R. E. et al. (2003). Developmental trajectories of childhood disruptive behaviors and adolescent delinquency: A six-site, cross-national study. Developmental Psychology, 39, 222–45.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Burt, C. L. (1925). The young delinquent. London: University of London Press.Google Scholar
Buss, A. H. (1961). The psychology of aggression. New York: Wiley.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cairns, R. B. (1979). The analysis of social interactions: Method, results, and illustrations. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Cairns, R. B., Cairns, B. D., Neckerman, H. J., Ferguson, L. L., & Gariépy, J. L. (1989). Growth and aggression: 1. Childhood to early adolescence. Developmental Psychology, 25, 320–30.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Caspi, A., McClay, J., Moffitt, T. et al. (2002). Role of genotype in the cycle of violence in maltreated children. Science, 297, 851–4.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Choquet, M., & Ledoux, S. (1994). Adolescents: Enquête nationale. Paris: Les éditions INSERM.Google Scholar
Coie, J. D., & Dodge, K. A. (1998). Aggression and antisocial behavior. In: Damon, W. & Eisenberg, N. (Eds.), Handbook of child psychology: Social, emotional, and personality development, 3rd edition (779–862). Toronto: Wiley.Google Scholar
Côté, S., Vaillancourt, T., LeBlanc, J. C., Nagin, D. S., & Tremblay, R. E. (2006). The development of physical aggression from toddlerhood to preadolescence: A nationwide longitudinal study of Canadian children. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 34, 71–85.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Crick, N. R., & Grotpeter, J. K. (1995). Relational aggression, gender, and social-psychological adjustment. Child Development, 66, 710–22.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dawe, H. C. (1934). An analysis of 200 quarrels of preschool children. Child Development, 5, 139–57.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
,Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV-TR). (1994). Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association.
Dionne, G. (2005). Language development and aggressive behavior. In Tremblay, R., Hartup, W., & Archer, J. (Eds.), Developmental origins of aggression. New York: Guilford.Google Scholar
Dionne, G., Tremblay, R. E., Boivin, M., Laplante, D., & Pérusse, D. (2003). Physical aggression and expressive vocabulary in 19-month-old twins. Developmental Psychology, 39, 261–73.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dishion, T. J., Patterson, G. R., Stoolmiller, M., Skinner, & M. L. (1991). Family, school, and behavioral antecedents to early adolescent involvement with antisocial peers. Developmental Psychology, 27, 172–80.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dodge, K., Lochman, J. E., Harnish, J. D., Bates, J. E., & Pettit, G. S. (1997). Reactive and proactive aggression in school children and psychiatrically impaired chronically assaultive youth. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 106, 37–51.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Eley, T. C., Lichenstein, P., & Stevenson, J. (1999). Sex differences in the etiology of aggressive and nonaggressive antisocial behavior: Results from two twin studies. Child Development, 70, 155–68.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ellis, L., & Coontz, P. D. (1990). Androgens, brain functioning, and criminality: The neurohormonal foundations of antisociality. In Ellis, L. & Hoffman, H. (Eds.), Crime in biological, social and moral contexts (162–93). New York: Praeger.Google Scholar
Eron, L. D., & Huesmann, L. R. (1986). The role of television in the development of pro-social and antisocial behavior. In Olweus, D., Block, J., & Ratkie-Iarrow, M. (Eds.), The development of pro-social and antisocial behavior. New York: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Eysenck, H. J., & Gudjonsson, G. H. (1989). The causes and cures of criminality. New York: Plenum.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Farrington, D. P. (1986). Age and crime. In Tonry, M. & Morris, N. (Eds.), Crime and justice: An annual review of research, Vol. 7. (189–250). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Farrington, D. P. (1998). Individual differences and offending. In Tonry, M. (Ed.), The handbook of crime and punishment (241–68). New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Francis, D. D., Diorio, J., Plotsky, P. M., & Meaney, M. J. (2002). Environmental enrichment reverses the effects of maternal separation on stress reactivity. Journal of Neuroscience, 22, 7840–3.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Francis, D. D., Szegda, K., Campbell, G., Martin, W. D., & Insel, T. (2003). Epigenetic sources of behavioral differences in mice. Nature Neuroscience, 6, 445–6.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gatti, U., & Tremblay, R. E. (2005). Social capital and physical violence. In Tremblay, R., Hartup, W., & Archer, J. (Eds.), Developmental origins of aggression. New York: Guilford.Google Scholar
Goodenough, F. L. (1931). Anger in young children. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.Google Scholar
Gottfredson, M. R., & Hirschi, T. (1990). A general theory of crime. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.Google Scholar
Gray, J. A. (1971). The psychology of fear and stress. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson.Google Scholar
Gray, J. A. (1982). The neuropsychology of anxiety. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Hartup, W. W. (1974). Aggression in childhood. American Psychologist, 29, 336–41.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hartup, W. W., & Wit, J. (1974). The development of aggression: Problems and perspectives. In Wit, J. & Hartup, W. W. (Eds.), Determinants and origins of aggressive behavior (595–620). The Hague, Netherlands: Mouton.Google Scholar
Hobbes, T. ([1651] 1958). The Leviathan. Indianapolis, IN: Liberal Arts Press.Google Scholar
Huesmann, L. R., Eron, L. D., Guerra, N. G., & Crawshaw, V. B. (1994). Measuring children's aggression with teachers' predictions of peer nominations. Psychological Assessment, 6, 329–36.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Huesmann, L. R., Eron, L. D., Lefkowitz, M. M. & Walder, L. O. (1984). Stability of aggression over time and generations. Developmental Psychology, 20, 1120–34.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Huesmann, L. R, & Miller, L. S. (1994). Long-term effects of repeated exposure to media violence in childhood. In Huesmann, L. (Ed.), Aggressive behavior: Current perspectives (153–86). New York: Plenum Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kagan, J. (1974). Development and methodological considerations in the study of aggression. In Wit, J. & Hartup, W. W. (Eds.), Determinants and origins of aggressive behavior (107–14). The Hague, Netherlands: Mouton.Google Scholar
Lefkowitz, M. M., Eron, L. D., Walder, L. O., & Huesmann, L. R. (1977). Growing up to be violent. A longitudinal study of the development of aggression. New York: Pergamon Press.Google Scholar
Lewis, M., Alessandri, S. M., & Sullivan, M. W. (1990). Violation of expectancy, loss of control, and anger expressions in young infants. Developmental Psychology, 26, 745–51.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Locke, J. ([1693] 1996). Some thoughts concerning education. Indianapolis, IN: Hackett Publishing Co.Google Scholar
Loeber, R., & Stouthamer-Loeber, M. (1998). Development of juvenile aggression and violence. Some common misconceptions and controversies. American Psychologist, 53, 242–59.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
McCord, J. (1991). Family relationships, juvenile delinquency, and adult criminality. Criminology, 29, 397–417.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McCord, J., Widom, C. S., & Crowell, N. E. (2001). Juvenile crime, juvenile justice. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.Google Scholar
McGrew, W. C. (1972). An ethological study of children's behavior. New York: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Mischel, W., Shoda, Y., & Rodriguez, M. L. (1989). Delay of gratification in children. Science, 244, 933–8.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Moffitt, T. E. (1993). Adolescence-limited and life-course persistent antisocial behavior: A developmental taxonomy. Psychological Review, 100, 674–701.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Murphy, L. B. (1937). Social behavior and child personality. New York: Columbia University Press.Google Scholar
Nagin, D., & Tremblay, R. E. (1999). Trajectories of boys' physical aggression, opposition, and hyperactivity on the path to physically violent and nonviolent juvenile delinquency. Child Development, 70, 1181–96.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
,NICHD, Network ECCR. (2004). Trajectories of physical aggression from toddlerhood to middle school. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, Serial 278, 69(4), 1–25.Google Scholar
O'Connor, T. G., McGuire, S., Reiss, D., Hetherington, M. E., & Plomin, R. (1998). Co-occurrence of depressive symptoms and antisocial behavior in adolescence: A common genetic liability. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 107, 27–37.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Olds, D., Henderson, C. R., Cole, R. et al. (1998). Long-term effects of nurse home visitation on children's criminal and antisocial behavior: Fifteen-year follow-up of a randomized controlled trial. Journal of the American Medical Association, 280, 1238–44.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Parke, R. D., & Slaby, R. G. (1983). The development of aggression. In P. H. Mussen, , (Ed.), Handbook of child psychology (Vol. 4: Socialization, personality, and social development) (547–641). New York: John Wiley & Sons.Google Scholar
Patterson, G. R. (1982). A social learning approach to family intervention: III. Coercive family process. Eugene, OR: Castalia.Google Scholar
Pihl, R. O., & Benkelfat, C. (2005). Neuromodulators in the development and expression of inhibition and aggression. In Tremblay, R. E., Hartup, W. W., & Archer, J. (Eds.), Developmental origins of aggression (261–80). New York: Guilford.Google Scholar
Pitkanen, L. (1969). A descriptive model of aggression and nonaggression with applications to children's behaviour. Jyväskylä Studies in Education, Psychology and Social Research, No. 19. Jyväskylä: University of Juväskylä.Google Scholar
Pulkkinen, L., & Tremblay, R. E. (1992). Patterns of boys' social adjustment in two cultures and at different ages: A longitudinal perspective. International Journal of Behavioural Development, 15, 527–53.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Quetelet, A. ([1833] 1984). Research on the propensity for crime at different ages. Sylvester SF, Trans. Cincinnati, OH: Anderson.Google Scholar
Raine, A., Brennan, P., & Mednick, S. A. (1997). Interaction between birth complications and early maternal rejection in predisposing individuals to adult violence: Specificity to serious, early-onset violence. American Journal of Psychiatry, 154, 1265–71.Google ScholarPubMed
Restoin, A., Montagner, H., Rodriguez, D. et al. (1985). Chronologie des comportements de communication et profils de comportement chez le jeune enfant. In Tremblay, R. E., Provost, M. A., & Strayer, F. F. (Eds.), Ethologie et développement de l'enfant (93–130). Paris: Editions Stock/Laurence Pernoud.Google Scholar
Rhee, S. H., & Waldman, I. D. (2002). Genetic and environmental influences on antisocial behavior: A meta-analysis of twin and adoption studies. Psychological Bulletin, 128, 490–529.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Risch, N., Herrell, R., Lehner, T., Liang, K., Eaves, L., Hoh, J., Griem, A., Kovacs, M., Ott, J., & Merikangas, K. (2009). Interaction between the serotonin transporter gene (5-HTTLPR), stressful life events, and risk of depression: A meta-analysis. JAMA: Journal of the American Medical Association, 301(23), 2462–71.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ross, H. S., & Goldman, B. D. (1977). Infants' sociability toward strangers. Child Development, 48, 638–42.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rubin, K. H., & Clark, M. L. (1983). Preschool teachers' ratings of behavioral problems: Observational, sociometric, and social cognitive correlates. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 11, 273–86.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rubin, K. H., Hastings, P., Chen, X., Stewart, S., & McNichol, K. (1998). Intrapersonal and maternal correlates of aggression, conflict, and externalizing problems in toddlers. Child Development, 69, 1614–29.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Schwartz, D., Flamant, R., & Lelouch, J. (1981). Clinical trials. London: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Séguin, J. R., & Zelazo, P. (2005). Executive function in early physical aggression. In Tremblay, R., Hartup, W., & Archer, J. (Eds.), Developmental origins of aggression (307–29). New York: Guilford.Google Scholar
Slutske, W. S., Heath, A. C., Dunne, M. P., et al. (1997). Modeling genetic and environmental influences in the etiology of conduct disorder: A study of 2,682 adult twin pairs. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 106, 266–79.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Stattin, H., & Klackenberg-Larsson, I. (1993). Early language and intelligence development and their relationship to future criminal behavior. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 102, 369–78.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Strayer, F. F., & Strayer, J. (1976). An ethological analysis of social agonism and dominance relations among preschool children. Child Development, 47, 980–8.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Strayer, F. F., & Trudel, M. (1984). Developmental changes in the nature and function of social dominance among young children. Ethology and Sociobiology, 5, 279–95.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Suomi, S. J. (2005). Genetic and environmental factors influencing the expression of impulsive aggression and serotonergic functioning in rhesus monkeys. In Tremblay, R., Hartup, W., & Archer, J. (Eds.), Developmental origins of aggression (63–82). New York: Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Sully, J. (1895). Studies of childhood. London: Longmans, Green and Co.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Szyf, M., Weaver, I., Provencal, N., McGowan, P., Tremblay, R. E., & Meaney, M. (2009). Epigenetics and behaviour. In Tremblay, R. E., Aken, M. A. G., & Koops, W. (Eds.), Development and prevention of behaviour problems: From genes to social policy (25–59). Sussex, United Kingdom: Psychology Press.Google Scholar
Tremblay, R. E. (2000). The development of aggressive behaviour during childhood: What have we learned in the past century? International Journal of Behavioral development, 24, 129–41.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tremblay, R. E. (2003). Why socialization fails?: The case of chronic physical aggression. In Lahey, B., Moffitt, T., & Caspi, A. (Eds.) Causes of conduct disorder and juvenile delinquency (182–224). New York: Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Tremblay, R. E. (2006). Prevention of youth violence: Why not start at the beginning? Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 34, 481–7.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tremblay, R. E. (2008). Anger and aggression. In Haith, M. & Benson, J. (Eds.), Encyclopedia of infant and early childhood development. 2nd ed. New York: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Tremblay, R. E., Boulerice, B., Harden, P. W. et al. (1996). Do children in Canada become more aggressive as they approach adolescence? In Human Resources Development Canada, Statistics Canada (Eds.), Growing up in Canada: National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth (127–37). Ottawa: Statistics Canada.Google Scholar
Tremblay, R., Hartup, W., & Archer, J. (Eds.) (2005). Developmental origins of aggression. New York: Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Tremblay, R. E., Japel, C., Pérusse, D. et al. (1999). The search for the age of onset of physical aggression: Rousseau and Bandura revisited. Criminal Behavior and Mental Health, 9, 8–23.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tremblay, R. E., Loeber, R., Gagnon, C., Charlebois, P., Larivée, S., & LeBlanc, M. (1991). Disruptive boys with stable and unstable high fighting behavior patterns during junior elementary school. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 19, 285–300.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Tremblay, R. E., & Nagin, D. S. (2005). The developmental origins of physical aggression in humans. In Tremblay, R. E., Hartup, W. H., & Archer, J. (Eds.), Developmental origins of aggression. New York: Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Tremblay, R. E., Nagin, D., Séguin, J. R., et al. (2004). Physical aggression during early childhood: Trajectories and predictors. Pediatrics, 114, e43–e50.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Goozen, S. H. M. (2005). Hormones and the developmental origin of aggression. In Tremblay, R., Hartup, W., & Archer, J. (Eds.), Developmental origins of aggression (281–306). New York: Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Vitaro, F., Tremblay, R. E., Kerr, M., Pagani-Kurtz, L., & Bukowski, W. M. (1997). Disruptiveness, friends' characteristics, and delinquency: A test of two competing models of development. Child Development, 68, 676–89.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wakschlag, L, Pickett, K. E., Cook, E., Benowitz, N. L., & Leventhal, B. (2002). Maternal smoking during pregnancy and severe antisocial behavior in offspring: A review. American Journal of Public Health, 92, 966–74.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wasserman, G. A., & Seracini, A. M. (2001). Family risk factors and interventions. In Loeber, R. & Farrington, D. P. (Eds.), Child delinquents: Development, intervention, and service needs (165–89). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Weaver, I. C. G., Cervoni, N., Champagne, F. A. et al. (2004). Epigenetic programming by maternal behavior. Nature Neuroscience, 7, 847–54.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
,World Health Organization. (2002). World report on violence and health. Geneva: WHO.Google Scholar
Zoccolillo, M., Paquette, D., & Tremblay, R. E. (2005). Maternal conduct disorder and the risk for the next generation. In Pepler, D., Masden, K., Webster, C., & Levene, K. (Eds.), Development and treatment of girlhood aggression (225–52). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.Google Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure no-reply@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×