The Origins of Hostility and Aggression

Ervin Staub

doi:10.1017/CBO9780511615795.013

12 - The Origins of Hostility and Aggression

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 07 May 2010

Ervin Staub

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Ervin Staub: Affiliation:
University of Massachusetts, Amherst

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Summary

When affection and nurturance are absent and especially when there is hostility and violence against the child, the likelihood of aggression increases and the child's capacity to function effectively in the world – in terms of interpersonal relations, school performance, and adjustment to school – decreases. The research literature has begun to delineate the influences, and at times their combinations, that lead to aggressiveness, to its frequent correlate ineffectiveness in socially (conventionally) valued realms, and to the psychological processes, the feelings and modes of thinking, that mediate these outcomes.

the origins of aggression in neglect, harsh treatment, violence, and lack of guidance

Parental negativity, hostility, and punitiveness stand out as core elements in the pattern of childrearing that creates aggression and ineffectiveness in socially valued realms. The degree of punitiveness and whether punishment expresses hostility or occurs in an otherwise affectionate or caring context appear to determine their impact.

What is the meaning of the terms child neglect, maltreatment, and abuse (Kinard, 1979; Youngblade & Belsky, 1990)? Parental neglect and punitiveness are often treated as a single dimension. At one endpoint is lack of care so that the child's physical needs are not satisfied, progressing to lack of nurturance, affirmation, and support so that the child's emotional and identity needs remain unfulfilled. This side of the dimension points to omissions and corresponds to what is usually identified as neglect.

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Type: Chapter
Information: The Psychology of Good and Evil
Why Children, Adults, and Groups Help and Harm Others
, pp. 199 - 211

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511615795.013 [Opens in a new window]

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Print publication year: 2003

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