Characterizing aggressive behavior with the Impulsive/Premeditated Aggression Scale among adolescents with conduct disorder

Abstract

This study extends the use of the Impulsive/Premeditated Aggression Scale for subtyping aggressive behavior among adolescents with Conduct Disorder. Of the Conduct Disorder symptoms, aggression has the strongest prognostic and treatment implications. While aggression is a complex construct, convergent evidence supports a dichotomy of impulsive and premeditated aggressive subtypes that are qualitatively different from one another in terms of phenomenology and neurobiology. Previous attempts at measuring subtypes of aggression in children and adults are not clearly generalizable to adolescents. Sixty-six adolescents completed a questionnaire for characterizing aggression (Impulsive/Premeditated Aggression Scale), along with standard measures of personality and general functioning. Principal components analysis demonstrated two stable factors of aggression with good internal consistency and construct validity. Compared to the premeditated aggression factor, the impulsive aggression factor was associated with a broader range of personality, thought, emotional, and social problems. As in the adult and child literature, characterization of aggressive behavior into two subtypes appears to be relevant to understanding individual differences among adolescents with Conduct Disorder.

Impulsive and premeditated subtypes of aggression in conduct disorder: differences in time estimation

“…Each adolescent provided expired-air and urine specimens to screen for recent alcohol (AlcoSensor, Intoximeters Inc., St. Louis, MO) or illicit drug (i.e., marijuana, cocaine, benzodiazepines, amphetamines, and opioids; Syva s RapidTest d.a.u. Kockler et al, 2006;Mathias et al, 2007;Stanford et al, 2003a].…”

“…The IPAS [Kockler et al, 2006;Mathias et al, 2007;Stanford et al, 2003a] is a self-report questionnaire that was administered to assign CD participants to the CD-Impulsive or CD-Premeditated groups. This questionnaire allows for the characterization of an individual's aggressive acts occurring within the last 6 months using 30 items rated on a 5-point scale (1 5 Strongly Disagree, 2 5 Disagree, 3 5 Neutral, 4 5 Agree, 5 5 Strongly Agree).…”

“…The two scales of interest from the IPAS are: (a) premeditated aggression (e.g., ''I think the other person deserved what happened to them during some of the incidents''); and (b) impulsive aggression (e.g., ''My behavior was too extreme for the level of provocation''). Published IPAS reliability coefficients (Cronbach's a) range from .72 to .82 [Kockler et al, 2006;Mathias et al, 2007;Stanford et al, 2003a, b]. A percentile score is calculated for both IPAS scales using the formula [100 Â (total score/total possible score)], which results in a range of scores from 0 through 100.…”

Psychopathy and Axis I psychiatric disorders among criminal offenders: relationships to impulsive and proactive aggression

“…In the original study of the IPAS, a community sample of men with anger/ aggression problems was administered the 30-item IPAS and principal components analysis yielded a PA factor and an IA factor [Stanford et al, 2003]. These two factors were subsequently validated using the IPAS in forensic patients [Kockler et al, 2006], conduct disordered adolescents [Mathias et al, 2007], college students [Haden et al, 2008], and substance-dependent individuals [Conner et al, 2009]. We used the 12-item IA and 13-item PA scales derived from forensic patients [Kockler et al, 2006].…”

The short term effect of a group drumming intervention on aggressive behaviour among adolescent girls diagnosed with conduct disorder

“…The diagnostic criteria of conduct disorder can be divided © SA Journal of Occupational Therapy into four core symptom groups, which are (a) aggression to people and animals, (b) destruction of property, (c) deceitfulness or theft and (d) serious violation of rules 5 . One of the primary symptoms of conduct disorder is aggressive behaviour 6 and was identified as a major area of concern among the learners attending the school where the study was conducted.…”