Intergenerational Transmission of Aggression: Physiological Regulatory Processes

Abstract

Children who grow up in aggressive households are at risk of having problems with physiological regulation, but researchers have not investigated physiology as a mechanism in the intergenerational transmission of aggression. In this article, we posit that physiological regulation, particularly during stressful interpersonal interactions, may shed light on sensitivity to conflict, It can also inform our understanding of associations between childhood exposure to aggression in families of origin and aggression against partners in adolescence or adulthood. In support of this model, we highlight findings showing that childhood exposure to family aggression relates to physiological regulation across the life span, and that reactions to physiological stress concurrently relate to aggression against intimate partners. Emerging evidence from research on biological processes during stressful interpersonal interactions raises questions about what is adaptive for individuals from aggressive families, particularly as past family experiences intersect with the challenges of new relationships.

Interdisciplinary Work Is Essential for Research on Puberty: Complexity and Dynamism in Action

“…While “the bucket of everything” approach—measure everything all the time—to interdisciplinary research is tempting, forward progress is often better served by coordinated conceptualization and careful measurement. By way of example, consider how interdisciplinary teams have approached and studied the effects of family conflict on youth development (Brody et al., ; Margolin, Ramos, Timmons, Miller, & Han, ). The aim in the Margolin study was to identify a) factors that make young adults more likely to behave aggressively toward a dating partner; and (b) ways that dating aggression spills over into couples’ everyday interactions.…”

“…The research team brought together expertise in family systems—and the ability to observe and record family conflict [coded for specific behaviors and emotions (Spies, Margolin, Susman, & Gordis, ) and biological systems—and the ability to obtain and assay cortisol and salivary alpha amylase (sAA) from saliva obtained during family conflicts. Complementary expertise in peer and social relations highlighted several factors that buffer the associations between family conflict and physiology, such as affiliating with prosocial peers and having high levels of empathy and perspective taking (Han & Margolin, ; Margolin et al., ). A history of adversity and aggression appears to be associated with a dampening overall of physiological arousal reactions which when annoyed are somewhat heightened.…”

“We Need Something Different”

“…I almost sensed that she herself tied their early family system to the church’s ministry of rebuke. The intergenerational transmission of aggressive behavior may well explain why WBC is so preoccupied with rebuke (Jonathan Phelps 2017; S. Phelps‐Roper 2010; Margolin et al 2016).…”

Family-of-origin aggression, dating aggression, and physiological stress reactivity in daily life

“…Conceptual models typically incorporate emotional, cognitive, and behavioral regulatory processes, but little research has specifically examined the role of physiological stress reactivity in the intergenerational transmission of aggression. Exposure to aggression in childhood may alter biological reactivity to stress, causing heightened physiological reactions to interpersonal stressors experienced in adult relationships [28]. The current study investigates young adults' physiological reactivity during periods of naturally-occurring annoyance between dating partners.…”