Understanding aggressive behaviour across the lifespan

Abstract

Aggressive behavior is the observable manifestation of aggression and is often associated with developmental transitions and a range of medical and psychiatric diagnoses across the lifespan. As healthcare professionals involved in the medical and psychosocial care of patients from birth through death, nurses frequently encounter—and may serve as—both victims and perpetrators of aggressive behavior in the workplace. While the nursing literature has continually reported research on prevention and treatment approaches, less emphasis has been given to understanding the etiology, including contextual precipitants of aggressive behavior. This paper provides a brief review of the biological, social, and environmental risk factors that purportedly give rise to aggressive behavior. Further, many researchers have focused specifically on aggressive behavior in adolescence and adulthood. Less attention has been given to understanding the etiology of such behavior in young children and older adults. This paper emphasizes the unique risk factors for aggressive behavior across the developmental spectrum, including childhood, adolescence, adulthood, and late life. Appreciation of the risk factors of aggressive behavior, and, in particular, how they relate to age-specific manifestations, can aid nurses in better design and implementation of prevention and treatment programs.

The influence of age of onset and acute anabolic steroid exposure on cognitive performance, impulsivity, and aggression in men.

“…The differences in subscale effect sizes suggest that the effects of AASs are likely to be somewhat idiosyncratic, with a wide variety of non-AAS influences (Liu, Lewis, & Evans, 2013). The majority of participants in this study were middle aged men and we did not assess for lifetime aggressive behaviors.…”

Environmental Determinants of Aggression in Adolescents: Role of Urban Neighborhood Greenspace

“…6 Aggressive behavior is also a key precursor to many mental illnesses, including antisocial personality disorder. 7 Although genetic factors are important causes of aggressive behaviors, environment also accounts for 50% of its total variance.…”

Childbearing Depression and Childhood Aggression

“…We define aggression in this paper as an expressed negative and destructive emotion (e.g., expression of anger, frustration, and sorrow) in the form of directly or indirectly inflicted self-harm in addition to intentional or unintentional physical, verbal, and nonverbal acts that often result in injury, death, psychological harm, maldevelopment or deprivation (Blake & Hamrin, 2007; Liu, Lewis & Evans, In press; WHO, 2002). …”

“…Olweus (1979) reported an average correlation of 0.63 (0.79 after correcting for attenuation) between early aggression in childhood or adolescence and later aggression, and longitudinal studies have consistently documented that problem behavior in childhood is predictive of adolescent and adult behavior (e.g., Broidy et al, 2003; Farrington, 2003). In particular, it has been associated with alcohol and drug abuse, criminal behavior, academic failure, antisocial behavior, behavioral issues, depression, suicide, family dysfunction, domestic abuse, injury, neglectful and abusive parenting, and even death (Liu, 2004; Liu, Lewis & Evans, In press). A recent 40-year longitudinal study also showed that these negative outcomes tend to be more problematic for life-course-persistent aggressives (onset in early childhood) than late-onset (early adulthood) aggressives (Huesmann, Dubow, & Boxer, 2009).…”