Anger and assaultiveness of male forensic patients with developmental disabilities : links to volatile parents

This study with 107 male forensic patients with developmental disabilities investigated whether exposure to parental anger and aggression was related to anger and assaultiveness in a hospital, controlling for background variables. Patient anger and aggression were assessed by self-report, staff-ratings, and archival records. Exposure to parental anger/aggression, assessed by a clinical interview, was significantly related to patient self-reported anger, staff-rated anger and aggression, and physical assaults in hospital, controlling for age, intelligence quotient, length of hospital stay, violent offense history, and childhood physical abuse. Results are consonant with previous findings concerning detrimental effects of witnessing parental violence and with the theory on acquisition of cognitive scripts for aggression. Implications for clinical assessment and cognitive restructuring in anger treatment are discussed

Piloting a ward anger rating scale for older adults with mental health problems

Aggression, including physical assault, is a significant problem in providing services for older people with mental health problems. A range of bio-psycho-social correlates of aggressive behaviour have been explored in this client group, but little attention has been given to the role of anger as an activator of aggression, despite its demonstrated predictive association with aggression in other clinical populations. In this pilot study, a staff-rated anger measure was administered to 27 inpatients in a specialist service for older people with mental health problems. The Anger Index was found to have high internal consistency and inter-rater reliability, and it showed robust concurrent and discriminant validity with comparison measures completed by independent raters. Higher anger scores were associated with organic diagnoses, history of aggression, and hospital assault data. The potential role of anger in the activation of aggression, the utility of anger assessment in the evaluation of risk, and the value of therapeutic approaches for aggression problems in older adult patients are discussed

Individual cognitive-behavioural anger treatment for people with mild-borderline intellectual disabilities and histories of aggression: a controlled trial

Objectives - Anger is a significant predictor and activator of violent behaviour in patients living in institutional settings. There is some evidence for the value of cognitive-behavioural treatments for anger problems with people with intellectual disabilities. In this study, a newly designed treatment targeted at anger disposition, reactivity, and control was provided to intellectually disabled offenders with aggression histories living in secure settings. Design - About forty detained patients with mild-borderline intellectual disabilities and histories of serious aggression were allocated to specially modified cognitive-behavioural anger treatment (AT group) or to routine care waiting-list control (RC group) conditions. Methods - AT group participants received 18 sessions of individual treatment. The AT and RC groups were assessed simultaneously at 4 time points: screen, pre- and post-treatment, and at 4-month follow-up using a range of self- and staff-rated anger measures. The effectiveness of the treatment was evaluated using ANCOVA linear trend analyses of group differences on the main outcome measures. Results - The AT group's self-reported anger scores on a number of measures were significantly lower following treatment, compared with the RC wait-list condition, and these improvements were maintained at follow-up. Limited evidence for the effectiveness of treatment was provided by staffs' ratings of patient behaviour post-treatment. Conclusions - Detained men with mild-moderate intellectual disabilities and histories of severe aggression can successfully engage in, and benefit from, an intensive individual cognitive-behavioural anger treatment that also appears to have beneficial systemic effects

Risk factors for youth violence: Youth violence commission, International Society For Research On Aggression (ISRA)

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/144599/1/ab21766.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/144599/2/ab21766_am.pd

Automobile Driving and Aggressive Behavior

Automobile driving and aggressive behavior have had an extensive association. Themes of dominance and territoriality have long been part of automobile driving, which has also involved flagrant assaultive actions. Recent episodes of roadway violence in metropolitan areas have raised community concern about aggressive behavior in driving, although common beliefs about why such violence occurs can be seen as pseudoexplanations. Various themes in the psychology of aggression are presented as they pertain to automobile driving. Convergent factors in contemporary urban life that influence roadway aggression are discussed, and it is asserted that such behavior is more prevalent than commonly recognized

Aggression on Roadways

Aggression and the automobile have had a long standing association, yet research on aggressive behavior has neglected the roadway context. This chapter reviews exisdng work which has included archival analysis, field interview studies, personality research, and field experiments. Among the recurrent themes have been the relationship between aggressivity in driving to accident liability and to violence in the larger social context.. Validity issues in road aggression research are discussed, and a typology of roadway aggression is presented. The typology maps a range of contemporary forms, most of which have never been invesngated scientifically and have received sparse academic attention otherwise, despite having high soCial and scientific relevance. Disinhibiting influences that heighten the probability of roadway aggression are discussed

Aggression on Roadways

Aggression and the automobile have had a long standing association, yet research on aggressive behavior has neglected the roadway context. This chapter reviews existing work which has included archival analysis, field interview studies, personality research, and field experiments. Among the recurrent themes have been the relationship between aggressivity in driving to accident liability and to violence in the larger social context. Validity issues in road aggression research are discussed, and a typology of roadway aggression is presented. The typology maps a range of contemporary forms, most of which have never been investigated scientifically and have received sparse academic attention otherwise, despite having high social and scientific relevance. Disinhibiting influences that heighten the probability of roadway aggression are discussed

Commuter Stress

Everyone knows that being stuck in traffic is stressful, and few look forward to long commutes on congested roadways. But the negative effects of traffic congestion go beyond frustration and fatigue. Our research at UC Irvine since the late 1970s has discovered adverse health impacts of what we call "high impedance" commuting