Proactive and reactive aggression in referred children and adolescents.

Investigating different types of aggression is important to facilitate a better understanding of excessive maladaptive aggression in referred youth. Using regression analysis, the authors investigated demographic, historical, diagnostic, and treatment correlates of proactive aggression and reactive aggression in a heterogeneous population (N = 323) of psychiatrically referred youths. Ratings of proactive and reactive aggression significantly correlated with more established measures of aggression. Results suggest the importance of hyperactive/impulsive behavior, disruptive behavior disorders, and self-reported hostility in youths with both reactive and proactive aggression. Substance use disorders, a family history of substance abuse, and family violence were specifically associated with proactive aggression. Younger age and a history of abuse were correlated with reactive aggression. Implications for clinical interventions and future research are discussed.

[1]  William L. Baker,et al.  Childhood trauma, the neurobiology of adaptation, and "use-dependent" development of the brain: How "states" become "traits." , 1995 .

[2]  M. Osborne,et al.  A revised teacher rating scale for Reactive and Proactive Aggression , 1996, Journal of abnormal child psychology.

[3]  E. Heyneman.  The aggressive child. , 2003, Child and adolescent psychiatric clinics of North America.

[4]  J. Biederman,et al.  Psychopathology in Preadolescent Children at High Risk for Substance Abuse: A Review of the Literature , 1993, Harvard review of psychiatry.

[5]  Phil A. Silva,et al.  Mental disorders and violence in a total birth cohort: results from the Dunedin Study. , 2000, Archives of general psychiatry.

[6]  K. Moyer.  The psychobiology of aggression , 1976 .

[7]  T. Crowley,et al.  Validity of structured clinical evaluations in adolescents with conduct and substance problems. , 2001, Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

[8]  K. Dodge,et al.  Social information-processing mechanisms in reactive and proactive aggression. , 1996, Child development.

[9]  M. Fristad,et al.  Comparison of lithium dosage methods for preschool- and early school-age children. , 1998, Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

[10]  Matcheri S Keshavan,et al.  Developmental traumatology part I: biological stress systems∗ ∗ See accompanying Editorial, in this issue. , 1999, Biological Psychiatry.

[11]  Dc Washington.  Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th Ed. , 1994 .

[12]  R. Malone,et al.  A double-blind placebo-controlled study of lithium in hospitalized aggressive children and adolescents with conduct disorder. , 2000, Archives of general psychiatry.

[13]  M. Reichman,et al.  Rating aggression in the clinical setting. A retrospective adaptation of the Overt Aggression Scale: preliminary results. , 1991, The Journal of neuropsychiatry and clinical neurosciences.

[14]  D. Connor,et al.  Combined pharmacotherapy in children and adolescents in a residential treatment center. , 1997, Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

[15]  Cindee M. Bailey.  Children's peer groups , 1988 .

[16]  R. Tremblay,et al.  Reactive and proactive aggression differentially predict later conduct problems. , 1998, Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines.

[17]  D. Stoff,et al.  Subtypes of aggression and their relevance to child psychiatry. , 1997, Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

[18]  B. J. Casey,et al.  Developmental traumatology part II: brain development∗ ∗ See accompanying Editorial, in this issue. , 1999, Biological Psychiatry.

[19]  Conners Ck,et al.  Rating scales and checklists for child psychopharmacology. , 1985 .

[20]  R. Barkley,et al.  Rating scales and checklists for child psychopharmacology. , 1985, Psychopharmacology bulletin.

[21]  R. Simons,et al.  Proactive and Reactive Aggression in Delinquent Adolescents: Relations to Aggression Outcome Expectancies , 2000, Journal of clinical child psychology.

[22]  R. Weiss,et al.  Validity of substance use self-reports in dually diagnosed outpatients. , 1998, The American journal of psychiatry.

[23]  D. Connor,et al.  Overt categorical aggression in referred children and adolescents. , 1998, Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

[24]  G. S. Pettit,et al.  Reactive and proactive aggression in school children and psychiatrically impaired chronically assaultive youth. , 1997, Journal of abnormal psychology.

[25]  J. Werry.  Severe Conduct Disorder—Some Key Issues , 1997, Canadian journal of psychiatry. Revue canadienne de psychiatrie.

[26]  W. Riley,et al.  The relationship between hostility and blood pressure in children. , 1989, Behavioral medicine.

[27]  W. Pelham,et al.  Criterion validity and the utility of reactive and proactive aggression: comparisons to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, oppositional defiant disorder, conduct disorder, and other measures of functioning. , 1998, Journal of clinical child psychology.

[28]  K. Dodge,et al.  Social-information-processing factors in reactive and proactive aggression in children's peer groups. , 1987, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[29]  R. Tremblay,et al.  Reactive and Proactive Aggression: Predictions to Physical Violence in Different Contexts and Moderating Effects of Parental Monitoring and Caregiving Behavior , 2001, Journal of abnormal child psychology.

[30]  T. Moffitt.  Adolescence-limited and life-course-persistent antisocial behavior: a developmental taxonomy. , 1993, Psychological review.

[31]  T. Moffitt,et al.  The neuropsychology of conduct disorder and delinquency: implications for understanding antisocial behavior. , 1994, Progress in experimental personality & psychopathology research.

[32]  G. Hynd,et al.  DSM-IV field trials for oppositional defiant disorder and conduct disorder in children and adolescents. , 1994, The American journal of psychiatry.

[33]  Christina Salmivalli,et al.  Proactive and reactive aggression among school bullies, victims, and bully‐victims , 2002 .

[34]  D. Connor,et al.  Prevalence and patterns of psychotropic and anticonvulsant medication use in children and adolescents referred to residential treatment. , 1998, Journal of child and adolescent psychopharmacology.

[35]  L. Berkowitz.  Frustration-aggression hypothesis: examination and reformulation. , 1989, Psychological bulletin.

[36]  A. Buss,et al.  The measurement of hostility in clinical situations. , 1956, Journal of abnormal psychology.

[37]  J. Endicott,et al.  The Overt Aggression Scale for the objective rating of verbal and physical aggression. , 1986, The American journal of psychiatry.

[38]  M. Boivin,et al.  Reactive and proactive aggression: evidence of a two-factor model. , 2000, Psychological assessment.

[39]  B. Perry,et al.  Homeostasis, stress, trauma, and adaptation. A neurodevelopmental view of childhood trauma. , 1998, Child and adolescent psychiatric clinics of North America.

[40]  H. Steiner,et al.  Aggression and Antisocial Behavior in Children and Adolescents: Research and Treatment , 2003 .

[41]  B. Eichelman.  Aggressive behavior: from laboratory to clinic. Quo vadit? , 1992, Archives of general psychiatry.

[42]  K. Dodge,et al.  The role of aggression in peer relations: an analysis of aggression episodes in boys' play groups. , 1991, Child development.