Why aggressive behaviour

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We and our partners process data to: Actively scan device characteristics for identification. I Accept Show Purposes. Table of Contents View All. Table of Contents. Managing Aggression. Frequently Asked Questions. What Is Aggression? How to Identify Emotional Abuse. Childhood Trauma and Intermittent Explosive Disorder.

Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Sign Up. What are your concerns? You might not know which behaviors are socially appropriate. In other cases, you might act aggressively on purpose. For example, you may use aggressive behavior to get revenge or provoke someone.

You may also direct aggressive behavior towards yourself. This can help you address it. As an adult, you might act aggressively in response to negative experiences. For example, you might get aggressive when you feel frustrated. Your aggressive behavior may also be linked to depression, anxiety, PTSD, or other mental health conditions. Many mental health conditions can contribute to aggressive behavior. For example, these conditions include:.

Brain damage can also limit your ability to control aggression. You may experience brain damage as the result of:. Different health conditions contribute to aggression in different ways. For example, if you have autism or bipolar disorder, you might act aggressively when you feel frustrated or unable to speak about your feelings. If you have conduct disorder, you will act aggressively on purpose.

Your child might imitate aggressive or violent behavior that they see in their daily life. They may receive attention for it from family members, teachers, or peers.

You can accidentally encourage it by ignoring or rewarding their aggressive behavior. Sometimes, children lash out due to fear or suspicion. This is more common if your child has schizophrenia, paranoia, or other forms of psychoses.

If they have bipolar disorder, they might act aggressively during the manic phase of their condition. If they have depression, they might act aggressively when they feel irritated. Your child might also act aggressively when they have trouble coping with their emotions. They might find it especially hard to deal with frustration.

In other words, aggressive behavior is the outcome of the regulation of external and internal stimuli by living beings. Furthermore, individual differences in characteristic levels of aggression can be attributed to learning.

Thus, it is important to understand the multidimensional nature of aggression. In this context, aggression is important to nursing in a number of ways. As referred to in the opening of this article, nurses come into contact with the consequences of aggression every day. Having an understanding of its antecedents, and also its consequences, can help nurses deal with aggression. Nurses are increasingly likely to come into contact with the consequences of aggression, and having an understanding of these consequences and having an ability to detect them are critically important.

A further way in which the concept of aggression is important to nursing is that further knowledge of aggression by the nursing profession can help generate interventions based on theoretical models Liu, b. For example, the study conducted by Olds et al. Emerson and Shelton stressed the importance of using a psychoeducational approach e. Aggression requires considerable further study, because at the moment, it is a little understood phenomenon.

One important question that we have few answers to concerns how social risk factors for aggression interaction with biological risk factors. Of critical importance is obtaining greater understanding of family violence.

Abuse of both wives and children has major physical and physiological impacts that impair health functioning in many dimensions. By developing a stronger knowledge base of aggression, it will be possible to develop interventions that reduce aggression.

National Center for Biotechnology Information , U. Issues Ment Health Nurs. Author manuscript; available in PMC Sep Author information Copyright and License information Disclaimer. E-mail: ude. Copyright notice. The publisher's final edited version of this article is available at Issues Ment Health Nurs. See other articles in PMC that cite the published article. Abstract The concept of aggression is important to nursing because further knowledge of aggression can help generate a better theoretical model to drive more effective intervention and prevention approaches.

Open in a separate window. Stimulus-based classification Internal stimuli and external stimuli are important antecedents of aggression. These antecedent stimuli are as follows: Predatory aggression, stimulated by the presence of a natural object of prey Inter-male aggression, stimulated by the presence of a novel male conspecific in a neutral arena Fear-induced aggression stimulated by threats and always preceded by escape attempts Irritable aggression, stimulated by the presence of any attachable object.

Territorial aggression, stimulated by the presence of an intruder in the home or territory of a resident Maternal aggression, stimulated by a threatening stimulus in the proximity of the mother's young Instrumental aggression, stimulated by any of the situations already described, but strengthened by learning The above classification system emphases the context-dependent nature of aggression and the diversity of situations that trigger aggression. Instrumental versus hostile aggression Feshbach originally developed this typology, and it has been elaborated upon more recently by Atkins et al.

Positive versus negative aggression Generally speaking, aggression is considered to have a negative function that not only elicits disapproval from others, but also is evaluated as destructive and damaging in its consequences. Male versus female aggression It is commonly recognized that males are more aggressive that females.

The Measurement of Aggression Aggression has been measured in a number of different ways. Consequences of Aggression There are numerous important consequences of aggression. Causes of Aggression Behavioral and social scientists have different theories about aggression. Social Causes Although there are many social factors involved in aggression, two overarching theories that involve social factors external stimuli are briefly outlined. Social learning theory The basic principle underlying social learning theory is that children learn to be aggressive.

Biological Causes Research is beginning to indicate that biological processes internal stimuli may serve a role in predisposing to aggression. Brain dysfunction Aggressive criminals have been found to have poor brain functioning.

Testosterone Sex hormones appear to play a role in shaping aggressive behavior. Serotonin There has been a recent increase in research on neuro-transmitters and their relationship to aggression in animals and humans.

Birth complications Birth complications have been repeatedly found to be associated with later increased aggressive behavior in childhood Cocchi et al. Antecedents Walker and Avant stated that antecedents are events or incidents that must occur prior to the occurrence of the concept and are factors that precede or cause the concept. Empirical Referents Walker and Avant identify empirical referents as classes or categories to measure this concept or determine its existence in the real world.

Synonymous Term: Violence Although aggression and violence appear to be synonymous, violence connotes greater intensity and destruction. Child Behavior Checklist and related instruments. In: Maruish ME, editor. The use of psychological testing for treatment planning and outcome assessment.

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The association of birth complications and externalizing behavior in early adolescents. Journal of Research on Adolescence. The application of the preschool child behavior checklist and the caregiver-teacher report form to mainland chinese children: Syndrome structure, gender differences, country effects, and inter-informant agreement. Psychometric properties of the Chinese version of the Parental Bonding Instrument.

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