Concurrent and predictive validity of self-reported aggressiveness

The subjects (60 boys) were drawn from the sample of a longitudinal study of social development and represented extremely aggressive, anxious, constructive, and submissive behaviour at the age of 8. They were presented with three question series concerning (1) their responses to aggressive attacks; (2) reactions in frustration situations presented in short stories; and (3) their aggressive initiatives. In each series the type of aggressive behaviour, attacker, victim, and other situational factors were systematically varied. In series 2 the type of response, open-ended or forced-choice, was also varied. The results showed that the most valid way of studying boys' self-observations on their aggressive behaviour was to ask if they attack somebody without a specific reason (series 3). This correlated with contemporaneous overt aggression at the age of 8 and predicted aggressiveness and various characteristics of antisocial aggressive development at the ages of 14 and 19. Self-observations on one's physical aggression were more valid for ratings of overt aggressiveness than on verbal aggression. The open-ended or forced-choice type of response did not affect the validity of aggressive responses. Of the categories of nonaggression, ‘conciliatory responses’ had the highest concurrent and predictive validity for constructiveness and other indicators of strong self-control.     

Development of infant crying behavior: A longitudinal case study

This study documents the development of infant crying behavior during the second half of the first year (across a key developmental transition). Two female infants were observed twice a month for 6 months when the infants were between 7 and 14 months of age. The infants exhibited crying behavior that seemed to become more sophisticated with increasing age. This marked a proactive stance in communicating with the mother on the part of the infant. Interestingly, at 11–12 months, “fake crying” was observed during a naturalistic interaction with the mother. This implied that deceptive infant behavior could be seen at quite an early stage.     

发展级联:解释个体纵向发展的新视角

发展级联(developmental cascades)近年来已成为发展心理学追踪研究中一种重要的理论视角。其基本观点是:人的发展过程是一个诸多发展特征不断产生级联效应的过程,某个时间点上个体特征的发展状况会对该特征的后续发展产生影响,并影响其他领域的发展,进而影响到个体的整个发展进程。在发展级联的理论观点基础上形成的相关方法学模型,为探究发展系统中多个因素之间的纵向关联提供了方法学依据与指导。本文介绍了发展级联的相关概念、理论基础、主要观点以及相关的方法学问题,并对其在实证研究中的应用进行了展望。     

儿童2岁活跃性、自我控制与5年后学校适应——父母养育方式的调节作用

通过5年的追踪,考察儿童早期气质特征对后期社会适应的影响。选取200名2岁儿童,采用实验室观察法评价其气质上的活跃性和自我控制;在其7岁时追踪到125名儿童,请父母报告养育方式、班主任老师评价其社会能力和学业表现。结果表明：（1）儿童2岁时的活跃性对5年后学校适应的预测总体是消极的,并且受父母养育方式调节;父母的高限制和低压制能够抵消活跃性对学习问题和任务定向的消极影响;（2）儿童2岁时的自我控制对于5年后的所有积极学校适应指标（学业成绩、低学习问题、果敢社交、挫折耐受、任务定向）有直接预测作用。这一结果揭示了气质上的活跃性与自我控制在儿童发展过程中的不同作用,父母应根据孩子的气质特点实行差别化教育。     

Fifth grade school adjustment and later arrest rate: A longitudinal study of middle school antisocial boys

This study investigated the efficacy of three different regression models in predicting arrest rate over the fifth to seventh grade range for a sample of antisocial and at risk control middle school boys (N=76). These boys were selected from a larger sample of approximately 200 boys and their families for inclusion in a long term longitudinal study beginning in the fourth grade. Subjects in the present study were identified when they were in the fifth grade and school measures of adjustment were recorded annually for them on two occasions (fall, spring) through the ninth grade. Predictors were derived from the following variables: (a) teacher ratings of social skills; (b) direct observations of academic engagement in classroom settings; (c) direct observations of the playground social behavior of target subjects and peers; and (d) discipline contacts with the principal's office as extracted from archival school records. These predictor variables appeared to assess respectively teacher related and peer related forms of school adjustment. The regression models investigated yielded R-Squares of approximately 30 between arrest rate and two to three predictor variables in each analysis. However, following the deletion of two subject cases that represented extreme instances of underprediction (i.e., subjects who were arrested [i.e., seven arrests each] but whose fifth grade behavioral profiles suggested they would not be), the obtained R-Squares increased to approximately .55. Implications of the findings for the early screening and identification of at risk students are discussed.     

Trajectories and predictors of indirect aggression: results from a nationally representative longitudinal study of Canadian children aged 2-10

The purposes of this study were to model the development of indirect aggression among a nationally representative sample of 1,401 Canadian children aged 4 at T2, 6 at T3, 8 at T4 and 10 at T5, and to examine predictors of trajectory group membership from T1 (age 2) child, familial, and parenting variables. Using a semi-parametric group-based modeling approach, two distinct trajectories were identified: "increasing users" comprising of 35% of the sample and "stable low users" comprising of 65% of the sample. Using logistic regression analyses to distinguish these two groups, we found that for girls, more frequent, increasing use of indirect aggression was associated with prior prosocial and physically aggressive behavior, low SES and low parental social support at age 2. For boys, increasing use of indirect aggression was associated with prior parenting issues at age 2-inconsistency and less positive parent-child interactions. Although this study provides unique information regarding the early development of indirect aggression and its predictors, more longitudinal research is needed to fully understand its development.     

Sexist attitudes and beliefs during adolescence: A longitudinal study of gender differences

The aim of this study was to examine changes in sexist attitudes and beliefs in a group of Spanish adolescents over a period of three consecutive years, with specific attention being paid to gender differences. Participants were 279 students (mean age at first assessment of 12.10 years) who, in each of the three years, completed the Ambivalent Sexism Inventory and the Questionnaire on Attitudes towards Diversity and Violence. Longitudinal analysis showed that hostile sexism did not vary over time, whereas scores on benevolent sexism and on sexist beliefs and justification of violence all fell between the ages of 12 and 14, there being an equivalent decrease in boys and girls. Boys scored significantly higher than girls on hostile sexism, as well as on sexist beliefs. These results illustrate how sexist attitudes and beliefs change during adolescence and provide further confirmation that these variables show gender differences from an early age.     

Failure to induce aggression in inhibited and in genetically non-aggressive mice through injections of ethyl alcohol

Two kinds of nonaggressive mice were used as subjects: 1) males from a strain selectively bred for nonaggressiveness (TNA) and 2) males from a strain selectively bred for aggressiveness (TA) but made nonaggressive by defeats in fights. The aggressiveness of neither type of animal was increased by injections of ethyl alcohol in concentrations of 1 gm/kg and 1.5 gm/kg. Three series of experiments were performed. The results were incompatible with the assumption of a general physiological aggression-heightening effect of ethanol, and also with an assumption of removal by alcohol of learned inhibitions against aggression.     

Stability of aggression among adolescents over time: A south African study

In a study spanning 5 years, data were collected on the aggressiveness of over 1,700 male and female subjects. Subjects who were the more aggressive grade 8 (standard 6) pupils at the beginning of the study were discovered to be the more aggressive grade 12 (standard 10) pupils. It is concluded that, whatever its causes, aggression can be viewed as a persistent trait that may be influenced by situational variables but reveals substantial consistency over time. The findings of studies by Huesmann and Eron in the United States as well as Olweus in Scandinavia were thus supported in this South African investigation.     

Media violence, physical aggression, and relational aggression in school age children: a short-term longitudinal study

Many studies have shown that media violence has an effect on children's subsequent aggression. This study expands upon previous research in three directions: (1) by examining several subtypes of aggression (verbal, relational, and physical), (2) by measuring media violence exposure (MVE) across three types of media, and (3) by measuring MVE and aggressive/prosocial behaviors at two points in time during the school year. In this study, 430 3rd-5th grade children, their peers, and their teachers were surveyed. Children's consumption of media violence early in the school year predicted higher verbally aggressive behavior, higher relationally aggressive behavior, higher physically aggressive behavior, and less prosocial behavior later in the school year. Additionally, these effects were mediated by hostile attribution bias. The findings are interpreted within the theoretical framework of the General Aggression Model.     

A longitudinal study of psychosocial distress in breast cancer: Prevalence and risk factors

This longitudinal study was conducted among 102 women with non-metastasic breast cancer to identify the time evolution and prevalence of distress at specific times through diagnosis and treatment of disease: preliminary diagnosis, surgery, definitive diagnosis and chemotherapy. Additionally, the study aimed to examine the role of demographic, medical and psychosocial factors on distress. The results indicated that prevalence of distress was higher at initial diagnosis (25%) than the following time points (approximately 17%). The differences inter-individuals in the levels of distress were observed over the four assessments. No relation between distress and demographic and medical factors was found. However, psychosocial aspects were significant risk factors. Patterns of emotional suppression and specific coping responses like helplessness/hopelessness, anxious preoccupation, cognitive avoidance and fatalism were positively related to distress, whereas fighting spirit and perceived social support showed a protective role. Moreover, helplessness/hopelessness and anxious preoccupation jointly predicted 75% of cases and 98% non-cases of distress. Finally, a mediational model between emotional suppression and distress through helplessness/hopelessness was tested. Results support the necessity of routine distress screening all through the illness. Implications of data for psychosocial interventions with breast cancer patients are highlighted.     

Continuity of aggression from childhood to early adulthood as a predictor of life outcomes: implications for the adolescent‐limited and life‐course‐persistent models

Using data from the Columbia County Longitudinal Study, a 40‐year longitudinal study following an entire county's population of third‐grade students from age 8 to 48, we examine questions about the long‐term consequences of aggressive and antisocial behavior in childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood. We found moderate levels of continuity of aggression from age 8 to 48 both for males and for females. Contrary to what some have proposed, we found that continuity of aggressiveness is owing to not only the high‐aggressive participants staying high but also owing to the low‐aggressive participants staying low. Compared with life‐course‐persistent low aggressives, we found that life‐course‐persistent high aggressives had consistently poorer outcomes across domains of life success, criminal behavior, and psychosocial functioning at age 48 (e.g., arrests, traffic violations, aggression toward spouse and divorces, depression, health, occupational and educational attainment). In contrast, adolescent‐limited and child‐limited aggressives did not differ from life‐course‐persistent low aggressives on the age 48 outcomes. Finally, the outcomes for late‐onset (early adulthood) aggressives were also problematic in some domains though not as problematic as those for life‐course‐persistent aggressives. Aggr. Behav. 35:136–149, 2009. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

The association between dispositional self-control and longitudinal changes in eating behaviors,diet quality,and BMI

In a random sample from the general population (N = 2781, 46% males), a longitudinal survey was conducted. The association between dispositional self-control and changes in eating behaviours and diet quality was analysed between the first wave (2010) and the last wave (2014). Results show that the higher the dispositional self-control, the lower the increase in overeating behaviours (emotional eating, external eating, ambivalence towards palatable food and overeating), and BMI and the larger the improvement in healthy diet over time. Self-control was not associated with changes in dietary restraint. This is one of the first studies suggesting that dispositional self-control is associated with changes in eating behaviours and healthy food intake over time.     

单亲家庭儿童相对剥夺感与心理适应的循环作用关系：一项追踪研究

本研究基于经典相对剥夺理论和发展情境理论, 采用纵向设计, 以湖北省某地区273名单亲家庭儿童为被试, 进行连续3次的追踪测查, 考察单亲家庭儿童相对剥夺感与心理适应的特点及其循环作用关系。结果发现: (1)单亲家庭男生的抑郁和孤独感水平比女生高; 贫困单亲家庭儿童的相对剥夺感、抑郁和孤独感水平比非贫困单亲家庭儿童高, 自尊水平比非贫困单亲家庭儿童低; (2)控制了性别、学段和家庭经济状况后, 在个体内水平上T1时的相对剥夺感显著负向预测T2时的心理适应, 进而显著负向预测T3时的相对剥夺感, 同时T2时的相对剥夺感也能显著负向预测T3时的心理适应; (3)相对剥夺感与心理适应的循环作用在不同家庭经济状况单亲儿童中存在显著差异, 贫困单亲家庭儿童的心理适应对其相对剥夺感的作用比非贫困单亲家庭儿童更大。可见, 单亲家庭儿童的相对剥夺感与心理适应存在循环作用关系, 即前测(T_n)的相对剥夺感会导致后测(T_n+1)的心理适应不良, 进而影响后测(T_n+2)的相对剥夺感, 研究结果对于单亲家庭儿童心理适应的干预具有一定启示意义。     

组织中利他行为的可持续性及其前因机制：基于主动性动机视角

随着社会经济的快速发展,对于组织及其成员来说,要想更好地在当前快速变化的工作环境中适应和发展,员工利他行为的可持续性愈发重要。新近研究发现利他行为具有动态性,但在理论框架和研究方法上存在严重不足,无法获得利他行为动态可持续性特征的全貌,对其前因机制的研究则更为缺失。因此,本研究基于主动性动机视角,聚焦利他行为可持续性的动态性特征,并在此基础上探索利他行为可持续性的前因机制,以期增进对利他行为本质的理解,并为可持续互利团队与组织建设实践提供参考。     

儿童4岁到7岁社交退缩行为的适应意义

本研究追踪了149名儿童4岁和7岁的抑制行为、安静退缩及活跃退缩行为,考察三种社交退缩行为与问题行为的关系。社交退缩由观察得到,问题行为分别由母亲和教师报告。结果表明,从4岁到7岁,儿童的三种社交退缩行为明显减少,抑制行为、安静退缩有较低的稳定性,活跃退缩不稳定。在两个年龄段,抑制行为都与内隐问题行为显著正相关。4岁的社交退缩不能预测7岁的问题行为。     

Developmental trajectory in the relationship between calculation skill and finger dexterity: A longitudinal study

A 2‐year longitudinal study of 33 children aged 4–6 years was conducted to clarify the developmental relationship between calculation skill and finger dexterity, as well as the selectivity of the predictive power of finger dexterity on later calculation skill. We examined individual developmental change in the relationship between addition performance and finger dexterity and observed whether children fit a linear developmental pattern. Multiple regression analysis showed that participants' performance on addition tests was strongly predicted by their finger dexterity. However, their performance on vocabulary tests was not strongly influenced by finger dexterity. These findings suggest that calculation skill in children aged 4–6 years is strongly related to finger dexterity.     

汉语儿童语素意识与词汇知识的双向关系:一项追踪研究

以399名小学一、三、五年级学生为被试,进行为期一年的追踪研究,通过分层回归,系统考察了汉语儿童同音、同形和复合三类语素意识与词汇知识的双向关系。结果发现:(1)儿童语素意识和词汇知识随时间均有显著增长;(2)控制词汇知识的自回归效应后,一年级儿童的同音和复合语素意识对其二年级的词汇知识、三年级儿童的复合语素意识对其四年级的词汇知识、五年级儿童的同形和复合语素意识对其六年级的词汇知识有显著的预测作用;(3)分别控制三类语素意识的自回归效应后,一年级和五年级儿童的词汇知识可以显著预测其二年级和六年级的三类语素意识,三年级儿童的词汇知识对其四年级的同形和复合语素意识有显著预测作用。结果表明汉语儿童语素意识与词汇知识存在双向关系,且不同类型的语素意识与词汇知识的关系随年级的升高呈现规律性的变化。