Validity of rating scales in assessing aggressive behavior in classroom settings

The teachers of 35 boys attending a Lehigh University-based laboratory school for emotionally and behaviorally disturbed children completed rating scales designed to assess aggressive behavior in children. Children also completed similar self-report instruments. Frequency counts of aggressive outbursts and outburst durations were recorded by teachers over a 4-week period. The results of the study found significant correlations among teacher-completed and child-completed measures. The relationships between child-completed measures, one of the teacher measures, and the direct observation measure were not significant. One teacher-completed measure, but no child-completed measures, had significant correlations with aggressive outbursts and durations. The implications for behavioral assessment are discussed.     

Observations and ratings of tics in school settings

This paper describes the findings of a school-based tic assessment procedure (direct observations, teacher rating scales) for hyperactive children with comorbid tic disorder. Rates of motor tic frequency were found to be moderately stable across both days and school settings. Correlations between direct observations of tics and clinician rating scales were generally in the low to moderate range as were correlations between teacher and clinician rating scales. Overall rates of hyperactive/disruptive behaviors were not associated with rates of motor tic occurrence, and the behavioral symptoms of both disorders were also independent for specific intervals of time.This study was supported, in part, by a research grant from the Tourette Syndrome Association, Inc., and P.H.S. grant MH 45358 from the National Institute of Mental Health. The authors wish to thank Joyce Sprafkin for providing valuable clinical services related to the conduct of the school-based medication evaluations and Joseph Schwartz for assisting with the data analyses. We are particularly indebted to the families and teachers who made this study possible.     

Differences in children's peer sociometric and attribution ratings due to context and type of aggressive behavior

Sociometric and attribution (internality and responsibility) ratings of boys performing different kinds of aggression (hostile and instrumental hitting and pushing) and of neutral behavior occurring in two contexts (provoked and unprovoked) were investigated in an analogue fashion. Thirty fifth- and sixth-grade boys viewed and rated 12 brief videotaped scenes of two unfamiliar male peers interacting, presented in one of six random orders. Provoked aggression resulted in less dislike, less worthiness of punishment, and greater attribution to external causes than unprovoked aggression. Instrumental and hostile aggression produced lower liking ratings and were viewed as more deserving of punishment than neutral behavior but did not differ from each other. Results support distinctions between provoked and unprovoked aggression but not between hostile and instrumental aggression, at least in terms of their functional impact on peer judgements.     

Suicidal behavior in long-term care facilities

Questionnaires were mailed to a random sample of administrators of 1,080 long-term care facilities, in order to obtain information on the extent and nature of overt suicide and intentional life-threatening behavior (ILTB). Rates were calculated for death for overt suicides and ILTB. In-depth case studies, involving observation, interviews, and examination of medical records, were conducted in four facilities. Quantitative analysis revealed that white males were most at risk. Refusing to eat or drink and refusing medications were the most common suicidal behaviors. Depression, loneliness, feelings of family rejection, and loss were significant factors.     

Harm, intent, and the nature of aggressive behavior: measuring naturally occurring aggression in barroom settings

The research goals were to use the constructs of harm and intent to quantify the severity of aggression in the real-world setting of the bar/club, to describe the range of aggressive behaviors and their relationship to harm and intent, and to examine gender differences in the form and severity of aggression. Systematic observations were conducted by trained observers on 1,334 nights in 118 bars/clubs. Observers documented a range of aggressive acts by 1,754 patrons in 1,052 incidents, with many forms of aggression occurring at more than one harm and intent level. Women used different forms of aggression, inflicted less harm, and were more likely to have defensive intent compared with men. Implications of the findings for research and measurement of aggression and applications to preventing aggression and violence are discussed.     

The lntergenerational transmission of family violence: The long-term effects of aggressive behavior

This paper examines the contention that family violence is passed down from generation to generation. The sample was primarily nonclinical and was composed of 14 clients of community guidance clinics and 82 members of a randomly selected control group. The primary hypothesis that individuals who are exposed to a high degree of physical punishment as children are more likely to resort to family violence as adults was supported. Studies of the modeling of aggression were examined to suggest factors which may mediate the hypothesized relationship. It was found that respondents who had grown up in an environment characterized by either low family warmth or high stress in combination with exposure to a high degree of parental punishment were more likely to use physical punishment in their own families. Also, family violence was more likely to be transmitted in same-sex rather than cross-sex linkages.     

Extending the influence of positive psychology interventions into health care settings: Lessons from self-efficacy and forgiveness

The goal of this article is to explore strategies to extend the influence of positive psychology interventions into environments where strength-promotion is not generally embraced. Particularly, we are interested in examining the potential benefits and barriers to extending positive psychology interventions into health care settings (really illness-treatment settings), such as hospitals, community mental health centers, and disorder-focused psychotherapy practices where psychologists increasingly work. Patients primarily come to these settings to reduce suffering rather than to develop strengths. We argue that positive psychology interventions and concepts may become more valued within such contexts if they can be shown to be cost-effective in improving important health care targets. By examining positive psychology-based interventions that have already become relatively mainstream within health care (e.g., self-efficacy-based interventions), we identify strategies for making promising but less-influential positive psychology interventions (e.g., forgiveness training) more valued in today's health care marketplace. Through these examples, we suggest that extending the influence of positive psychology into health care settings is desirable, but will involve several conceptual, evidentiary, and educational or marketing challenges.     

Identity threat and antisocial behavior in organizations: The moderating effects of individual differences,aggressive modeling,and hierarchical status

This study examines whether the experience of identity threat predicts antisocial behavior directed towards other employees. A social interactionist model is used as a theoretical framework for predicting that employees who are frequent recipients of actions that challenge or diminish their sense of competence, dignity, or self-worth will engage in higher levels of antisocial behavior. However, it is predicted that the strength of this relation will be moderated by individual (gender, age, and attitudes toward revenge) and situational (aggressive modeling, hierarchical status) factors. Data from 308 employees from three organizations supported moderating effects of age, revenge attitudes, and hierarchical status. A three-way interaction was also found showing that identity threat was more strongly related to antisocial behavior for low as compared to high status employees, but only when they were exposed to low levels of aggressive modeling.     

Personality assessment in the Great Apes: Comparing ecologically valid behavior measures, behavior ratings, and adjective ratings

Three methods of personality assessment (behavior measures, behavior ratings, adjective ratings) were compared in 20 zoo-housed Great Apes: bonobos (Pan paniscus), chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus), gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla), and orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus abelii). To test a new bottom-up approach, the studied trait constructs were systematically generated from the species’ behavioral repertoires. The assessments were reliable, temporally stable, and showed substantial cross-method coherence. In most traits, behavior ratings mediated the relations between adjective ratings and behavior measures. Results suggest that high predictability of manifest behavior is best achieved by behavior ratings, not by adjectives. Empirical evidence for trait constructs beyond current personality models points to the necessity of broad and systematic approaches for valid inferences on a species’ personality structure.     

Examining digital interviews for personnel selection: Applicant reactions and interviewer ratings

Digital interviews are a potentially efficient new form of selection interviews, in which interviewees digitally record their answers. Using Potosky's framework of media attributes, we compared them to videoconference interviews. Participants (N = 113) were randomly assigned to a videoconference or a digital interview and subsequently answered applicant reaction questionnaires. Raters evaluated participants’ interview performance. Participants considered digital interviews to be creepier and less personal, and reported that they induced more privacy concerns. No difference was found regarding organizational attractiveness. Compared to videoconference interviews, participants in digital interviews received better interview ratings. These results warn organizations that using digital interviews might cause applicants to self‐select out. Furthermore, organizations should stick to either videoconference or digital interviews within a selection stage.     

Dietary interventions,the gut microbiome,and aggressive behavior: Review of research evidence and potential next steps

Research in biosocial criminology and other related disciplines has established links between nutrition and aggressive behavior. In addition to observational studies, randomized trials of nutritional supplements like vitamins, omega-3 fatty acids, and folic acid provide evidence of the dietary impact on aggression. However, the exact mechanism of the diet-aggression link is not well understood. The current article proposes that the gut microbiome plays an important role in the process, with the microbiota–gut–brain axis serving as such a mediating mechanism between diet and behavior. Based on animal and human studies, this review synthesizes a wide array of research across several academic fields: from the effects of dietary interventions on aggression, to the results of microbiota transplantation on socioemotional and behavioral outcomes, to the connections between early adversity, stress, microbiome, and aggression. Possibilities for integrating the microbiotic perspective with the more traditional, sociologically oriented theories in criminology are discussed, using social disorganization and self-control theories as examples. To extend the existing lines of research further, the article considers harnessing the experimental potential of noninvasive and low-cost dietary interventions to help establish the causal impact of the gut microbiome on aggressive behavior, while adhering to the high ethical standards and modern research requirements. Implications of this research for criminal justice policy and practice are essential: not only can it help determine whether the improved gut microbiome functioning moderates aggressive and violent behavior but also provide ways to prevent and reduce such behavior, alone or in combination with other crime prevention programs.     

In search of durable positive psychology interventions: Predictors and consequences of long-term positive behavior change

A number of positive psychology interventions have successfully helped people learn skills for improving mood and building personal resources (e.g., psychological resilience and social support). However, little is known about whether intervention activities remain effective in the long term, or whether new resources are maintained after the intervention ends. We address these issues in a 15-month follow-up survey of participants from a loving-kindness meditation intervention. Many participants continued to practice meditation, and they reported more positive emotions (PEs) than those who had stopped meditating or had never meditated. All participants maintained gains in resources made during the initial intervention, whether or not they continued meditating. Continuing meditators did not differ on resources at baseline, but they did show more PE and a more rapid PE response to the intervention. Overall, our results suggest that positive psychology interventions are not just efficacious but of significant value in participants' real lives.     

In search of durable positive psychology interventions: Predictors and consequences of long-term positive behavior change

A number of positive psychology interventions have successfully helped people learn skills for improving mood and building personal resources (e.g., psychological resilience and social support). However, little is known about whether intervention activities remain effective in the long term, or whether new resources are maintained after the intervention ends. We address these issues in a 15-month follow-up survey of participants from a loving-kindness meditation intervention. Many participants continued to practice meditation, and they reported more positive emotions (PEs) than those who had stopped meditating or had never meditated. All participants maintained gains in resources made during the initial intervention, whether or not they continued meditating. Continuing meditators did not differ on resources at baseline, but they did show more PE and a more rapid PE response to the intervention. Overall, our results suggest that positive psychology interventions are not just efficacious but of significant value in participants’ real lives.     

Dialectical behavior therapy for the treatment of anger and aggressive behavior: A review

ObjectiveThe management of anger and aggression is a public safety issue. Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) is a promising treatment for reducing anger and violent behavior. This mode of therapy addresses maladaptive behavior by teaching emotion regulation, distress tolerance, interpersonal effectiveness, core mindfulness, and self-management skills.MethodsThis paper reviewed DBT treatment for anger and aggressive or violent behavior. The literature search included articles from 1998 to September 2013. A total of 21 peer-reviewed articles studying the effects of DBT on anger and aggressive behavior were reviewed.ResultsAdaptations or modifications were made to standard DBT to accommodate the specific needs of the variety of populations across studies. Nine studies attempted to understand the efficacy of DBT for anger and aggressive behavior while twelve studies measured the efficacy of DBT within the context of a BPD diagnosis. There are nine randomized controlled trials (RCT) assessing DBT to reduce anger and aggressive behavior.ConclusionResearch has shown that there are potentially clinically significant results when using DBT to treat anger and aggression in various samples. Findings from this review suggest that treatments, even when modified show a positive impact on the reduction of anger and aggressive behaviors.     

Acceptability of positive and reductive behavioral interventions: Factors that influence teachers'' decisions

Treatment acceptability refers to individuals' judgments as to whether psychological treatment procedures are appropriate, fair, and reasonable for a given problem. In the present two-experiment study, experienced teachers' ratings of acceptability for positive (i.e., praise, home-based reinforcement, and token economy) and reductive (i.e., ignoring, response-cost lottery, and seclusion time-out) behavioral interventions were investigated. Using the Intervention Rating Profile (IRP) and a case study methodology to manipulate variables of intervention complexity and problem behavior severity, it was established that (a) teachers' acceptability ratings of both positive and reductive interventions varied with the severity of a target behavior, (b) the complexity of an intervention influenced teachers' ratings of acceptability, less complex or time-consuming interventions being rated generally more acceptable, and (c) mean acceptability ratings were significantly more favorable for positive than reductive treatments. These findings are discussed in the context of previous acceptability research and future investigations.     

Acceptability of behavioral interventions: Perceptions of superintendents of public residential facilities

The acceptability of behavioral procedures has been examined with many groups of individuals that have significant roles in the lives of persons with mental retardation. However, for those individuals that live in public residential facilities, one critical person in the decision making process is the superintendent. The purpose of this study was to assess the acceptability of treatments to superintendents of public residential facilities. Using the Treatment Evaluation Inventory (Kazdin, 1980), superintendents rated the acceptability of five treatments (DRO, Time-out, medication, overcorrection and contingent shock) applied to a mild and severe behavior problem. The results showed a significant main effect for treatment and problem and a problem by treatment interaction. Acceptability was inversely related to treatment restrictiveness and, except for differential reinforcement of other behaviors (DRO), all treatments were more acceptable for the severe problem than for the mild problem.