The development of social aggression and physical aggression: A narrative analysis of interpersonal conflicts

Using conflict narratives reported by children and adolescents, this study investigated the development and social functions of social aggression in comparison to physical aggression. A total of 510 participants in two cohorts of a longitudinal study were involved (116 girls and 104 boys from Grade 4 and155 girls and 135 boys from Grade 7). Patterns of social aggression and physical aggression were identified based on interview reports in the first year of the study. Results showed that a triadic structure of social relationship was often reported in conflicts where social aggression was employed, whereas a dyadic structure was reported in conflicts involving physical aggression. Girls tended to use social aggression against girls, whereas boys tended to use physical aggression against boys. Children and adolescents who were central in peer social networks were more likely to employ social aggression than those who were peripheral in the networks. Social aggression was not reliably linked to concurrent or future problematic adjustment. Physical aggression, however, was not related to network centrality but was linked to concurrent and future maladjustment (e.g., low academic competence and school dropout). Aggr. Behav. 28:341–355, 2002. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

A study of posttraumatic spiritual transformation and forgiveness among victims of significant interpersonal offences

Forgiveness and spiritual transformation, both gain and decline, may follow being victimised. The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of forgiveness in posttraumatic spiritual transformation following interpersonal offences. One hundred forty-six participants who had been “significantly wronged” by another person completed measures of event-related distress, forgiveness, and spiritual transformation. Results showed that spiritual growth was positively related to the personal importance of religion. Event-related distress and unforgiveness were positively correlated with spiritual decline. Regression analyses revealed that forgiveness did not uniquely account for a significant amount of the variance in spiritual growth after controlling for demographic variables, religious and spiritual importance, and event-related distress. Rather, religious and spiritual importance accounted for a significant amount of variance in spiritual growth. Unforgiveness uniquely predicted spiritual decline. This study suggests a complex relationship between spiritual transformation and forgiveness. Results are discussed within the context of implications for clinicians and researchers alike.     

Forgiveness and happiness. the differing contexts of forgiveness using the distinction between hedonic and eudaimonic happiness

The aim of the present study was to examine the relationship between forgiveness and happiness using a two-dimensional model of happiness (hedonic and eudaimonic happiness). 224 United Kingdom students were administered the Enright Forgiveness Inventory, The Depression–Happiness Scale and the Oxford Happiness Questionnaire – Short-form. The present findings suggest that forgiveness accounts for statistically significant variance, albeit quite low, in both hedonic and eudaimonic happiness and the relationships may vary depending on which aspect of happiness is being considered. In terms of shorter-term hedonic happiness, the present findings suggest it is important not to engage in negative cognitions about the transgression. In terms of maintaining eudaimonic happiness, engaging in positive behaviours and feelings may lead to, be the result of, or be very much part of longer-term happiness.     

Evaluation of aggressive interactions in interpersonal and intergroup contexts

The article deals with possible differences in the evaluation of interpersonal and intergroup aggression. Study I investigated whether the typical perspective-specific divergence in judgments about aggressive interactions (with actors evaluating their behavior as more reasonable and less inappropriate than recipients) varied in interpersonal and intergroup contexts. Additionalty, the possible mediating influence of lay epistemic motivation and subjective judgmental confidence was explored. Results indicated that the social context had an important impact on the evaluation of aggressive interactions: there was a lower dissent between actors and recipients in the intergroup than in the interpersonal condition. However, the direction of this pattern of data differed from what could be derived from theories of aggressive and intergroup behavior. Subjective confidence and lay epistemic motivation did not influence the inappropriatencess ratings. Study II tried to shed some further light on the context-specific evaluation of aggressive interaction by presenting episodes of different severity and by obtaining judgments on both actions as well as reactions. Results showed that-irrespective of severity-aggressive reactions were evaluated more negatively in intergroup contexts. It is proposed that this effect stemmed from context-specific differences in the application of the norm of reciprocity.     

The conceptualisation of forgiveness among Turkish children and adolescents

This study examined (a) how Turkish children and adolescents define forgiveness, (b) the association between self‐reported forgiveness and the concepts participants hold and (c) the association between self‐reported forgiveness and age. Three hundred and sixty‐seven Turkish children in primary (N = 220) and secondary schools (N = 147) were involved in the study. Participants were asked to define forgiveness, and the study used the Enright Forgiveness Inventory for Children (EFI‐C). Participants' conceptions of forgiveness were categorised into four groups: conditional forgiveness, reconciliation, ignoring the hurtful event and affective reactions. Half of all the participants in the study were found to be in the conditional forgiveness category. Turkish children were found to be mostly in the category of conditional forgiveness, reconciliation and affective reactions compared with adolescents. Adolescents were mainly found to be in the ignoring the hurtful event category. The highest self‐reported forgiveness mean was in the affective reactions category. Participants were commonly offended by friends, siblings, teachers and fathers. No correlation was found between self‐reported forgiveness and age. The present results expand the literature of forgiveness by presenting evidence that Turkish children's and adolescents' understanding of forgiveness moderately relates to theoretical definitions.     

Evaluations of relational aggression as a function of relationship type and conflict setting

The present study examined influences on girls' evaluations of relational aggression situations. Second‐, third‐, fifth‐, and sixth‐grade girls evaluated four relational aggression conflict scenarios in terms of attributions of aggressor's intentions, evaluator's behavioral response, evaluator's affective state, and how likely the situation was to actually occur. Girls evaluated intentions of a best friend more positively, reported being more mad at an enemy, and perceived conflict to be more likely to occur with an enemy than a best friend. Aggressor intentions in direct conflict scenarios (aggressor said something mean to evaluator) were perceived as more negative than aggressor intentions in indirect conflict scenarios (aggressor said something mean about evaluator to another peer). Younger girls reported intentions of their enemy as being more positive than did older girls. Further, older girls reported intentions of their best friend as being more positive than intentions of their enemy. Older girls also were more accurate in conceptualizing variations in the conflict setting (direct, indirect) and responding in a context‐consistent manner. Findings are discussed in terms of the social‐relational and social‐situational processes that influence children's evaluations of relational aggression and how the current study extends previous research on relational aggression. Aggr. Behav. 26:179–191, 2000. © 2000 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Motivations for promotion and prevention and the role of trust and commitment in interpersonal forgiveness

Granting forgiveness demands self-regulation. Distinct modes of self-regulation might therefore produce distinct routes to forgiveness. Self-regulation focused on advancement (or promotion) could motivate forgiveness through the perceived benefits to be attained by repairing a relationship, i.e., one’s trust that a partner will provide such benefits rather than further betrayal. In contrast, self-regulation focused on security (or prevention) could motivate forgiveness through the perceived costs of further relationship deterioration, i.e., one’s commitment to maintain a relationship upon which one depends and protect against the loss of this relationship. These hypotheses were supported across two studies that: (a) measured and manipulated promotion-focused versus prevention-focused self-regulation, (b) included real and imagined offenses in casual and close relationships, and (c) assessed forgiveness immediately following an offense and after a two-week delay. Trust in a relationship partner more strongly predicted forgiveness among promotion-focused individuals, whereas commitment to this partner more strongly predicted forgiveness among prevention-focused individuals.     

Developmental trajectories of aggression from late childhood through adolescence: similarities and differences across gender

Although numerous investigations of overt aggressive and antisocial trajectories have been undertaken, there is a dearth of literature examining gender differences and similarities in trajectory patterns and their correlates. To address these gaps, we investigated gender differences in the prevalence rates, predictive validity during transition to adulthood, childhood risk factors, and adolescent correlates of different trajectories of teacher-reported overt aggression (i.e., fights, argues, gets in trouble) among 220 participants (116 girls and 104 boys) evaluated annually from grade 4 to grade 12. Four patterns of trajectories were identified: low, increasing (i.e., adolescent-onset), decreasing (i.e., childhood-limited), and high (i.e., childhood-onset). A large proportion of youth, particularly girls, displayed low levels of aggression over time. A small proportion followed the childhood-onset trajectory. Across gender, the childhood-onset trajectory was associated with the highest rates of maladjustment during the transition to adulthood, the highest number of childhood risk factors, and multiple problems during adolescence. The adolescent-onset trajectory was associated with few childhood risk factors, but with high levels of independent status during adolescence. In contrast, the childhood-limited trajectory was associated with several childhood risk factors, but high levels of parental monitoring and school engagement during adolescence. Romantic involvement differentiated the adolescent-onset and childhood-limited trajectories among girls.     

Young adults' media use and attitudes toward interpersonal and institutional forms of aggression

Links between media violence exposure and favorable attitudes toward interpersonal violence are well established, but few studies have examined whether associations extend to include favorable attitudes toward institutional forms of aggression. Studies on this topic have not assessed multiple forms of media use and statistically controlled for individual characteristics likely to influence attitudes beyond sociodemographic information. In this study, undergraduate students (N=319) aged 18-20 years (56% male) completed a survey assessing media use (number of hours per week spent playing videogames, watching movies/TV shows, watching TV sports) and attitudes toward interpersonal violence, punitive criminal justice policies, and different types of military activities (preparedness/defense and aggressive intervention). Greater number of hours spent watching TV contact sports was associated with more favorable attitudes toward military preparedness/defense, aggressive military intervention, and punitive criminal justice policies among men independently of parental education, lifetime violence exposure within the home and community, aggressive personality, and constrained problem solving style. Greater number of hours spent watching violent movies/TV was associated with more favorable attitudes toward military preparedness/defense among men and with more favorable attitudes toward interpersonal violence and punitive criminal justice policies among women, but these associations became non-significant when adjusting for covariates.     

Narcissism and lack of interpersonal forgiveness: The mediating role of state anger,state rumination,and state empathy

The present study investigated the unique contributions of two distinct dimensions of narcissism – admiration and rivalry – to two facets of unforgiveness: revenge and avoidance. In addition, we examined whether state anger, state rumination, and state empathy mediate this relationship. Using a large sample (N = 1040), we found that admiration was negatively related to revenge and avoidance via higher empathy for the transgressor. By contrast, rivalry was positively related to revenge and avoidance via greater anger and rumination and less empathy. Findings suggest that the mechanisms through which narcissism and lack of forgiveness are associated are better understood if we disentangle admiration and rivalry and consider both cognitive and affective antecedents of narcissists’ unforgiving motivations.     

Toward the bigger picture: Concrete and abstract thinking about a transgression,and the role of time in interpersonal forgiveness

Rumination is commonly considered detrimental to forgiveness. In contrast, we propose that different forms of post-transgression thinking are differentially effective for forgiveness, depending on their timing. Concrete thinking focuses on event details, whereas abstract thinking abstracts from details and views the event in a broader context. Following construal level theory, we propose that concrete thinking is increasingly ill-matched, and abstract thinking better matched, to the construal abilities and motivation afforded by psychological distance. Hence, over time, concrete thinking would be negatively, and abstract thinking positively, associated with forgiveness. Two correlational recall studies, with time since transgression measured (Study 1) or manipulated (Study 2), demonstrated that with greater temporal distance concrete thinking was more negatively, and abstract thinking more positively, related to forgiveness. Study 3 employed a prospective-longitudinal methodology over five time-points; intra-individual decrease in concrete thinking and increase in abstract thinking over time were related to higher levels of forgiveness.     

Reactive and proactive aggression: predictions to physical violence in different contexts and moderating effects of parental monitoring and caregiving behavior

This study aimed at (a) comparing the links of proactive and reactive aggression at 13 years of age to delinquency-related violence and dating violence at ages 16 and 17, and (b) examining the moderating effects of parental supervision, and mother's and father's warmth and caregiving behaviors on these links. Based on a sample of 525 Caucasian boys, the results showed that proactive aggression uniquely predicted delinquency-related violence, whereas reactive aggression uniquely predicted later dating violence. The relation between proactive aggression and delinquency-related violence, however, was moderated by parental supervision. The relation between reactive aggression and dating violence was moderated by mother's warmth and caregiving behavior. The implications of the findings for the theoretical and practical distinction between proactive and reactive aggression are discussed.     

The relationship between forgiveness and history of suicide attempt

The sentiment of forgiveness in relationship to suicide attempts/completions has been mostly examined through studies of suicide notes and the experiences of survivors and therapists – not attempters. In a cross-sectional sample of 304 consecutive primary care patients, we examined sentiments about forgiveness using the Forgiveness Scale, comparing those individuals with versus without past suicide attempts. According to findings, individuals with past suicide attempts (N?=?55; 19.1%) evidenced significantly lower composite scores on the Forgiveness Scale. As for individual items, compared to participants without past suicide attempts, those with past suicide attempts were significantly less believing of forgiveness by others, were less likely to forgive themselves, and to a lesser degree, were less forgiving of others. There were no between-group differences with regard to confession of wrongdoing or existential forgiveness by God. Findings may offer some salient avenues of therapeutic inquiry and endeavour in the psychological healing of individuals with past suicide attempts.     

宽宏大量与睚眦必报:宽恕和报复对愤怒的降低作用

本研究通过3个实验比较宽恕和报复对愤怒的降低作用。采用假设情景的方法,实验1通过在冒犯行为之后直接启动宽恕或报复,结果显示宽恕比报复对愤怒的降低作用更好,并且对消极情绪也具有降低作用;实验2考察在不同冒犯行为意图下宽恕与报复对愤怒的降低作用,结果显示不管是有意而为还是无心之过的冒犯行为,宽恕对愤怒的降低作用均要优于报复。实验3要求被试在冒犯行为后进行宽恕或报复,结果显示宽恕和报复对愤怒均有降低作用,但是宽恕的降低效果要显著优于报复。研究显示,对于冒犯行为后的愤怒感,宽恕的降低作用优于报复。     

Adolescent romantic relationships as a tug of war: The interplay of power imbalance and relationship duration in adolescent dating aggression

The present study investigates the link between power imbalance within the romantic couple and psychological, relational and physical adolescent dating aggression (ADA) perpetration, considering also the role of relationship duration as an indicator of the developmental stage of the relationship. This is the first investigation into whom is perceived to have power in the relationship (the partner or the subject him/herself) by distinguishing between male and female adolescents. Participants were 805 Italian adolescents (36.1% males; 63.9% females) aged 14–20 years (M_age = 17.16 years, SD_age = 1.34), all reporting having been in a romantic relationship currently or within the past 6 months. Males perceiving a balanced relationship reported lower levels of psychological ADA perpetration, and they perpetrated more relational ADA in longer relationships where the partner is perceived to have the power. No significant findings emerged regarding physical ADA. Females perceiving themselves as having the power in the relationship reported higher levels of psychological and physical ADA perpetration. They perpetrated more relational ADA when they perceived the partner as having the power in the relationship. Also, females in longer relationships in which power was not perceived as equally shared between partners reported higher physical ADA perpetration. Finally, for both males and females, longer relationships were characterized by higher levels of ADA toward the partner. Findings highlight the importance of studying the interplay between power imbalance and relationship duration on ADA perpetration, and provide the way to understand possible functions of ADA within a romantic relationship.     

The dark side of forgiveness: the tendency to forgive predicts continued psychological and physical aggression in marriage

Despite a burgeoning literature that documents numerous positive implications of forgiveness, scholars know very little about the potential negative implications of forgiveness. In particular, the tendency to express forgiveness may lead offenders to feel free to offend again by removing unwanted consequences for their behavior (e.g., anger, criticism, rejection, loneliness) that would otherwise discourage reoffending. Consistent with this possibility, the current longitudinal study of newlywed couples revealed a positive association between spouses' reports of their tendencies to express forgiveness to their partners and those partners' reports of psychological and physical aggression. Specifically, although spouses who reported being relatively more forgiving experienced psychological and physical aggression that remained stable over the first 4 years of marriage, spouses who reported being relatively less forgiving experienced declines in both forms of aggression over time. These findings join just a few others in demonstrating that forgiveness is not a panacea.     

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.