Perceived association between diagnostic and non-diagnostic cues of women’s sexual interest: General Recognition Theory predictors of risk for sexual coercion

Young men’s errors in sexual perception have been linked to sexual coercion. The current investigation sought to explicate the perceptual and decisional sources of these social perception errors, as well as their link to risk for sexual violence. General Recognition Theory (GRT; [Ashby, F. G., & Townsend, J. T. (1986). Varieties of perceptual independence. Psychological Review, 93, 154-179]) was used to estimate participants’ ability to discriminate between affective cues and clothing style cues and to measure illusory correlations between men’s perception of women’s clothing style and sexual interest. High-risk men were less sensitive to the distinction between women’s friendly and sexual interest cues relative to other men. In addition, they were more likely to perceive an illusory correlation between women’s diagnostic sexual interest cues (e.g., facial affect) and non-diagnostic cues (e.g., provocative clothing), which increases the probability that high-risk men will misperceive friendly women as intending to communicate sexual interest. The results provide information about the degree of risk conferred by individual differences in perceptual processing of women’s interest cues, and also illustrate how translational scientists might adapt GRT to examine research questions about individual differences in social perception.     

Sex differences in relational and overt aggression in the late elementary school years

Sex differences in relational and overt aggression among 3rd (n=176), 4th (n=179), and 5th graders (n=145) from three public schools (n=500; 278 girls) were examined. Nominations of relational aggression increased over time among 4th and 5th grade girls, but not among boys or 3rd grade girls. Among 3rd graders, boys received more nominations for relational aggression than girls. By the end of the 5th grade, girls received more relational aggression nominations than boys. There was also a significant rise in nominations of overt aggression among 5th grade girls, but not among 5th grade boys or younger boys and girls. As expected, boys were more likely than girls to be nominated for overt aggression at all grade levels. The findings are helpful for explaining inconsistencies of earlier research pertaining to sex differences in relational aggression and for advancing our understanding of the causes of aggression. Aggr. Behav. 36:282–291, 2010. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Narcissism and unprovoked aggression

It is widely accepted that narcissists become aggressive when they experience ego‐threat. However, there is surprisingly little empirical research on the relationship between narcissism and aggression. Equivocal findings suggest that aggression in narcissists either occurs only in response to provocation, or regardless of provocation. One‐hundred and thirty‐seven collegiate men completed the Narcissistic Personality Inventory followed by a sham aggression paradigm, which afforded them the opportunity shock, or refrain entirely from shocking an ostensible opponent confederate. Participants were identified as “unprovoked aggressors,” “retaliatory aggressors,” or “nonaggressors” contingent on when and if they chose to administer electrical shocks to the confederate. Results indicated that participants who were high on narcissistic traits were more likely to be unprovoked aggressors than their low narcissism counterparts. Results are discussed in relation to threatened egotism theory and call for more research on narcissism, aggression, and the moderating effect of provocation. Aggr. Behav. 36:414–422, 2010. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Psychopathy and Axis I psychiatric disorders among criminal offenders: relationships to impulsive and proactive aggression

Both psychopathology and aggression are heterogeneous constructs. Determining which forms of psychopathology relate to risk for different classes of aggressive behavior has implications for risk recognition and management. This study examined the relationships of impulsive aggression (IA) and proactive aggression (PA) to psychopathy and symptoms of several Diagnostic and Statistical Manual Axis I disorders in a sample of criminal offenders. Results replicated prior findings from community samples of a broad relationship between psychopathology and IA. PA was related only to psychopathy. An interaction was found whereby IA was associated with impulsive–antisocial traits of psychopathy only for individuals with moderate to high levels of generalized anxiety. Results indicate that assessing and treating several Axis I disorders in offenders may decrease risk for IA. Moreover, current findings raise the possibility that generalized anxiety is a key, modifiable component of the relationship between IA and impulsive–antisocial traits. Aggr. Behav. 36:45–53, 2010. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Bullying among mentally‐ill patients detained in a high‐secure hospital: an exploratory study of the perceptions of staff and patients into how bullying is defined

The present study is the first to explore patient‐to‐patient bullying within a secure psychiatric hospital housing mentally‐ill patients. Its main aim was to provide an outline of the perceptions held by both patients and staff with regards to patient‐to‐patient bullying as opposed to providing an objective study of bullying. The total sample comprised 104 participants, 44 patients and 60 staff. These were sampled from wards housing male patients and wards housing female patients. All participants took part in a semi‐structured interview based on that developed by Ireland and Ireland [2003] and Ireland [2005, 2004]. One quarter of participants stated they had seen a patient being bullied in the previous week, with staff perceiving a higher extent of bullying than patients. Differences between wards were minimal. It was predicted that theft‐related bullying would be reported most frequently, that staff would identify a wider range of bullying behaviours than patients and that direct forms of aggression would be identified more readily as bullying than indirect forms. All predictions were supported. Problems in attempting to obtain a definition of bullying were also identified, with participants operating broader definitions than those found in the school‐based literature. For example, bullying was not generally considered a repeated form of aggression, the severity of the aggression or provocative behaviour of the victim were not defining features, and it was felt bullying could be accidental. In summary, the current study highlights how patient‐to‐patient bullying does occur in services housing mentally‐ill patients and that researching the behaviour may require the adoption of broader hospital‐specific definitions of bullying. Aggr. Behav. 32:1–13, 2006. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Community violence victimization and aggressive behavior: the moderating effects of coping and social support

Exposure to community violence (CV) as a victim is an established risk factor for exhibiting later aggressive behavior. It is unclear, however, what factors may mitigate this relationship. This study tested the relationship of CV victimization to aggressive behavior, and the roles of coping style and perceived social support in moderating that relationship. Five hundred and fifteen 18–22‐year‐old men and women completed self‐report inventories on CV exposure, aggressive behavior, perceived support from family and friends, and coping strategies. From a prior study, factor analysis of the coping scales yielded three factors of (1) disengagement (i.e., using primarily avoidant strategies), (2) interpersonal (i.e., using primarily emotion‐focused strategies) and (3) problem‐focused (i.e., using primarily active/approach strategies) coping styles. Results indicated that high CV victimization, high disengagement (i.e., avoidant) and interpersonal (i.e., emotion‐focused) coping styles, and low perceived support from friends significantly predicted increased aggression scores. Significant moderating effects indicated that, as CV victimization increased in frequency, aggression scores were highest for those with low perceived friend support and high use of disengagement coping. Findings suggest that avoidant and emotion‐focused coping styles are risk factors, and perceived support from friends is a protective factor, for a putative “cycle of violence.” Aggr. Behav. 32:502–515. 2006. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.