Aggression

Topic Editor: Richard E. Tremblay, PhD, Université de Montréal, Canada

Aggression, such as kicking, fighting and biting is a major concern for modern societies as the physical, emotional, cognitive, and societal consequences of violent acts are serious, far-reaching and long-term¹. An opinion poll on the perceptions of violence with a representative sample of the Canadian population showed that respondents were more concerned by youth violence (32%) and poverty in families (32%), than by youth suicide (12%), school failure (11%), and youth health (8%). The most frequent age category selected by respondents as the period during which individuals resort most frequently to physical aggression is the period comprised between 12 and 17 years of age for both boys (61%) and girls (69%). Not surprisingly, half the respondents (50%) stated that teenagers between the ages of 12 and 17 should be made a top priority for any additional investment in government violence prevention programs; one-third (33%) thought that top priority should be given to providing for children between the ages of 5 and 11. Only 10% thought the very young children between the ages of 0 and 4 should be a priority.

The results of this poll reflect two central beliefs on physical aggression. Firstly, children become more violent as they grow older. By extension, adolescents are thought to be more aggressive than children. Secondly, children learn to become physically aggressive.

However, research over the past decade has challenged both beliefs. The development of childhood aggression is associated with a multiplicity of factors such as poor parental practices and low socioeconomic status. Moreover, many factors of neurological, physiological, and genetic origin that are associated with the development of aggression can be traced back to infancy, and even earlier. For example, maternal stress and tobacco use during pregnancy and medical complications at birth are associated with a heightened risk of exhibiting above-average aggressive behaviors. Additionally, numerous studies have now shown that the frequency of physical aggressions decreases from early childhood to adulthood.² The development of physical aggression peaks between two and four years of age, most children have learned to regulate their use of physical aggression by the end of middle childhood, and girls learn to use alternatives to physical aggression more quickly than boys. Infancy and toddlerhood thus appear to be the best period to learn the alternatives to physical aggression.

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See also...

• What do we know?
• What can be done?
• According to experts
• Key messages