The relationship between academic failure and poor verbal abilities was studied in young aggressive boys. Results did not indicate a generalized deficit in verbal development among young aggressive boys. However some deficit in mediational use of verbal ability may be present in aggressive boys. (Author/MV)

Considered the relationship between social support and aggressive behavior in a sample of five- to seven-year-old children from low-income families. Indicated that the relationship between social support and aggression was influenced by both the category of network member and the type of support offered by network members. (Author/ABB)

Positive reinforcement was used to effectively treat aggressive and noncompliant behavior of two visually impaired, multiply handicapped male students (an 18-year-old and an 11-year-old). In one case positive effects of treating aggressive behaviors generalized to a reduction in self injurious behaviors. (DB)

The response cost (RC) procedure has been applied in regular classrooms and playgrounds, self-contained and resource rooms, and residential settings with normal children and elementary-age, behavior-disordered children. RC involves the removal of previously awarded or earned reinforcers for the purpose of reducing deviant, maladaptive, or…

Discusses the development of aggression in young children, methods for dealing with it and ways of helping children acquire more prosocial behaviors. (Author/SB)

Examined the relationship between 41 preschool children's peer competency and the exchange of reciprocal negative affect displays during physical play with parents. Found that fathers who typically responded to their children's negative affect displays with negative affect of their own had children who shared less, were more aggressive, and…

Examined mother-child interaction predictors of initial levels and changes in child aggressive and disruptive behavior at school from kindergarten to third grade in 585 mother-child dyads. Found that for boys, high coercion and nonaffection were particularly associated with the high-increasing-aggression trajectory, but for girls, high levels of…

A study utilized both Descriptive Analysis (DA) and Experimental Analysis (EA) to examine the function of aggressive and destructive behavior for a boy (age 9) with Down syndrome and moderate mental retardation. By linking the two methods, an intervention was designed that decreased the student's aggressive/destructive behavior. (Author/CR)

Considers four issues pertaining to aggression and adaptation: (1) conceptual and operational definitions of aggression; (2) how aggression relates to adjustment difficulties for boys and girls and for children from different ethnic and socioeconomic groups; (3) whether specific forms of aggression relate to truly positive correlates and whether…

Four studies based on two longitudinal investigations examined the relation between social rejection and increased antisocial behavior. Found that early peer rejection (ages 6 to 8) predicted growth in aggression (at ages 10 to 12); findings were replicated in children ages 5 to 8. Rejection exacerbated antisocial development only among children…

Discusses behavior management of confrontational situations in the classroom, including prevention, defusion, and follow-up. Strategies for defusion are suggested, such as focusing on the task rather than the attention-getting behavior, presenting options privately, reducing agitation, preteaching and presenting choices to establish limits, and…

Examined parents' emotional responses to aggression and social withdrawal in early childhood, beliefs about the causes of problematic social behaviors, and strategies for responding to aggression and withdrawal. Considered variation in parental beliefs as a function of child sex and differences between mothers and fathers. (RH)

This study investigated behavior problems in 66 school-aged physically abused, neglected, and control group children in the Basque Country, Spain. Abused and neglected children had higher subscale scores for social problems, delinquent behavior, and attention problems and showed lower school adjustment. Neglected children appeared more aggressive,…

Autonomic reactivity to cognitive stress was assessed in 10-year-old boys who were rated as either disruptive (n=18), anxious-disrupted (n=18), or not disruptive or anxious (n=15). Electrodermal activity, cardiac reactivity, and muscle tension were higher during a mental arithmetic stress task for the anxious-disruptive group. (Author/SW)

Examined the link between different forms of family aggression and children's symptoms of psychopathology through interviews with 365 mothers and 1 of each mother's children between the ages of 6 and 12. Found that although domestic violence predicted children's general psychopathology, little evidence was uncovered for the presence of specific…