Compares justifications for aggression and withdrawal in Finnish and Estonian adolescents. Evaluates responses given in a questionnaire asking participants to justify problem-solving strategies for two social problems. Concludes aggression may be perceived as more deviant in Finland. Finnish motivation for withdrawal is escaping harm, while…

Discusses strategies for preventing and responding to aggression among students with Asperger's syndrome, including structuring the environment for social success, cognitive behavior-modification, behavioral contracts, social stories, scripts and autopsies, and traditional behavioral consequences. Examples of a social story, social script, and…

Examined differences in reactions to children's aggressive play of mothers with aggressive or nonaggressive preschoolers. Found that mothers of aggressive preschoolers were more likely than other mothers to stop aggressive play, make value judgments, withdraw when aggressive play occurred, and make no effort to join or modulate the play. Findings…

Reports the results of an anger management program for emotionally disturbed adolescents (N=7) who scored in the clinical range on the Conduct subscale of the Conners Teacher Rating Scale. The program included psychoeducation, anger discrimination training, and training on prosocial responses to anger. Results indicate evidence of positive…

The impact of a training program to help staff prevent and effectively manage aggressive behavior was assessed with 109 staff members who worked in services for persons with developmental disabilities. Instruction in distraction, defusion, and nonaggressive physical intervention strategies was provided. The training significantly improved…

Observed 18- to 30-month-olds' use of force against peers. Found no sex differences in average aggression levels or in mothers' aggression ratings. Rate of hitting peers and mothers' ratings were stable over 6 months for girls only. Toddlers especially sensitive to peers' possible intentions hit peers more and were more likely than to use force…

A study evaluated the effectiveness of functional communication training (FCT) in reducing problem behavior of 5 individuals with severe mental retardation and in strengthening alternative behavior. Four participants shifted response allocation from problem to alternative behavior as the schedule of reinforcement of problem behavior became more…

Evaluation of a 16-session group intervention for reducing inappropriately expressed anger (as aggression) in 25 individuals with intellectual disabilities found a reduction in expressed anger and measured levels of depression. Reductions in expressed anger were maintained at 6 and 12 months follow-up, although scores on the depression scale…

Examined dating violence in a racially/ethnically and socioeconomically diverse sample of students (N=939). Results reveal that males were more likely to attack a dating partner when they had witnessed interparental violence; believed that male-female dating violence was justifiable; used alcohol/drugs; or were the recipients of dating violence.…

A study used direct and indirect methods to assess and treat several topographies of the aggression of a 7-year-old boy with severe mental retardation and pervasive personality disorder. Functional communication training with extinction reduced all forms of aggression except chin grinding, which was reduced by an alternative treatment. (Author/CR)

Discusses the Brain Power Program, an attribution retraining intervention to reduce peer-directed aggression. Results suggest that improvements in behavior are related to changes in subjects' attributions. Intervention effects are moderate to strong for many students but not evident at all for some students. Treatment effects diminished over time.…

Focuses on teasing as a form of verbal aggression in the educational environment. Examines the relationships between undergraduate students' recollections of receiving peer teasing during their junior and senior high school years and students' self-esteem and affect for school. Yields limited correlations between peer teasing and self-esteem, and…

Pretreatment assessment data were used to enhance an existing treatment package to reduce aggression and to increase the positive social interactions of a 9-year-old boy with moderate mental retardation and Hunter's syndrome. Additional reinforcements and punishment components were added and resulted in positive social interactions and suppressed…

Cumulates findings across existing empirical research on the effects of violent video games to estimate overall effect size and discern important trends and moderating variables. Suggests there is a smaller effect of violent video games on aggression than has been found with television violence on aggression. (SG)

The efficacy of noncontingent reinforcement with variable-time (VT) schedules was evaluated by comparing the effects of VT and fixed-time (FT) reinforcement schedules with two individuals with moderate to severe mental retardation and severe behavior problems. Both VT and FT schedules were effective in reducing problem behavior. (Contains…