Discusses the growing problem of aggression and violence in the schools. Describes appropriate interventions for escalating levels of aggression and violence, classroom preventative and planning measures for aggressive and violent students, and systemwide policies and procedure needed to effectively meet the needs of such students. (SR)

Observed rough-and-tumble play in young adolescent boys on the playground. Found that sociometrically defined average and rejected boys spent a greater portion of their time in rough play compared to popular boys and did so with children who were less dominant than they, suggesting that some children exploit play bouts for their own…

Investigated humor response to aggressive cartoons using ratings of pain and funniness of cartoons by college students (n=93) and older adults (n=61). Found no significant age differences; however, sex differences were found. Females exhibited an inverted-U relationship between pain ratings and funniness ratings. For males there was no…

This case study of a 24-year-old man with autistic disorder and mental retardation who exhibited aggression found that antecedent exercise significantly decreased aggression; drug therapy with an anxiolytic (lorazepam) alone had no significant effect on aggression; and exercise plus medication decreased aggression to a somewhat lesser degree than…

Conducted date and acquaintance rape needs-assessment survey on 106 male and 113 female college students. Thirty-two women acknowledged that they were victims of rape or attempted rape, and majority reported multiple victimizations. Eighteen men admitted to committing acts that met legal definition of sexual assault in Hawaii. (Author/NB)

Over five days, videotaped and analyzed contrived play sessions of African-American male first and third graders to examine behavioral patterns leading to chronic victimization by peers. Victims demonstrated lower rates of assertive behaviors and higher rates of nonassertive behaviors than nonvictims. Children who eventually emerged as chronic…

Describes Boys Town model which, grounded in research on development and dynamics of aggression, targets seven critical skills for creating safe, positive treatment environments that empower aggressive youth to change. Discusses these skills: relationship building components; praise and differential reinforcement; behavioral specificity;…

Examines psychobiological literature pertaining to conduct disorder (CD), with particular emphasis on how such information can increase understanding of youths representing undersocialized aggressive subtype of CD. Reviews literature from neuroanatomical, biochemical, psychophysiological, and pharmacological arenas. Outlines theoretical framework…

Questioned practicing school psychologists (n=225) in Wisconsin regarding their experience with number of behavioral referrals for which physically aggressive behavior was principal concern. Increases of at least moderate degree were perceived by school psychologists across grade levels. Respondents observed that student aggression was phenomenon…

Examined the prevalence of sexual aggression among 197 male and 194 female adolescents from the former East Germany and West Germany using the Sexual Experiences Survey (M. Koss and C. Oros, 1982). Data suggest that coercive sexuality must be acknowledged as a reality in the sexual experiences of young adults in Germany. (SLD)

Explores the relationships of immediacy and verbal aggression with homophily and interpersonal attraction in the higher education instructional context. Finds that immediacy was negatively related to verbal aggression and positively related to all dimensions of homophily and interpersonal attraction and that verbal aggression was negatively…

The top five security risks in today's schools include aggressive behavior, weapons possession or use, drug trafficking, gangs, and "stranger danger." Home-made bomb threats are common. This article also discusses security system costs, risk-reduction frameworks, security assessments, crisis-preparedness guidelines, and security-related…

Analyzed longitudinal data from a national survey of male adolescents, the Youth in Transition Survey, to test the assumption that child aggression represents a functional response to family strain. Results indicate a reciprocal relationship between parental and child aggression, characterized by countervailing effects. Contains 56 references.…

A study compared the effectiveness of two extinction interventions, extinction by omission and noncontingent delivery of reinforcement, to treat aggressive behavior with a 10-year-old boy. Analysis revealed that aggression was maintained by positive reinforcement in the form of attention. Noncontingent reinforcement of attention produced a more…

A study compared a brief and an extended functional analyses of three adults with serious developmental disabilities and aggressive or self-injurious behavior. Both analyses revealed the same controlling variables, but the brief functional analyses took less than 20% the time in analog conditions as the extended analyses. (Author/CR)