Aggression: forms, causes and methods of management

Talk about aggression It is not simple, since it is a polysemic and multifactorial concept. The meanings are really many, so much so that in the literature we find more than 250 different definitions of aggression (Harre et al, 1983).

Firstly, it is a manifestation of the conduct present in the animal field and in this sense it is not to be considered pathological. It can be, in some situations, essential for environmental adaptation. At the humans, especially in its ritualized aspects, it can be a cultural expression directly connected to costumes and environments. It can be in other cases expression of a social unease in which aggressive conduct are to be interpreted as epiphenomenon. In other cases it can still be an expression of a psychopathological state.

Aggression: definitions and characteristics

We already understand that the equivalence between aggression and mental disorders. In the collective imagination, however, the relationship between aggression and psychic disorder is one of the oldest and most consolidated associations. In reality, even in biological terms aggression can be considered a unitary concept as detected by the analysis of a series of very different conduct.

The fluidity of the topic has allowed the multiplication of a vast literature in which ethology, genetics, neurochemistry and psychiatry sometimes come into conflict with psychology, philosophy and sociology. Certainly there is that in the current phase we find ourselves living a paradox. The aggressive behaviorpresent in the animal and human behavioral repertoire, with the task of safeguarding the individual and the species, in humans it turned into a threat to survival.

By trying to better understand the topic, a biological definition could be as follows: A component of the normal behavior that in different forms, depending on the finalisms to be achieved and the stimuli that arouse it, is implemented to remove or overcome any threat to physical and/or psychic integrity, ensuring the safeguarding of the individual and the species, not necessarily resulting, except in predatory aggression, in the destruction of the manufacturer (Valzelli 95).

A very authoritative definition concerning theaggression in the human being remains that of Bond (’92): “A behavior directed by an individual against such an object, an object or to himself with the aim of causing damage“Some may think about aggression by imagining extreme forms, two strangers who punch or stabbed. In reality we must imagine it in a dimensional perspective that starts from mild, almost imperceptible forms, to get to extreme forms.

A recent research by Georgia Regents University has found that in most cases theaggression in daily life It is more likely to the people next to us: family members, friends, colleagues or partners. Always considering aggression in the dimensional component and in the various ways of expression the commonplace that sees the male as more aggressive of the woman is blurred. In reality it seems that men manifest aggression through direct forms while in women would prevail indirect expressive forms. A phenomenal of aggressive conduct tends to distinguish different types (Attanasio, 2012):

1. A’Active aggressionin which the individual tries to cause damage to his fellow man, through the use of force;
2. A’passive aggressioncharacterized by deeds of omission (for example not to give help operations towards those who are in a state of necessity);
3. A’direct aggressionin which harmful damage is caused, in which your body is used to cause suffering;
4. A’indirect aggression (for example to defame a subject to cause them damage)
5. A’Automette aggression (in which the object to be attacked becomes the self);
6. U ‘heterodirect aggression towards objects or people;
7. A’reactive aggressioncaused by a wrong immediately and fed by the feeling of revenge;
8. A’proactive aggression In which violence, whether physical or psychological, is scheduled with a strategy designed to harm the other.

How important is the genetic component?

A study carried out at the University of Montreal managed to conduct a psychosocial evaluation of 555 couples of twins, of which 223 monozygotes and 332 heterozygotes. Having both types of twins available made it possible to evaluate whether the individual differences detected were linked to genetic or environmental factors. The aggressive conduct They were recorded by teachers, to have an extra -family neutral point of view, at the age of 6, 7, 9, 10 and 12 years. The researchers focused on proactive and reactive aggressive behavior. For proactive aggression We mean a form of aggression characterized by physical and verbal behaviors aimed at domination or obtaining a personal advantage at the expense of others. For reactive aggression Reference is made to that type of aggression characterized by a defense response when perceived is perceived.

The evaluation of the results revealed that both types of aggression, reactive and proactivesharing the same genetic factors almost totally. With growth it is observed that aggressive behavior tends to decrease, reaching the conclusion that between 6 and 12 years the environmental factors have a greater weight than the genetic component.

In this perspective, aggression is considered a physiological and constitutive element of the psycho-social development of the child. With growth, the child learns to better manage his emotions, managing to adopt communication methods more suitable for proper social functioning, a path that should continue and refine more and more in adulthood.

The authors of the study have confirmed hypotheses already advanced in terms of prevention. In the forms of reactive aggression would work better programs aimed at reducing victimization experiences while in proactive forms they could have greater preventive power programs based on the development of social values.

Mechanisms that intensify aggression

A transversal element that unites the different situations is the distortion in which the belief prevails that interpersonal conflicts must be managed through the Enhancement of aggression. But only cognitive distortions are not sufficient to explain the phenomenon that sometimes presents itself in an disproportionate way to the situation and which is often recognized, in retrospect, by the same subject acting as something highly dysfunctional and misunderstanding.

A factor that amplifies the aggressive events It is certainly the neurophysiological susceptibility of the individual. We can understand this phenomenon well in subjects with traits of borderline or narcissistic personality (to give an example; obviously in the disorder that fully satisfies the diagnostic criteria these phenomena can present themselves in a more marked way); subjects with intellectual disabilities or with brain damage; substances or alcohol abusers; alterations related to psychopathological states. To name a few.

Also in this area the neurological structures involved are different and depend on the operation on the amygdala and the efficiency of the frontal cortex, it being understood that more than a single area the result depends on the brain as a whole. Among neurotransmitters, serotonin seems to play an important role in the aggression management which appears inversely proportional to serotonin levels. Among the hormones, relevance was given to the testosterone level. Let’s not forget that brain functioning is also conditioned by environmental factors including urban hyperaffle, noise and environmental pollution, very high and more temperatures (Aronson, Wilson and Akert, 2010).

Unfortunately, at the moment we have little specific biological therapies for aggression in itself, mostly we try to treat the underlying problem and in this the cognitive behavioral psychotherapy can be a valid help.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

• AronsonAND., WilsonTD and Akert, RM (2010) Social Psychology. 7th Edition, Pearson Preetice Hall, Upper Saddle River.
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