Hostname: page-component-7c8c6479df-5xszh Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-03-28T16:10:13.327Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Longitudinal patterns of physical aggression: Associations with adult social, psychiatric, and personality functioning and testosterone levels

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 March 2009

Rebecca C. Windle
Affiliation:
Research Institute on Addictions
Michael Windle*
Affiliation:
Research Institute on Addictions
*
Michael Windle, 1021 Main Street, Buffalo, NY 14203

Abstract

A retrospective longitudinal research design was used to evaluate male adult outcomes associated with four patterns of physical aggression from childhood to adulthood—child-only aggression, child and adult continuity of aggression, adult-onset aggression, and a contrast group with low levels of aggression in childhood and adulthood. The continuity and adult-onset aggression groups had the highest levels of social maladjustment (e.g., marital instability), psychiatric disturbance (e.g., alcohol disorders, major depression), personality dysfunction (e.g., higher prevalence of elevated borderline and narcissistic personality disorder scores), and higher plasma testosterone levels. The child-only aggression group manifested more psychiatric and personality disturbance than the contrast group, but not nearly as much disturbance as the continuity and adult-onset groups. After controlling for age and socioeconomic status (SES) variables, race (White/Black) was typically not a significant predictor of outcome variables. Findings are discussed with regard to life course implications of the physical aggression patterns, and of the support provided for an adult-onset aggressive type.

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1995

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Achenbach, T. M. (1993). Taxonomy and comorbidity of conduct problems: Evidence from empirically based approaches. Development and Psychopathology, 5, 5164.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brewin, C. R., Andrews, B., & Gotlib, I. H. (1993). Psychopathology and early experience: A reappraisal of retrospective reports. Psychological Bulletin, 113, 8298.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cairns, R. B., Cairns, B. D., Neckerman, H. J., Ferguson, L. L., & Gartépy, J. -L. (1989). Growth and aggression: 1. Childhood to early adolescence. Developmental Psychology, 25, 320330.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Centers for Disease Control (1988a). Health status of Vietnam veterans: I. Psychosocial characteristics. Journal of the American Medical Association, 259, 27012719.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Centers for Disease Control (1988b). Health status of Vietnam veterans: II. Physical health. Journal of the American Medical Association, 259, 27082714.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chemtob, C. M., Hamada, R. S., Roitblat, H. L., & Muraoka, M. Y. (1994). Anger, impulsivity, and anger control in combat-related posttraumatic stress disorder. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 62, 827832.Google Scholar
Dilalla, L. F., & Gottesman, I. I. (1989). Heterogeneity of causes for delinquency and criminality: Life span perspectives. Development and Psychopathology, 1, 339349.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ensminger, M. E. (1987). Adolescent sexual behavior as it relates to other transition behaviors in youth. In Hofferth, S. L. & Hayes, C. D. (Eds.), Risking the future: Adolescent sexuality, pregnancy, and childbearing (pp. 3655). Washington, DC: National Academy Press.Google Scholar
Ensminger, M. E. (1990). Sexual activity and problem behaviors among black, urban adolescents. Child Development, 61, 20322046.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Farrington, D. P. (1986). Age and crime. In Tonry, M. & Morris, N. (Eds.), Crime and justice: An annual review of research (Vol. 7, pp. 189250). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Farrington, D. P. (1989). Later adult life outcomes of offenders and non-offenders. In Brambring, M., Lösel, F., & Skowronek, H. (Eds.), Children at risk: Assessment, longitudinal research, and intervention. 220–244). New York: deGruyter.Google Scholar
Farrington, D. P. (1990). Childhood aggression and adult violence: Early precursors and later life outcomes. In Pepler, D. J. & Rubin, K. H. (Eds.), The development and treatment of childhood aggression (pp. 529). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Greene, R. L. (1987). Ethnicity and MMPI performance: A review. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 55, 497512.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Helzer, J. E., & Pryzbeck, T. R. (1988). The cooccurrence of alcoholism with other psychiatric disorders in the general population and its impact on treatment. Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 49, 219224.Google Scholar
Huesmann, L. R., Eron, L. D., Lefkowitz, M. M., & Walder, L. O. (1984). Stability of aggression over time and generations. Developmental Psychology, 20, 11201134.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jordan, B. K., Marmar, C. R., Fairban, J. A., Schlenger, W. E., Kulka, R. A., Hough, R. L., & Weiss, D. S. (1992). Problems in families of male Vietnam veterans with Postraumatic Stress Disorder. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 60, 916926.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kandel, D. B. (1988). Issues in sequencing of adolescent drug use and other problem behaviors. Drugs and Society, 3, 5576.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kazdin, A. E. (1987). Conduct disorders in childhood and adolescence. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Lahey, B. B., Hart, E. L., Pliszka, S., Applegate, B., & McBurnett, K. (1993). Neurophysiological correlates of conduct disorder: A rationale and a review of research. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 22, 141153.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lasko, N. B., Gurvits, T. V., Kuhne, A. A., Orr, S. P., Pitman, R. K. (1994). Aggression and its correlates in Vietnam veterans with and without chronic Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. Comprehensive Psychiatry, 35, 373381.Google Scholar
Laufer, R. S., Gallops, M. S., & Frey-Wouters, E. (1984). War stress and trauma: The Vietnam veteran experience. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 25, 6585.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Le Blanc, M., & Fréchette, M. (1989). Male criminal activity from childhood through youth: Multilevel and developmental perspectives. New York: Springer-Verlag.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Leeco Diagnostics (1983). Testosterone diagnostic kit test protocol. Southfield, MI: Leeco Diagnostics.Google Scholar
Loeber, R. (1982). The stability of antisocial and delinquent child behavior: A review. Child Development, 53, 14311446.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Loeber, R. (1988). Natural histories of conduct problems, delinquency, and associated substance use: Evidence for developmental progressions. In Lahey, B. B. & Kazdin, A. E. (Eds.), Advances in clinical child psychology (Vol. 11, pp. 73124). New York: Plenum Press.Google Scholar
Loeber, R. (1990). Development and risk factors of juvenile antisocial behavior and delinquency. Clinical Psychology Review, 10, 141.Google Scholar
Loeber, R., & Le Blanc, M. (1990). Toward a developmental criminology. In Tonry, M. & Morris, N. (Eds.), Crime and justice: A review of research (Vol. 12, pp. 375473). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Loeber, R., & Stouthamer-Loeber, M. (1986). Family factors as correlates and predictors of juvenile conduct problems and delinquency. In Tonry, M. & Morris, N. (Eds.), Crime and justice (Vol. 7, pp. 29149). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Loeber, R., & Stouthamer-Loeber, M. (1987). Prediction. In Quay, H. C. (Ed.), Handbook of juvenile delinquency (pp. 325382). New York: Wiley.Google Scholar
Loeber, R., Lahey, B. B., & Thomas, C. (1991). Diagnostic conundrum of oppositional defiant disorder and conduct disorder. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 100, 379390.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Loeber, R., Tremblay, R. E., Gagnon, C., & Charlebois, P. (1989). Continuity and desistance in disruptive boys' early fighting at school. Development and Psychopathology, 1, 3950.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Maziade, M., Caron, C., Côté, R., Merette, C., Bernier, H., Laplante, B., Boutin, P., & Thivierge, J. (1990). Psychiatric status of adolescents who had extreme temperaments at age 7. American Journal of Psychiatry, 147, 15311536.Google ScholarPubMed
McCord, J. (1980). Patterns of deviance. In Sells, S. B., Crandall, R., Roff, M., Strauss, J. S., & Pollin, W. (Eds.), Human functioning in longitudinal perspective (pp. 6384). Baltimore, MD: Williams & Wilkins.Google Scholar
Moffitt, T. E. (1993). Adolescence-limited and life-course-persistent antisocial behavior: A developmental taxonomy. Psychological Review, 100, 674701.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Morey, L. C., & Smith, M. R. (1988). Personality disorders. In Greene, R. L. (Ed.), The MMPI: Use with specific populations (pp. 110158). Grune & Stratton.Google Scholar
Morey, L. C., Waugh, M. H., & Blashfield, R. K. (1985). MMPI scales for DSM-III personality disorders: Their derivation and correlates. Journal of Personality Assessment, 49, 245251.Google Scholar
Mulvey, E. P., & LaRosa, J. F. Jr. (1986). Delinquency cessation and adolescent development: Preliminary data. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 56, 212224.Google Scholar
Olweus, D. (1979). Stability of aggressive reaction patterns in males: A review. Psychological Bulletin, 86, 852875.Google Scholar
Olweus, D. (1986). Aggression and hormones: Behavioral relationship with testosterone and adrenaline. In Olweus, D., Block, J., & Radke-Yarrow, M. (Eds.), Development of antisocial and prosocial behavior (pp. 5172). London: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Patterson, G. R. (1982). Coercive family process. Eugene, OR: Castalia.Google Scholar
Pulkkinen, L. (1988). Delinquent development: Theoretical and empirical considerations. In Rutter, M. (Ed.), Studies of psychosocial risk (pp. 184199). New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Quay, H. C. (1993). The psychobiology of underso-cialized aggressive conduct disorder: A theoretical perspective. Development and Psychopathology, 5, 165180.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Robins, L. N. (1978). Sturdy childhood predictors of adult antisocial behavior: Replications from longitudinal studies. Psychological Medicine, 8, 611622.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Robins, L. N., & McEvoy, L. (1990). Conduct problems as predictors of substance abuse. In Robins, L. & Rutter, M. (Eds.), Straight and devious pathways from childhood to adulthood (pp. 182204). New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Robins, L. N., & Price, R. K. (1991). Adult disorders predicted by childhood conduct problems: Results from the NIMH Epidemiologic Catchment Area Project. Psychiatry, 54, 116132.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Robins, L. N., & Ratcliff, K. S. (1980). Childhood conduct disorders and later arrest. In Robins, L. N., Clayton, P. J., & Wing, J. K. (Eds.), The social consequences of psychiatric illness (pp. 248263). New York: Brunner/Mazel.Google Scholar
Robins, L. N., Helzer, J. E., Croughan, J., & Ratcliff, K. S. (1981). National Institute of Mental Health Diagnostic Interview Schedule: Its history, characteristics, and validity. Archives of General Psychiatry, 38, 381389.Google Scholar
Rubin, K. H., LeMare, L. J., & Lollis, S. (1990). Social withdrawal in childhood: Developmental pathways to peer rejection. In Asher, S. R. & Coie, J. D. (Eds.), Peer rejection in childhood (pp. 217249). New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Rutter, M. (1992). Adolescence as a transition period: Continuities and discontinuities in conduct disorder. Journal of Adolescent Health, 13, 451460.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sampson, R. J., & Laub, J. H. (1990). Crime and deviance over the life course: The salience of adult social bonds. American Sociological Review, 55, 609627.Google Scholar
Sampson, R. J., & Laub, J. H. (1992). Crime and deviance in the life course. Annual Review of Sociology, 18, 6384.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sampson, R. J., & Laub, J. H. (1993). Crime in the making: Pathways and turning points through life. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Trull, T. J. (1991). Discriminant validity of the MMPI-borderline personality disorder scale. Psychological Assessment, 3, 232238.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Windle, M. (1990). A longitudinal study of antisocial behaviors in early adolescence as predictors of late adolescent substance use: Gender and ethnic group differences. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 99, 8691.Google Scholar
Windle, M., & Searles, J. S. (1990). Summary, integration, and future directions: Toward a life-span perspective. In Windle, M. & Searles, J. S. (Eds.), Children of alcoholics: Critical perspectives (pp. 217238). New York: Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Windle, M., & Windle, R. C. (1993). The continuity of behavioral expression among disinhibited and inhibited childhood subtypes. Clinical Psychology Review, 13, 741761.Google Scholar
Zeitlin, H. (1986). The natural history of psychiatric disorder in children. London: Oxford University press.Google Scholar
Zeitlin, H. (1990). Annotation: Current interests in child-adult psychopathological continuities. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 31, 671679.Google Scholar
Zoccolillo, M., Pickles, A., Quinton, D., & Rutter, M. (1992). The outcome of childhood conduct disorder: Implications for defining adult personality disorder and conduct disorder. Psychological Medicine, 22, 971986.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Zucker, R. A. (1994). Pathways to alcohol problems and alcoholism: A developmental account of the evidence for multiple alcoholisms and for contextual contributions to risk. In Zucker, R. A., Howard, R. A., & Boyd, G. M. (Eds.), The development of alcohol problems: Exploring the biopsychosocial matrix of risk (pp. 255289). Rockville, MD: National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.Google Scholar
Zucker, R. A., & Gomberg, E. S. L. (1986). Etiology of alcoholism reconsidered: The case for a biopsychosocial process. American Psychologist, 41, 783793.Google Scholar
Zuckerman, M. (1991). Psychobiology of personality. New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar