Faculty Sponsor
Dawn Witherspoon
Faculty Sponsor College
College of Arts and Sciences
Faculty Sponsor Department
Psychology
Location
SOARS Virtual Conference
Presentation Website
https://unfsoars.domains.unf.edu/2021/posters/are-the-perpetrators-of-aggression-also-its-victims/
Keywords
University of North Florida – Graduate students – Research – Posters; University of North Florida. Department of Psychology – Research – Posters; Psychological sciences – Research – Posters; Project of Merit Award Winner
Abstract
Project of Merit Winner
In lower income areas it has been found that there is a relationship between the annual household income and types of anxiety found in adolescence. This relationship is theorized in part to exist because of the stressors the adolescents are exposed to in lower income neighborhoods i.e. trauma such as violent crimes (Vine et al., 2013). As a result of traumatic experiences from school violence children may become aggressive or exhibit bully behaviors (Blaustein & Kinniburgh, 2010). It is theorized that people who have been traumatized themselves may become aggressors or perpetuators of others’ trauma possibly due to the fact that by becoming the aggressor they create a semblance of control over the trauma that occurred (U.S. Department of Health, 2014). Relational aggression is an aggressive act that seeks to isolate an individual through rumors or ostracization. Physical aggression is displayed by acts such as hitting or kicking. Verbal aggression manifests in the form of name calling or attacking an individual’s character (Coyne et al., 2008). Past research has almost entirely focused on samples that are white, in order to study aggression and trauma (Waasdorp & Bradshaw, 2009). AIMS: 1) To investigate the different forms of aggression, victimization and traumatic exposure in a sample of AA girls. 2) To examine if the same individuals are both the victims and aggressors. Methods: 100 AA girls ages 11-15 enrolled in a health promotion intervention, in a mid-Atlantic city. The Problem Behavior Frequency Scale (PBFS) a 37-item questionnaire was self-administered to asses violent and non-violent delinquent behavior and exposure within the last 30 days (Farrell et al., 2018). There are seven factors: three forms of aggression (physical, verbal, and relational), two types of victimization (overt or relational), substance use and delinquent behavior. Results indicate that the AA female participants were both victims and aggressors. In terms of Physical Aggression, 52% of the adolescent AA girls reported shoving or pushing a peer within the last 30 days, 6% endorsed threatening a peer with a weapon. In terms of Victimization, 12% reported being threatened with a weapon (knife, gun etc.). While 47% of the sample reported being shoved or pushed by another child at least once in the last month. The majority of the individuals who reported simple aggression also indicated that they had experienced similar aggression directed towards them. AA youth in this sample engaged in aggressive behaviors and were exposed to violence. The majority of the individuals who were engaging in the aggression had also experienced victimization or trauma. It is important to note that trauma in this study centers around school violence trauma, it does not include other traumatic experiences such as natural disasters or parental death.
Rights Statement
http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
Included in
Are the Perpetrators of Aggression Also its Victims?
SOARS Virtual Conference
Project of Merit Winner
In lower income areas it has been found that there is a relationship between the annual household income and types of anxiety found in adolescence. This relationship is theorized in part to exist because of the stressors the adolescents are exposed to in lower income neighborhoods i.e. trauma such as violent crimes (Vine et al., 2013). As a result of traumatic experiences from school violence children may become aggressive or exhibit bully behaviors (Blaustein & Kinniburgh, 2010). It is theorized that people who have been traumatized themselves may become aggressors or perpetuators of others’ trauma possibly due to the fact that by becoming the aggressor they create a semblance of control over the trauma that occurred (U.S. Department of Health, 2014). Relational aggression is an aggressive act that seeks to isolate an individual through rumors or ostracization. Physical aggression is displayed by acts such as hitting or kicking. Verbal aggression manifests in the form of name calling or attacking an individual’s character (Coyne et al., 2008). Past research has almost entirely focused on samples that are white, in order to study aggression and trauma (Waasdorp & Bradshaw, 2009). AIMS: 1) To investigate the different forms of aggression, victimization and traumatic exposure in a sample of AA girls. 2) To examine if the same individuals are both the victims and aggressors. Methods: 100 AA girls ages 11-15 enrolled in a health promotion intervention, in a mid-Atlantic city. The Problem Behavior Frequency Scale (PBFS) a 37-item questionnaire was self-administered to asses violent and non-violent delinquent behavior and exposure within the last 30 days (Farrell et al., 2018). There are seven factors: three forms of aggression (physical, verbal, and relational), two types of victimization (overt or relational), substance use and delinquent behavior. Results indicate that the AA female participants were both victims and aggressors. In terms of Physical Aggression, 52% of the adolescent AA girls reported shoving or pushing a peer within the last 30 days, 6% endorsed threatening a peer with a weapon. In terms of Victimization, 12% reported being threatened with a weapon (knife, gun etc.). While 47% of the sample reported being shoved or pushed by another child at least once in the last month. The majority of the individuals who reported simple aggression also indicated that they had experienced similar aggression directed towards them. AA youth in this sample engaged in aggressive behaviors and were exposed to violence. The majority of the individuals who were engaging in the aggression had also experienced victimization or trauma. It is important to note that trauma in this study centers around school violence trauma, it does not include other traumatic experiences such as natural disasters or parental death.
https://digitalcommons.unf.edu/soars/2021/spring_2021/106