Abstract
The effort by developmental psychopathologists to understand the etiology of antisocial behavior has resulted in several significant findings. First, aggressive behavior is highly stable from early childhood into adolescence and adulthood. Second, parental factors including rearing practices and parental psychopathology, are correlated with childhood behavior problems. It was the aim of the present study to examine the correlates and stability of aggressive behavior in a sample of toddlers from low income families. Eight-nine mother-child dyads (52 boys and 37 girls) were observed in laboratory assessments when the child was 18- and 24-months old. Frequency and pervasiveness of aggression were coded from videotapes. Familial criminality, maternal depressive symptomatology, child noncompliance, and difficult child temperament were examined as contributors to the prediction of aggression in toddlers. Stability of aggression was moderate, especially for aggression occurring in low-stress situations. While there were few sex differences in the frequency and stability of aggression, there were marked differences in the correlates and predictors of aggression. Gender-specific, interactional models of the development of aggression are proposed.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Achenbach, T. M.,. & Edelbrock, C. S. (1983).Manual for the Child Behavior Checklist and Revised Child Behavior Profile, Burlington: University of Vermont, Department of Psychiatry.
Achenbach, T. M., Edelbrock, C., & Howell, C. (1987). Empirically-based assessment of the behavioral/emotional problems of 2–3 year old children.Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 15, 629–650.
Ainsworth, M. D. S., & Wittig, B. A. (1969). Attachment and the exploratory behavior of one-year olds in a strange situation. In B. M. Foss (Ed.),Determinants of infant behavior (Vol. 4). London: Metheun.
American Psychiatric Association (1987).Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (3rd ed., revised).Washington, DC:Author.
Bates, J. E. (1984).Information on the Infant Characteristics Questionnaire. Unpublished manuscript, Department of Psychology, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN.
Bates, J. E., Freeland, C. A., & Lounsbury, M. L. (1979). The infant characteristics questionnaire.Child Development, 48, 195–203.
Beck, A. T., Ward, C. H., Mendelson, M., Mock, J. E., & Erbaugh, J. K. (1961). An inventory for measuring depression.Archives of General Psychiatry, 4, 561–571.
Beck, A. T., & Beamesderfer, A. (1974). Assessment of depression: The Depression Inventory. In P. Pichot (Ed.),Psychological measurement in psychopharmacology: Modern problems in pharmacopsychiatry (Vol. 7, pp. 151–169). Basel, Switzerland: Kanger.
Biederman, J., Munir, K., & Knee, D. (1987). Conduct and oppositional disorder in clinically referred children with attention deficit disorder: A controlled family study.Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 26, 724–727.
Bohman, M., Cloninger, C. R., Sigvardsson, S., & von Knorring, A. (1982). Predisposition to petty criminality in Swedish adoptees I. Genetic and environmental heterogeneity.Archives of General Psychiatry, 39, 1233–1241.
Campbell, S. B. (1990).Behavior problems in preschool children: Clinical and developmental issues. New York: The Guilford Press.
Christopolous, C., Cohen, D. N., Shaw, D. S., Joyce, S., Sullivan-Hanson, J., Kraft, S. P., & Emery, R. E. (1987). Children of abused women I: Adjustment at time of shelter residence.Journal of Marriage and the Family, 46, 611–619.
Cloninger, C. R., Sigvardsson, S., Bohman, M., & von Knorring, A. (1982). Predisposition to petty criminality in Swedish adoptees II. Cross-fostering analysis of gene-environment interaction.Archives of General Psychiatry, 39, 1242–1247.
Cummings, E. M., Iannotti, R. J., & Zahn-Waxler, C. (1989). Aggression between peers in early childhood: Individual continuity and developmental change.Child Development, 69, 887–895.
Dodge, K. A. (1990). Nature versus nurture in childhood conduct disorder: It is time to ask a different question.Developmental Psychology, 26, 698–701.
Earls, F., & Jung, K. G. (1987). Temperament and home environment characteristics as causal factors in the early development of childhood psychopathology.Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 26, 491–498.
Furstenberg, F. F., & Allison, P. D. (1989). How marital dissolution affects children: Variations by age and sex.Developmental Psychology, 25, 540–549.
Ghodsian, M., Zajicek, E., & Wolkind, S. (1984). A longitudinal study of maternal depression and child behavior problems.Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 25, 91–109.
Ghodsian, M., Zajicek, E., & Wolkind, S. (1985). Comparative study of social and family correlates of children's behavior ratings.Child: Care, Health and Development, 11, 209–228.
Huessman, L. R., Eron, L. E., Lefkowitz, M. M., & Walder, L. O. (1984). Stability of aggression over time and generation.Developmental Psychology, 20, 1120–1134.
Isabella, R. A., & Belsky, J. (1991). Interactional synchrony and the origins of infant-mother attachment: A replication study.Child Development, 62, 373–384.
Kuczynski, L., Kochanska, G., Radke-Yarrow, & Girnius-Brown, O. (1987). A developmental interpretation of young children's noncompliance.Developmental Psychology, 23, 799–806.
Lee, C. L., & Bates, J. E. (1985). Mother-child interactions at age two years and perceived difficult temperament.Child Development, 56, 1314–1325.
Loeber, R. (1982). The stability of antisocial and delinquent child behavior: A review.Child Development, 53, 1431–1446.
Loeber, R., & Dishion, T. (1983). Early predictors of male delinquency: A review.Psychological Bulletin, 94, 68–99.
Loeber, R., Lahey, B. B., & Thomas, C. (1991). Diagnostic conundrum of oppositional defiant disorder and conduct disorder.Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 100, 379–390.
Loeber, R., & Stouthamer-Loeber, M. (1986). Family factors as correlates and predictors of juvenile conduct problems and delinquency. In M. Tonry & N. Morris (Eds.),Crime and justice. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Lytton, H. (1990a). Child and parent effects in boy's conduct disorder: A reinterpretation.Developmental Psychology, 26, 683–697.
Lytton, H. (1990b). Child effects-still unwelcome? Response to Dodge and Wahler.Developmental Psychology, 26, 705–709.
Lytton, H., Watts, D., & Dunn, B. E. (1985). Stability of genetic determination from age 2 to age 9: A longitudinal twin study.Social Biology, 35(1–2), 62–73.
Maccoby, E. E. (1980).Social development: Psychological growth and the parent-child relationship. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
Maccoby, E. E., Snow, M. E., & Jacklin, C. N. (1984). Children's dispositions and mother-child interaction at 12 and 18 months: A short-term longitudinal study.Developmental Psychology, 20, 459–472.
Martin, J. (1981). A longitudinal study of the consequence of early mother-infant interaction: A microanalytic approach.Monographs for the Society for Research in Child Development, 46(3, Serial No. 190).
Matas, L., Arend, R., & Sroufe, L. A. (1978). Continuity of adaption in the second year: The relationship between attachment and later competence.Child Development, 49, 547–556.
McCord, J. (1979). Some child-rearing antecedents of criminal behavior in adult men.Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 37, 1477–1486.
Mednick, S. A., Gabrielli, W. F., & Hutchings, B. (1987). Genetic factors in the etiology of criminal behavior. In S. A. Mednick, T. E. Moffitt, & S. A. Stack (Eds.),The causes of crime. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.
Moskowitz, D. S., Schwartzman, A. E., & Ledingham, J. E. (1985). Stability and change in aggression and withdrawal in middle childhood and early adolescence.Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 94, 30–41.
Olweus, D. (1979). Stability of aggressive patterns in males: A review.Psychological Bulletin, 86, 852–875.
Parke, R. D., & Slaby, R. G. (1990). The development of aggression. In P. H. Mussen (Ed.),Handbook of child psychology. New York: John Wiley and Sons.
Patterson, G. R. (1982).Coercive family process. Eugene, OR: Castalia.
Patterson, G. R., Capaldi, D., & Bank, L. (1992). An early starter model for predicting delinquency. In D. Pepler, and K. H. Rubin (Eds.).The development and treatment of childhood aggression. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Reynolds, W. M., & Gould, J. W. (1981). A psychometric investigation of the standard and short form Beck Depression Inventory.Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 49, 306–307.
Richman, L. C., & Harper, D. C. (1979). Parental child-rearing characteristics and delinquent adolescent's response to behavioral treatment.American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 49, 527–529.
Robins, L. N., West, P. A., & Herjanic, B. L. (1975). Arrests and delinquency in two generations: A study of black urban families and their children.Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 16, 125–140.
Rose, S. L., Rose, S. A., & Feldman, J. F. (1989). Stability of behavior problems in very young children.Development and Psychopathology, 1, 5–19.
West, D. J., & Farrington, D. P. (1973).Who becomes delinquent? Second Report of the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development. London: Heineman Educational Books.
Wahler, R. G. (1990). Who is driving the interactions? A commentary on “child and parent effects” in boy's conduct disorder.Developmental Psychology, 26, 702–704.
Zahn-Waxler, C., Ianotti, R. J., Cummings, E. M., & Denham, S. (1990). Antecedents of problem behaviors in children of depressed mothers.Development and Psychopathology, 2, 271–291.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
This study was supported by grants to Daniel Shaw and Joan Vondra from the following organizations within the University of Pittsburgh: the Mental Health Clinical Research Center for Affective Disorders, the Office of Child Development, the School of Education in conjunction with the Buhl Foundation, and the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Portions of this paper were presented at the Meeting for the Society for Life History Research, Philadelphia, April 1992. The authors would like to acknowledge the contribution of Julie Alley, Jodi Chusta, and Kevin Cosley for their invaluable assistance in behavioral coding. Special thanks is given to the mothers and children who participated in this research.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Keenan, K., Shaw, D.S. The development of aggression in toddlers: A study of low-income families. J Abnorm Child Psychol 22, 53–77 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02169256
Revised:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02169256