Perceptions of Samoan Parents from a Small Town in New Zealand on Parenting, Childhood Aggression, and the CD-ROM 'Play Nicely'

<p>This qualitative study describes the perceptions of 18 parents of Samoan ethnicity from Tokoroa, New Zealand. The aims of the study were to: 1) investigate the perceptions of parents’ of Samoan ethnicity in Tokoroa, New Zealand about childhood physical aggression, its origins, and the ways parents managed it; 2) describe parenting practices, the support parents received, the sources of that support, and the values they used in raising their child/children; 3) explore the literature to identify risk and resiliency factors that influence childhood physical aggression; 4) explore the usefulness of a simple multimedia programme (in the form of a CD-ROM) to support Samoan parents management of aggressive behaviour in young children. The study was conducted through 1-1 interviews to establish how the parents defined childhood physical aggression, what they perceived to be the origins of their children’s behaviour if deemed to be aggressive, how they responded to the behaviour, and the origins of their response. They discussed their parenting practices, support they received and the sources of that support, as well as the values they used in raising their child/children. The study’s participants were recruited after initial referrals through a talanoaga process with community elders and others via a snowball technique. An intervention tool, the CD-ROM Play Nicely, was trialled with 11 of the parents to see whether the parents found the tool helpful in managing their children’s physical aggression. The theoretical approach engaged a combination of Community Participatory Action Research (consultation/participation and dissemination), elements of Grounded Theory, talanoaga and Fa’afaletui, the latter being a Samoan framework which gives a multilayered approach to data interpretation using a range of lenses and perspectives. In conducting this investigation, the combination of Western and Samoan frameworks was appropriate given the sensitivities around the topic and the ethnicity of the respondents and the researcher. The parenting aspect of the study affirmed findings from previous research on adaptation and change in Samoan parenting styles. Studies on Samoan childhood physical aggression are noticeably lacking and therefore the findings of this study make a unique contribution. Conclusions drawn from this study show that those parents who initially ‘normalised’ their children’s behaviour prior to viewing the CDROM Play Nicely, changed their perception of their children’s behaviour after viewing Play Nicely, to recognising it as being physically aggressive. The majority of the parents perceived their children’s behaviour and their own responses to their behaviour as originating from their home environment, namely from the parents. Grandparents played a significant part in supporting their grandchildren and being the vessels of ‘cultural knowledge’ for the children. Almost all the parents (17 out of 18) had accessed early childhood education for their children. Culture impacted on how parents thought about and managed children’s behaviour, and is significant to this study. A key recommendation is to replicate the study in an urban setting.</p>

Perceptions of Samoan Parents from a Small Town in New Zealand on Parenting, Childhood Aggression, and the CD-ROM 'Play Nicely'

<p>This qualitative study describes the perceptions of 18 parents of Samoan ethnicity from Tokoroa, New Zealand. The aims of the study were to: 1) investigate the perceptions of parents’ of Samoan ethnicity in Tokoroa, New Zealand about childhood physical aggression, its origins, and the ways parents managed it; 2) describe parenting practices, the support parents received, the sources of that support, and the values they used in raising their child/children; 3) explore the literature to identify risk and resiliency factors that influence childhood physical aggression; 4) explore the usefulness of a simple multimedia programme (in the form of a CD-ROM) to support Samoan parents management of aggressive behaviour in young children. The study was conducted through 1-1 interviews to establish how the parents defined childhood physical aggression, what they perceived to be the origins of their children’s behaviour if deemed to be aggressive, how they responded to the behaviour, and the origins of their response. They discussed their parenting practices, support they received and the sources of that support, as well as the values they used in raising their child/children. The study’s participants were recruited after initial referrals through a talanoaga process with community elders and others via a snowball technique. An intervention tool, the CD-ROM Play Nicely, was trialled with 11 of the parents to see whether the parents found the tool helpful in managing their children’s physical aggression. The theoretical approach engaged a combination of Community Participatory Action Research (consultation/participation and dissemination), elements of Grounded Theory, talanoaga and Fa’afaletui, the latter being a Samoan framework which gives a multilayered approach to data interpretation using a range of lenses and perspectives. In conducting this investigation, the combination of Western and Samoan frameworks was appropriate given the sensitivities around the topic and the ethnicity of the respondents and the researcher. The parenting aspect of the study affirmed findings from previous research on adaptation and change in Samoan parenting styles. Studies on Samoan childhood physical aggression are noticeably lacking and therefore the findings of this study make a unique contribution. Conclusions drawn from this study show that those parents who initially ‘normalised’ their children’s behaviour prior to viewing the CDROM Play Nicely, changed their perception of their children’s behaviour after viewing Play Nicely, to recognising it as being physically aggressive. The majority of the parents perceived their children’s behaviour and their own responses to their behaviour as originating from their home environment, namely from the parents. Grandparents played a significant part in supporting their grandchildren and being the vessels of ‘cultural knowledge’ for the children. Almost all the parents (17 out of 18) had accessed early childhood education for their children. Culture impacted on how parents thought about and managed children’s behaviour, and is significant to this study. A key recommendation is to replicate the study in an urban setting.</p>

Structural Equation Modeling (SEM): Childhood Aggression and Irritable ADHD Associated with Parental Psychiatric Symptoms

Background: Children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) co-occurring with Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) further present aggressive behavior and may have a depressive parent. A child with co-occurring ADHD and ODD has differentially higher levels of behavioral and emotional difficulties. Little is known about how the irritable subtype of ADHD in children mediates the development of parental symptomatology. This study aims to elucidate the direct or indirect influence of childhood disruptive ADHD with aggressive behavior on their parental symptom using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). Methods: A total of 231 ADHD children and their parents completed the Swanson, Nolan, and Pelham Version IV questionnaire for symptoms of ADHD, Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) scale for irritable symptoms, Child Behavior Check List (CBCL) for aggression, and Symptom Checklist (SCL) for parental symptom. Results: The three-factor confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) model found symptoms of inattention, hyperactivity/impulsivity, irritable ODD, and aggression were inter-related. Mediational analyses demonstrated ODD mediates symptoms directly predicting the risk of increasing ADHD severity. Disruptive child symptoms (ADHD + ODD + aggression) may increase the risk of depression-related symptoms in the parent. When the child’s aggression increases by one standard deviation (SD), parental psychiatric symptoms increase by 0.235 SD (p < 0.001). Conclusions: By this SEM pathway analysis, there is the correlation between the disruptive, more aggressive subtype of ADHD in children/adolescents and the existence of psychopathological symptomatology of their parents. ADHD + ODD + aggression in children should be classified as an irritable subtype of ADHD, warranting early diagnosis and intensive treatment.

Genetic association study of childhood aggression across raters, instruments, and age

Childhood aggressive behavior (AGG) has a substantial heritability of around 50%. Here we present a genome-wide association meta-analysis (GWAMA) of childhood AGG, in which all phenotype measures across childhood ages from multiple assessors were included. We analyzed phenotype assessments for a total of 328 935 observations from 87 485 children aged between 1.5 and 18 years, while accounting for sample overlap. We also meta-analyzed within subsets of the data, i.e., within rater, instrument and age. SNP-heritability for the overall meta-analysis (AGGoverall) was 3.31% (SE = 0.0038). We found no genome-wide significant SNPs for AGGoverall. The gene-based analysis returned three significant genes: ST3GAL3 (P = 1.6E–06), PCDH7 (P = 2.0E–06), and IPO13 (P = 2.5E–06). All three genes have previously been associated with educational traits. Polygenic scores based on our GWAMA significantly predicted aggression in a holdout sample of children (variance explained = 0.44%) and in retrospectively assessed childhood aggression (variance explained = 0.20%). Genetic correlations (rg) among rater-specific assessment of AGG ranged from rg = 0.46 between self- and teacher-assessment to rg = 0.81 between mother- and teacher-assessment. We obtained moderate-to-strong rgs with selected phenotypes from multiple domains, but hardly with any of the classical biomarkers thought to be associated with AGG. Significant genetic correlations were observed with most psychiatric and psychological traits (range $$\left| {r_g} \right|$$ r g : 0.19–1.00), except for obsessive-compulsive disorder. Aggression had a negative genetic correlation (rg = ~−0.5) with cognitive traits and age at first birth. Aggression was strongly genetically correlated with smoking phenotypes (range $$\left| {r_g} \right|$$ r g : 0.46–0.60). The genetic correlations between aggression and psychiatric disorders were weaker for teacher-reported AGG than for mother- and self-reported AGG. The current GWAMA of childhood aggression provides a powerful tool to interrogate the rater-specific genetic etiology of AGG.

PSYCHOLOGICAL AND PEDAGOGICAL CORRECTION OF AGGRESSIVE BEHAVIOR IN ADOLESCENCE

The article is devoted to the problem of prevention and correction of aggressive behavior in adolescents. The increased aggressiveness of adolescent children is one of the most acute problems not only for teachers and psychologists, but also for society as a whole. The growing wave of juvenile delinquency and the increase in the number of children prone to aggressive forms of behavior shed light on the task of studying the psychological conditions that cause these dangerous phenomena. The study of aggressiveness in adolescence is especially important when this characteristic is in the stage of formation and when modern corrective measures can still be taken. The main vectors of development of the modern science of aggressive behavior are identified, the main causes of deviations are determined, and a comparative analysis of works on the prevention of aggressive behavior is carried out. For most children, some form of aggression is typical. However, it is well known that in a certain category of childhood, aggression as a permanent form of behavior not only persists, but also develops, making it a constant human quality. As a result, the adolescent's production potential decreases, his ability to communicate at a high-level decrease, and his personal development is distorted. It has been proved that the key factor in the prevention and correction of aggressive behavior should be, firstly, the family as the primary and most important institution for the formation of identity, and secondly, the pedagogically, psychological and so sociological controlled environment of educational institutions, which serves as a condition for the socialization and personal development of children and adolescents. Important questions remain open regarding the nature and origin of the aggression. The urgency of this problem determined the formulation of the topic of our research «Psychological and pedagogical correction of aggressive behavior in adolescence”.

Patterns of Child Maltreatment and the Development of Conflictual Emerging Adult Romantic Relationships: An Examination of Mechanisms and Gender Moderation

Individuals who experienced child maltreatment are at heightened risk for involvement in conflictual romantic relationships. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of patterns of child maltreatment on the development of maladaptive romantic relationships in emerging adulthood (EA), as well as to determine whether childhood physical aggression and disinhibition mediate this risk. Utilizing a longitudinal sample of emerging adult participants ( N = 398 emerging adults; Mage = 19.67 years) who took part in a summer research camp as children (Mage = 11.27 years), we employed a combination of person-centered and variable-centered methods to test study aims. Significant differences in child behavior and developmental pathways emerged not only between those who experienced maltreatment and those who did not, but also among maltreated individuals with different constellations of maltreatment experiences. Specifically, childhood aggression was a robust mechanism underlying the risk associated with chronic/multi-subtype maltreatment, and the risk associated with neglect only, for involvement in dysfunctional EA romantic relationships. Together, these findings highlight the utility of person-centered methods for conceptualizing maltreatment, identify childhood aggression as a pathway of risk, and the underscore the criticality of prevention and early intervention to interrupt the intergenerational transmission of high conflict and aggression within families.

Large-Scale Functional Brain Networks of Maladaptive Childhood Aggression Identified by Connectome-Based Predictive Modeling

Disruptions in frontoparietal networks supporting emotion regulation have been long implicated in maladaptive childhood aggression. However, the association of connectivity between large-scale functional networks in the human connectome with aggressive behavior has not been tested. By using a data-driven, machine learning approach, we show that the functional organization of the connectome during emotion processing predicts severity of aggression in children (n=129). Connectivity predictive of aggression was identified within and between large-scale networks implicated in cognitive control (frontoparietal), social functioning (default mode), and emotion processing (subcortical). Out-of-sample replication and generalization of findings predicting aggression from the functional connectome was conducted in an independent sample of children from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development study (n=1,791; n=1,701). These results define novel connectivity-based networks of child aggression that can serve as biomarkers to inform targeted treatments for aggression.

Cognitive Impulsivity as a Mediator of the Parental Knowledge-Childhood Aggression Relationship

In a previous study, reactive criminal thinking or cognitive impulsivity mediated the relationship between parental knowledge and delinquency. This study sought to determine whether cognitive impulsivity also mediated the relationship between parental knowledge and childhood aggression. A path analysis was performed on a sample of 438 early adolescent boys ( n = 206) and girls ( n = 232) from the Illinois Study of Bullying and Sexual Violence using three waves of non-overlapping data. As predicted, cognitive impulsivity mediated the relationship between parental knowledge and childhood aggression, but cognitive insensitivity did not. The results of this study provide ongoing support for the general conceptual argument that childhood aggression parallels delinquency in certain respects and that parental knowledge deters both future delinquency and childhood aggression by reducing the cognitive impulsivity that is central to the behavioral patterns of delinquency and childhood aggression.