Aggressive behaviour is relatively common in children and treatment is often difficult. Aggression in childhood is often a good predictor of for example delinquency, drug use or an unsuccessful...Show moreAggressive behaviour is relatively common in children and treatment is often difficult. Aggression in childhood is often a good predictor of for example delinquency, drug use or an unsuccessful school career. Therefore it is important to develop prevention methods and interventions to reduce aggression. In this study, the relation between executive functioning and aggression was researched. The aim of this study was to determine the effectiveness of the intervention ‘Minder Boos en Opstandig’. The research group consisted of 33 children that were participating in a larger sample group of the ‘Minder Boos en Opstandig’ intervention study. Aggression was measured with the Reactive Proactive Questionnaire and executive functioning were measured with the Delayed Frustration, the Sustained Attention Dots and the Behaviour Rating Inventory of Executive Functioning. Analyses were done with a paired samples t-test and Pearson’s correlation coefficients. The intervention had an effect on aggression. After the intervention, the children were less aggressive. The parents were of opinion that their children improved on executive functioning. No effect was found on the measured executive functioning of children. No relation was found between executive functioning and aggression. More research needs to be done to study the relation between aggression and executive functioning to gain more insight in this relation. A larger sample is also recommended. Finally, it is recommended to study the relationship between aggression and other constructs like empathy. Key words: aggression, executive functioning, children and ‘Minder Boos en Opstandig’.Show less
This study has examined the influence of sensitivity of the mother and self-regulation of the child on a) the physiological stress reactivity of the child and b) the temperamental reactivity of the...Show moreThis study has examined the influence of sensitivity of the mother and self-regulation of the child on a) the physiological stress reactivity of the child and b) the temperamental reactivity of the child. The goal of this research was to gain more understanding of the factors that influence stress reactivity. Method: The sample of the research consisted of 175 mothers and their offspring. The children were examined at the age of 12 months. The Lab TAB Robot task was used to measure the temperamental reactivity and self-regulation of the child and the Still Face Paradigm (SFP) measured sensitivity of the mother. Physiological stress reactivity of the child was measured using VU-AMS. Results: This research showed a significant difference between temperamental reactivity and sensitivity of the mother. There were no further significant differences. Discussion: Children of mothers who were more sensitive, had a higher temperamental reactivity, than children of mothers who were less sensitive.Show less
Physical aggression occurs already at age of twelve months and although most children learn to regulate their behavior, in some children the aggressive behavior exists until adulthood. Little is...Show morePhysical aggression occurs already at age of twelve months and although most children learn to regulate their behavior, in some children the aggressive behavior exists until adulthood. Little is known about the causes of persistence of aggressive behavior in children. Some studies with mostly older participants found a correlation with stress reactivity. Therefore in this study the correlation between physiological response (pre-ejection period and heart rate), behavioral response (intensity of facial fear, intensity of distress vocalizations and intensity of bodily fear) and self-regulation (self/object engagement and attention to the researcher) will be examined in relation to aggressive behavior in twelve-months-old children (N = 71). Mother and child visited the Leiden University and child’s behavior during the Fear task, a stressful task in which a robot enters the room and walks to the child while the child sits in a seat, was video-taped. Child’s physiology was recorded with the help of the Vrije Universiteit Ambulatory Monitoring System (VU-AMS). Mothers filled out the Cardiff Infant Contentiousness Scale (CICS) and The Physical Aggression Scale for Early Childhood (PASEC) for measuring the degree of aggressive behavior. A significant positive correlation between heart rate and behavior response was found. No significant correlation was found between pre-ejection period and behavioral response, nor between physiology, behavioral response and self-regulation. Aggressive behavior couldn’t be forecasted by physiology, behavioral response and self-regulation. These results are discussed en recommendations are done in context of further research on stress reactivity, development of self-regulation and aggression.Show less
