Editing Aggression (section)

===Children===
The frequency of physical aggression in humans peaks at around 2–3 years of age. It then declines gradually on average.<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1080/016502500383232 |title=The development of aggressive behaviour during childhood: What have we learned in the past century? |journal=International Journal of Behavioral Development |volume=24 |issue=2 |pages=129–41 |year=2000 |last1=Tremblay |first1=Richard E. |citeseerx=10.1.1.487.7070 |s2cid=145617291 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1111/j.1467-8624.2004.00755.x |pmid=15369529 |title=Developmental Trajectories of Externalizing Behaviors in Childhood and Adolescence |journal=Child Development |volume=75 |issue=5 |pages=1523–37 |year=2004 |last1=Bongers |first1=Ilja L. |last2=Koot |first2=Hans M. |last3=Van Der Ende |first3=Jan |last4=Verhulst |first4=Frank C. |s2cid=12514300 |url=https://research.vu.nl/en/publications/a99fc7fa-b013-4b5c-99d9-1586ea705856 }}</ref> These observations suggest that physical aggression is not only a learned behavior but that development provides opportunities for the learning and biological development of self-regulation. However, a small subset of children fail to acquire all the necessary self-regulatory abilities and tend to show atypical levels of physical aggression across development. They may be at risk for later violent behavior or, conversely, lack of aggression that may be considered necessary within society.

However, some findings suggest that early aggression does not necessarily lead to aggression later on, although the course through early childhood is an important predictor of outcomes in middle childhood. In addition, physical aggression that continues is likely occurring in the context of family adversity, including socioeconomic factors. Moreover, 'opposition' and 'status violations' in childhood appear to be more strongly linked to social problems in adulthood than simply aggressive antisocial behavior.<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1111/j.0037-976X.2004.00312.x |pmid=15667346 |journal=Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development |volume=69 |issue=4 |pages=vii, 1–129 |year=2004 |author1=NICHD Early Child Care Research Network. |title=Trajectories of physical aggression from toddlerhood to middle childhood: Predictors, correlates, and outcomes |doi-broken-date=11 January 2025 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1017/S0033291707002309 |pmid=18047767 |title=Predicting young adult social functioning from developmental trajectories of externalizing behaviour |journal=Psychological Medicine |volume=38 |issue=7 |pages=989–99 |year=2007 |last1=Bongers |first1=I. L. |last2=Koot |first2=H. M. |last3=Van Der Ende |first3=J. |last4=Verhulst |first4=F. C. |citeseerx=10.1.1.572.4309 |s2cid=6218999 }}</ref> Social learning through interactions in early childhood has been seen as a building block for levels of aggression which play a crucial role in the development of peer relationships in middle childhood.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Schellenberg |first=R. |year=2000 |title=Aggressive personality: When does it develop and why? |journal=Virginia Counselors Journal | volume=26 |pages=67–76 }}</ref> Overall, an interplay of biological, social and environmental factors can be considered.<ref>{{cite book |editor=Tremblay, Richard E |editor2=Hartup, Willard W. |editor3=Archer, John |year=2005 |title=Developmental Origins of Aggression |location=New York |publisher=The Guilford Press |isbn=978-1-59385-110-1|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XmSfJEl2v4sC}}</ref> Some research indicates that changes in the weather can increase the likelihood of children exhibiting deviant behavior.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Dabb|first1=C|title=The relationship between weather and children's behavior: a study of teacher perceptions|url = https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3651&context=etd|publisher = USU Thesis|date=May 1997}}</ref>

====Typical expectations====
* Young children preparing to enter kindergarten need to develop the socially important skill of being [[assertive]]. Examples of assertiveness include asking others for information, initiating conversation, or being able to respond to [[peer pressure]].
* In contrast, some young children use aggressive behavior, such as hitting or biting, as a form of communication.
* Aggressive behavior can impede learning as a skill deficit, while assertive behavior can facilitate learning. However, with young children, aggressive behavior is developmentally appropriate and can lead to opportunities of building conflict resolution and communication skills.
* By school age, children should learn more socially appropriate forms of communicating such as expressing themselves through verbal or written language; if they have not, this behavior may signify a disability or developmental delay.

====Aggression triggers====
* [[Phobia|Physical fear of others]]
* [[Dysfunctional family|Family difficulties]]
* [[learning disorder|Learning]], [[neurological disorder|neurological]], or [[conduct disorder|conduct/behavior disorders]]
* [[Psychological trauma]]

The [[Bobo doll experiment]] was conducted by Albert Bandura in 1961. In this work, Bandura found that children exposed to an aggressive adult model acted more aggressively than those who were exposed to a nonaggressive adult model. This experiment suggests that anyone who comes in contact with and interacts with children can affect the way they react and handle situations.<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1037/h0045925 |title=Transmission of aggression through imitation of aggressive models |journal=The Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology |volume=63 |issue=3 |pages=575–82 |year=1961 |last1=Bandura |first1=Albert |last2=Ross |first2=Dorothea |last3=Ross |first3=Sheila A. |s2cid=18361226 |pmid=13864605}}</ref>

;Summary points from recommendations by national associations:
* [[American Academy of Pediatrics]] (2011): "The best way to prevent aggressive behavior is to give your child a stable, secure home life with firm, loving discipline and full-time supervision during the toddler and preschool years. Everyone who cares for your child should be a good role model and agree on the rules he's expected to observe as well as the response to use if he disobeys."<ref>American Academy of Pediatrics (2011) [http://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/toddler/Pages/Aggressive-Behavior.aspx Ages & Stages: Aggressive Behavior] HealthChildren.org, retrieved January 2012</ref>
* [[National Association of School Psychologists]] (2008): "Proactive aggression is typically reasoned, unemotional, and focused on acquiring some goal. For example, a bully wants peer approval and victim submission, and gang members want status and control. In contrast, reactive aggression is frequently highly emotional and is often the result of biased or deficient cognitive processing on the part of the student."<ref>National Association of School Psychologists (2008) [https://web.archive.org/web/20101205043644/http://www.nasponline.org/resources/principals/Angry%20and%20Aggressive%20Students-NASSP%20Jan%2008.pdf Angry and Aggressive Students]</ref>