Low autonomic arousal, as measured through resting heart rate, has been shown to be one of the best-replicated biological correlates of antisocial and aggressive behaviour. According to the stimulation seeking theory, low arousal represents an unpleasant physiological state. In line with this theory, antisocial individuals purposely engage in antisocial and aggressive acts in an attempt to increase stimulation and achieve more agreeable arousal levels. If, as the stimulation seeking theory suggests, the function of antisocial behaviour is to increase physiological arousal levels, exposing antisocial individuals to functionally equivalent forms of arousing situations (e.g., aerobic exercise) should result in a reduction in aberrant conduct. Although a growing body of literature indicates that antecedent exercise is effective at reducing antisocial and aggressive behaviours, the present investigation sets out to explore two fundamental questions about this approach that remain unclear. First, there is a paucity of research examining the temporal effects of antecedent exercise. Secondly, little is known about the mechanism of action accounting for behavioural improvements following exercise. The present investigation involved 4 students (age range 11-14) enrolled in a closed behavioural classroom due to severe aggressive, disruptive, and oppositional behaviours. Through the use of an alternating treatment design with baseline, students were first exposed to baseline conditions and then to two experimental conditions, (i.e., an antecedent exercise condition and a control condition) in a randomized fashion. Results indicated that 30 minutes of moderate to intense aerobic exercise resulted in approximately 90 minutes of behavioural improvements. In addition, results suggest an inverse relationship between arousal levels and behavioural difficulties. The potential utility of antecedent exercise as a treatment alternative in schools for students with severe antisocial behaviours is discussed.

Low autonomic arousal, as measured through resting heart rate, has been shown to be one of the best-replicated biological correlates of antisocial and aggressive behaviour. According to the stimulation seeking theory, low arousal represents an unpleasant physiological state. In line with this theory, antisocial individuals purposely engage in antisocial and aggressive acts in an attempt to increase stimulation and achieve more agreeable arousal levels. If, as the stimulation seeking theory suggests, the function of antisocial behaviour is to increase physiological arousal levels, exposing antisocial individuals to functionally equivalent forms of arousing situations (e.g., aerobic exercise) should result in a reduction in aberrant conduct. Although a growing body of literature indicates that antecedent exercise is effective at reducing antisocial and aggressive behaviours, the present investigation sets out to explore two fundamental questions about this approach that remain unclear. First, there is a paucity of research examining the temporal effects of antecedent exercise. Secondly, little is known about the mechanism of action accounting for behavioural improvements following exercise. The present investigation involved 4 students (age range 11-14) enrolled in a closed behavioural classroom due to severe aggressive, disruptive, and oppositional behaviours. Through the use of an alternating treatment design with baseline, students were first exposed to baseline conditions and then to two experimental conditions, (i.e., an antecedent exercise condition and a control condition) in a randomized fashion. Results indicated that 30 minutes of moderate to intense aerobic exercise resulted in approximately 90 minutes of behavioural improvements. In addition, results suggest an inverse relationship between arousal levels and behavioural difficulties. The potential utility of antecedent exercise as a treatment alternative in schools for students with severe antisocial behaviours is discussed.

The purpose of the current study was to examine the mediating role of social problem solving skills in explaining the relationship between early aggression and later behavior problems. Additionally, the moderational role of social problem solving skills was also examined. The criteria proposed by Baron and Kenny (1986) and Holmbeck (1997) were followed to test the mediational and the moderational models. Regression analyses were conducted to examine the relationship between early aggression and social problem solving skills, social problem solving skills and later behavior problems, and early aggression and later behavior problems. Results indicated that social problem solving skills do not mediate the relationship between early aggression and later behavior problems. However, social problem solving skills do moderate this relationship. Further, it was the number of categories generated as opposed to the number of solutions that was the better predictor. The clinical and theoretical implications of these findings are discussed. / Master of Science

This thesis argues for the power of story and, in particular, the story of The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien to help build optimism and hope. The Hobbit is under-used in primary schools and this thesis demonstrates that it is eminently suitable for children. Without imagination children are vulnerable to sadness and despair. The positive development of imagination through heroic tales is likely to benefit children emotionally and psychologically. The story of The Hobbit can be utilised to develop the concept of the Hero's Journey, a persistent trope in oral and recorded literature and an archetype for virtually all human experience. In addition, the thesis shows that critical thinking skills and multiple intelligences can be developed through the use of The Hobbit. Depression in young people is now recognised as a serious public health problem in Australia. Research supports the view that children need optimism. This thesis discusses statistics regarding the increased prevalence of childhood depression and aggression as well as alarming youth suicide reports. The inquiry by the Victorian Parliament into the effects of television violence on children is examined and the scholarly works of Neil Postman, inter alia, are discussed to establish the overall pattern of positive association between television violence and aggression in children. Furthermore, the contention that many contemporary realistic texts do little to promote hopefulness in the young is supported with the opinions of scholars who are respected in the field of children’s literature. Tolkien was a devout Catholic but, even more importantly, he was able to restate traditional values through his imaginative works of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. This has relevance for Catholic educators who strive to relate Gospel values to popular culture. Christian education must extend imagination beyond morality to help young people to find meaning and purpose in their lives. Through the use of The Hobbit and other books of this kind, children can begin to learn not to fear change, failure or setbacks but to see them as important challenges and opportunities for personal growth. This thesis argues for the likely value of a continuum of this type of learning that begins in early childhood, in order to provide a

Reviews summarizing hundreds of studies cite Parent Management Training (PMT) and Cognitive-Behaviour Therapy (CBT) as some of the most effective interventions for aggressive youth (e.g., Brestan and Eyberg, 1998). However, variability in outcomes persists, and we have yet to understand why certain interventions only produce behaviour change in some children. Using a clinical sample of 57 children (53 boys, 4 girls) and their mothers enrolled in a combined PMT/CBT program, the current study examined the relation between changes in real-time parent-child interactions, and children’s externalizing outcomes from pre- to post-treatment. Results showed that dyads who were regulated in their interactions over time reported greater reductions in externalizing symptoms from pre- to post-treatment compared to dysregulated dyads. Changes in mean levels of affective content (e.g., negativity) were not associated with aggressive outcomes. Findings suggest that dyadic regulation may be an important process associated with treatment success for aggressive youth.

Reviews summarizing hundreds of studies cite Parent Management Training (PMT) and Cognitive-Behaviour Therapy (CBT) as some of the most effective interventions for aggressive youth (e.g., Brestan and Eyberg, 1998). However, variability in outcomes persists, and we have yet to understand why certain interventions only produce behaviour change in some children. Using a clinical sample of 57 children (53 boys, 4 girls) and their mothers enrolled in a combined PMT/CBT program, the current study examined the relation between changes in real-time parent-child interactions, and children’s externalizing outcomes from pre- to post-treatment. Results showed that dyads who were regulated in their interactions over time reported greater reductions in externalizing symptoms from pre- to post-treatment compared to dysregulated dyads. Changes in mean levels of affective content (e.g., negativity) were not associated with aggressive outcomes. Findings suggest that dyadic regulation may be an important process associated with treatment success for aggressive youth.

Early behavior problems, such as childhood aggression, emerge in the second year of life and decrease prior to school entry for typically developing children. However, some children show frequent and persistent aggression and may be at risk for subsequent difficulties that lead to poor school and life outcomes. The current study aimed to identify aggression patterns in children from toddlerhood to early adolescence for boys and girls together and separately. This study also explored early influences on aggressive behaviors at age two, such as mothers’ parenting behaviors, cumulative family risk, and early child characteristics. A range of difficulties in early adolescence were investigated, including poor social skills, low academic success, internalizing problems (e.g., depression and anxiety), and delinquent behaviors. Data from a previous study of 3,000 families and children, the Early Head Start Research and Evaluation longitudinal study, which followed families and children from infancy to early adolescence were examined. Four aggression patterns were found, characterized by changes over time in the amount of aggressive behaviors exhibited, applicable to both boys and girls: low-stable, moderate-decreasing, moderate-increasing, and high-stable. Early parenting and development during toddlerhood discriminated these distinctive aggression patterns. Compared with children in the low-stable group, boys in the moderate-decreasing and high-stable groups, and girls in the high-stable group were less likely to have mothers using positive parenting behaviors. Boys in the moderate-decreasing group and girls in the high-stable group were more likely to show delayed language development. Boys in the moderate-decreasing and high-stable groups were more likely to indicate poor emotional regulation. Moreover, compared with children in the low-stable group, those in the moderate-decreasing, moderate-increasing, or high-stable groups tended to show difficulties in early adolescence, such as lack of social skills, lower academic success, more internalizing problems, and delinquent behaviors. Altogether, young children exhibiting high levels of aggression over time were at the highest risk for later social, behavioral, and academic problems when, at age two, they had mothers with less positive parenting behaviors or when they showed poor language development or poor emotional regulation.

The purpose of this study was to examine the potentially unique roles that parental use of two psychological control dimensions, shame and disappointment, play in predicting children's relational and physical aggression. It was additionally of interest to investigate whether warm/involved parenting would moderate the effects of these forms of psychological control on both types of childhood aggression. Based on a review of literature, it was hypothesized that parental use of shame would positively predict aggression in children, whereas parental use of disappointment would not be significantly associated with childhood aggression. Additionally, it was hypothesized that warm, involved parenting would have varied interactions with shaming and disappointment. Specifically, it was expected that warmth and involvement would exacerbate the aversive affects of shaming (leading to more child relational aggression), but that warmth and involvement would enhance the effect of disappointment to curtail relationally aggressive behavior. The participants were 217 fourth grade children (100 boys, 117 girls) and their parents (184 fathers, 216 mothers) from two school districts in an urban, moderate-sized community in the Western United States. Separate regression models were conducted for pairs of psychologically controlling and positive parenting dimensions in order to test for the main effects of the variables and also potential interaction effects. Additionally, this study explored the interactions between warm/involved parenting and shame and disappointment as they affected childhood aggression. To a large extent, the hypotheses were confirmed. In line with expectations, parental use of shame was significantly and positively associated with both physical and relational aggression, whereas disappointment was not. Interestingly, mothers' use of shaming significantly predicted relational aggression in all models for both boys and girls, whereas physical aggression was predicted only twice, once in the mother-son dyad and once in the father-daughter dyad. Two forms of warmth and involvement emerged in exploratory factor analysis: expressive warmth and supportive involvement. These positive parenting dimensions demonstrated very few main effects and only one significant moderating effect, which was on the relationship between shame and physical aggression. Specifically, post hoc analysis showed that fathers' use of shaming significantly and positively predicted boys' physical aggression only when supportive involvement was low. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.

Identification of aggression in Junior Primary school learners often becomes a difficult task due to the lack of appropriate measuring instruments. The assessment instruments used presently are unable to identify the subtypes of aggression. In order to address this limitation in the field of aggression, the present investigation was undertaken. A literature study was done where the concept aggression was defined and the relationship and differences between the subtypes of aggression (physical, verbal, reactive and proactive aggression) were examined. The factors that relate to aggression, namely, biological, personality, environmental and social, parental influence, frustration and media influences were identified. A reliable measuring instrument was developed to identify the four main subtypes of aggression in junior primary learners. The results of the empirical investigation indicated that there were significant positive correlations between the subtypes of aggression. Gender and intellectual potential do not appear to have a significant bearing on childhood aggression. The educational implications of the findings are discussed and guidelines regarding treatment of childhood aggression are given for both educators and parents. / Education Studies / M.Ed.

Identification of aggression in Junior Primary school learners often becomes a difficult task due to the lack of appropriate measuring instruments. The assessment instruments used presently are unable to identify the subtypes of aggression. In order to address this limitation in the field of aggression, the present investigation was undertaken. A literature study was done where the concept aggression was defined and the relationship and differences between the subtypes of aggression (physical, verbal, reactive and proactive aggression) were examined. The factors that relate to aggression, namely, biological, personality, environmental and social, parental influence, frustration and media influences were identified. A reliable measuring instrument was developed to identify the four main subtypes of aggression in junior primary learners. The results of the empirical investigation indicated that there were significant positive correlations between the subtypes of aggression. Gender and intellectual potential do not appear to have a significant bearing on childhood aggression. The educational implications of the findings are discussed and guidelines regarding treatment of childhood aggression are given for both educators and parents. / Education Studies / M.Ed.