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Psychology

Aggression

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

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Evaluating The Effectiveness Of A Community-Based Youth Non-Profit Organization At Increasing Prosocial Behavior And Decreasing Antisocial Behavior Among Young Boys: A Pilot Study, Molly A. Miller Dec 2019

Evaluating The Effectiveness Of A Community-Based Youth Non-Profit Organization At Increasing Prosocial Behavior And Decreasing Antisocial Behavior Among Young Boys: A Pilot Study, Molly A. Miller

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Community-based youth non-profit organizations (NPOs) have become increasingly popular for the provision of youth prevention and intervention services, yet many youth NPOs lack the resources to undergo formal evaluation. Further, most existing program evaluations do not consider individual characteristics of the child or the child’s exposure to stressors. The current pilot study sought to evaluate the extent to which boys participated in 1:1 mentoring and other program activities at the Son of a Saint (SOAS) NPO, an organization seeking to provide positive male role models for fatherless young boys. In addition, the current study examined the effects of program involvement …


If It Feels Good, View It: Selective Exposure And Desensitization Moderate The Association Between Video Gameplay And Pleasure-Oriented Aggression, Mejdy M. Jabr Dec 2016

If It Feels Good, View It: Selective Exposure And Desensitization Moderate The Association Between Video Gameplay And Pleasure-Oriented Aggression, Mejdy M. Jabr

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

A number of studies have indicated that violent video gameplay is associated with higher levels of aggression, and desensitization to violent content contributes to this association. Utilizing a rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP) task, the current study used event-related potentials (ERPs) to investigate selective attention (N1 activation), cognitive control (N2 activation), and desensitization (P3 activation) as neurocognitive mechanisms potentially underlying the association between gameplay and subtypes of aggression. Results showed video game players and non-players differed significantly in brain activation when engaged with violent imagery. N1 and P3 amplitude moderated the association between gameplay and pleasure-oriented aggression. Follow-up analyses further …


Neural Mechanisms Of Action Switching Moderate The Relationship Between Effortful Control And Aggression, Eric L. Rawls Aug 2016

Neural Mechanisms Of Action Switching Moderate The Relationship Between Effortful Control And Aggression, Eric L. Rawls

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Aggression and violence are social behaviors that exact a significant toll on human societies. Individuals with aggressive tendencies display deficits in effortful control, particularly in affectively charged situations. However, not all individuals with poor effortful control are aggressive. This study uses event-related potentials (ERPs) to decompose the chronology of cognitive functions underlying the link between effortful control and aggression. Specifically, this study investigates which ERPs moderate the effortful control - aggression association. We examined three successive ERP components (P2, N2 and P3) for stimuli that required effortful control. Results indicated that N2 activation, but not P2 or P3 activation, moderated …


Differential Styles Of Emotional Reactivity And Antisocial Behavior Relative To Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Symptom Expression In Detained Youth, Molly A. Miller May 2016

Differential Styles Of Emotional Reactivity And Antisocial Behavior Relative To Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Symptom Expression In Detained Youth, Molly A. Miller

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

This study sought to explore whether PTSD symptoms in detained adolescents were differentially related to high and low patterns of emotional reactivity, as determined based on callous-unemotional (CU) traits and emotion dysregulation. Analyses revealed four distinct groups based on these criteria: a low/no trauma control group with few PTSD symptoms, and three groups whose PTSD symptoms were distinguished by symptoms of emotional numbing. The study sought to determine whether these profiles were related to distinct patterns of aggression and delinquency. Results revealed that the low/no PTSD symptom group exhibited the least aggression and delinquency. Further, results indicated that higher CU …


Model Of Maladaptive Control: Understanding The Link Between Parents’ Psychological Control And Youth Aggression Problems, Genevieve E. Lapre Aug 2015

Model Of Maladaptive Control: Understanding The Link Between Parents’ Psychological Control And Youth Aggression Problems, Genevieve E. Lapre

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Research shows that parental psychological control is associated with youth aggression in peer relationships. This includes various aggression roles (aggression and victimization), forms (overt and relational), and functions (proactive and reactive). The current study examined the role of two youth individual traits, Machiavellianism and dysregulation, in the association between psychological control and youth aggression. A sample of 142 participants (age M = 15.4, SD = 1.13, 93% male, 82% African-American) were recruited from several juvenile detention facilities in Louisiana. Participants completed a battery of questionnaires, including self-reports of Machiavellianism, dysregulation, aggression, victimization, and parental psychological control. Bootstrap analyses indicated youth …


The Predictive Utility Of Emotional Deficits And Callous-Unemotional Traits For Important Antisocial Outcomes In Juvenile Justice-Involved Youth, Laura C. Thornton Aug 2015

The Predictive Utility Of Emotional Deficits And Callous-Unemotional Traits For Important Antisocial Outcomes In Juvenile Justice-Involved Youth, Laura C. Thornton

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

The current study investigated the predictive utility of callous-unemotional (CU) traits and emotional facilitation to distress (EFD) for multiple antisocial outcomes in a sample of juvenile justice-involved males. Although CU traits and EFD did not generally interact to predict antisocial outcomes, CU traits were a consistent predictor of total, proactive, and reactive forms of aggression over 18 months. Similarly, CU traits and time interacted to predict total and violent self-reported offending, such that CU traits were positively associated with both outcomes, but this association weakened over the 18 month timeframe. Racial and ethnic differences only emerged for the prediction of …


The Structure Of Child And Adolescent Aggression: Confirmatory Factor Analysis Of A Brief Peer Conflict Scale, Justin Russell Aug 2014

The Structure Of Child And Adolescent Aggression: Confirmatory Factor Analysis Of A Brief Peer Conflict Scale, Justin Russell

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

The importance of simultaneous consideration of forms and functions in youth measures of aggressive behavior is well established. Competing models have presented these highly interrelated constructs as either independent (e.g., reactive or overt) or paired factors (e.g., reactive and overt). The current study examines these models in the context of assessing the viability of a new self-report measure, the Peer Conflict Scale – 20 Item Version. Confirmatory factor analyses were conducted on PCS 20 responses from 1,048 school-age youth living in the Gulf Coast region. Both models significantly improved upon one or two-factor alternatives, and demonstrated partial invariance across gender …


Hostile Attributional Bias In Aggression And Anxiety: The Role Of Perceived Provocateur Motivation, Melissa M. Kunimatsu Dec 2013

Hostile Attributional Bias In Aggression And Anxiety: The Role Of Perceived Provocateur Motivation, Melissa M. Kunimatsu

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Although internalizing and externalizing problems are often considered in isolation from one another, the frequently co-occur in individuals leading to unique behavior profiles. The current study examined the associations between the forms, functions, and subtypes of aggression, anxiety, hostile attributional bias (HAB), and perceived (proactive or reactive) provocateur motivation in a sample of youth (mean age = 13.84 years, 51% male, 37.5% Caucasian). Results indicated that only reactive relational aggression significantly predicted anxiety, while relational and reactive aggression did not. HAB was not significantly associated with either anxiety or any type of aggression. Perceived proactive provocateur motivation was significantly associated …


The Association Between Hostile Attribution Bias, Social Intelligence, And Relational Aggression In Detained Boys, Gregory M. Fassnacht Dec 2013

The Association Between Hostile Attribution Bias, Social Intelligence, And Relational Aggression In Detained Boys, Gregory M. Fassnacht

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Research on factors that contribute to the forms and functions of aggression (reactive, proactive, relational, and overt) is important for informing intervention efforts with aggressive youth. Previous research shows that aggressive youth often have cognitive and social deficits associated with their aggressive behavior. For example, aggressive youth may exhibit deficits in social variables such as social intelligence (i.e., the understanding of behaviors of people and ability to predict outcomes of situations). Hypothetically, this lack of social intelligence may be related to how youth interpret social situations, and could conceivably lead to hostile attributional bias, or the tendency to interpret ambiguous …