Introduction
Aggression in toddlers is something which is not taken seriously as it is regarded as part of child development. At around two or three years of age, the massive majority of children displays a peak in their aggression level either as a consequence of lacking verbal abilities to express their feelings, or their augmented sense of autonomy or motor skills. As such, kids at that age use physical aggression as a tool of expression. During the period of preschool, a decline in physical aggression level is observed. Although a good subset of children shows this case, some children, however, continue to demonstrate a high degree of aggression and are at significant risk of developing persistent and chronic aggressive behavior pattern, which can further affect them in their adult life. As such, it essential for parents to know the extreme types of aggression in children, causes and their impacts on the behavior of children to help them understand the ways of treating or preventing it. Therefore, this paper focuses on addressing aggression in children regarding the definition of aggression, types, effects, and intervention.
Definition of Aggression and Types of Aggression in Children
Kempes, Matthys, Vries, and Van Engeland (2015) define aggression as behavior which intentionally aims to harm individuals or objects. In this context, harm means physically hurting a person for instance, by hitting or kicking, and other psychological forms of harm include humiliation. Even though toddlers tend to be aggressive as a way of expression defense, persistent aggression past a certain age in children’s life can be detrimental to their later life, and this is called extreme aggression. According to Raaijmakers (2008), children can mostly display two forms of aggression, namely, physical and verbal aggression. Physical aggression entails harming other people physical for example, by hitting, biting or kicking, while verbal aggression encompasses hurting other people with words, for instance, yelling or screaming. Kempes, Matthys, Vries, and Van Engeland (2015) asserts that children show two types of aggression; which is reactive and proactive types of aggression. In this context, reactive aggression refers to a response to an apparent provocation or threat whereas proactive aggression refers to behavior which expects a reward. For instance, children are frequently rewarded with consideration for their actions that are aggressive, which reinforces the aggressive responses even to situations which do not call for aggression. This type of behavior is called proactive aggression, and it can be learned in school or at home and children may believe it to be the best way of confronting a situation.
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Effects/impacts of Aggression in Children
If aggression in childhood is not adequately treated, it can result in a terrific amount of problems in the life of a growing child. As time passes, the aggressive behavior pattern may become more austere, and this may affect the adulthood life. As such, common impacts of extreme aggression in childhood include and not limited to an antisocial personality disorder, incarceration, delinquency, conduct behavior, deviant behaviors, social isolation, depression, reckless behavior and consequences, and self-harm among other effects. Many studies have investigated the impact of high levels of aggression in children and have documented various results similar to the ones above. For instance, research by Nagin and Tremblay (2009) which followed a group of six to fifteen-year-old children recorded that high aggressive behavior level in childhood is a strong predictor of antisocial behavior and delinquency later in life (Kempes, Matthys, Vries, & Van Engeland, 2015).
Intervention/Treatment
Intervention or treatment for aggression in children includes evidence-based training programs for parents, a triple P-positive program of parenting, child and child interaction therapy, parent management Oregon training, and incredible year’s program for parents. All these intervention programs help treat the conditions of extreme aggression before they become severe and cause negative impacts on children (Raaijmakers, 2008).
Conclusion
Extreme aggression in children can have negatively impacted their life, especially in adulthood if not treated in early childhood. Parents are supposed to recognize the age when aggressive behavior starts to be extreme and consult a physician for the help of their children because initial treatment may assist to reduce or even diminish such behaviors.
References
Kempes, M., Matthys, W., De Vries, H., & Van Engeland, H. (2005). Reactive and proactive aggression in children A review of theory, findings and the relevance for child and adolescent psychiatry. European child & adolescent psychiatry , 14 (1), 11-19.
Raaijmakers, M. A. J. (2008). Aggressive behaviour in preschool children. Neuropsychological correlates, costs of service use, and preventive efforts . Utrecht University.
