Reviewing and analyzing aggressive behavior from 4 articles

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Abstract
Four journal articles were examined to look at possible sources and treatment of aggressive behaviors. In "Individualism, Collectivism, and Chinese Adolescents'Aggression: Intracultural Variations" by Yan Li, et.al. a cross-cultural values were examined to look at how aggression is viewed throughout different cultures. Another article is "Covariation of Self- and Other-Directed Aggression Among Inpatient Youth: Continuity in the Transition to Treatment and Shared Risk Factors" by Paul Boxer that was a study on aggression in high-risk youth while in-patients receiving treatment. "Does controlling for comorbidity matter? DSM-oriented scales and violent offending in chicago youth" by Denise Paquette Boots and Jennifer Wareham. 2009. The last article is Subtyping aggression in children and adolescents by B. Vitiello, et al., 1990.

Intro
Aggression is the act of initiating hostilities or invasion; Hostile or destructive behavior or actions (dictionary.com). Other terms are violent, anger, hostile, volatile, combative, and assault. To understand aggression is to first understand what it looks like, where it comes from, and then possible treatments for it. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV), the book used by psychologist and psychiatrist to define, evaluate, and diagnosis mental disorders, list aggression as both a valid biological and environmental based disorder. There are disorders that include aggression in both adults and children. The main focus of these articles is trying to analyze, search, and understand where aggressive behavior comes from and possible treatments.

"Individualism, Collectivism, and Chinese Adolescents'Aggression: Intracultural Variations"
Different cultures define and view aggression differently. A culture's values and beliefs system dictates their reaction to aggression, in both youths and adults. This study employs an intracultural framework to examine the potential mechanisms that link cultural values to adolescent aggression (Li, 2010). Cultural sensitivity and awareness are key elements when examining a culture's values. When that awareness is missing then important aspects get overlooked. One major overlooked aspect is the investigation of intracultural variations of cultural values, which may contribute to our understanding of explaining factors for individual differences in aggression within a particular culture (Li, 2010). Li, et al, looked at the difference between individualism and collectivism in relation to aggression in Chinese adolescents. Individualism is the belief in the primary importance of the individual and in the virtues of self-reliance and personal independence, where as collectivism sees the principles or system of ownership and control of the means of production and distribution by the people collectively, usually under the supervision of a government (dictionary.com).

Individualism emphasizes the independence from groups/collectives (e.g., family, class), whereas collectivism emphasizes the interdependence of individuals. The individualistic and collectivistic values can be distinguished with different attributes [e.g., the priority of personal goals vs. in-group goals] (Triandis, 1995). Li, et al, they found that individualism positively related to peer-directed aggression, whereas collectivism and conservatism negatively related to aggression. Little attention has been given to the variations of cultural values within cultures. Diverse ethnic and cultural groups are often present within a nation, and thus great individual variations in the endorsement of cultural values within a nation may be observed (Fiske, 2002). An important take-off from that is the fact there is a large Chinese culture population in America, and if they view American collectivism vales or Chinese. Also it helps to better understand American adolescents who may be drawn between individualistic and collectivistic values.

In light of the research on different forms of aggression, both overt (e.g., physical and verbal aggression) and relational (e.g., social manipulations, malicious gossips) aggression were included in this study. The study showed there is a higher correlation between adolescents with collectivistic values and display overt aggressive behaviors. Where as a positive relationship was shown between those students with individualistic values and overt aggression. Similar were the results of the relationship between the two values and relational aggression. With an individualistic orientation, aggression may be seen as a more acceptable means to win competitions and to achieve self-reliance, whereas it may be seen as more of a disruptive conduct by individuals with a collectivistic orientation. In addition, because group harmony is expected in collectivistic cultures, overt aggression may be seen as a threat to harmony, and thus highly discouraged by individuals with a strong collectivistic orientation (Bond, 2004; Triandis, 1989). Peer-pressure and social status are good explanations on the negative collectivistic impact.

Two major approaches have been employed in ...