Crombach Anselm, Elbert Thomas
Department of Psychology, University of Konstanz, Box D23, 78457 Konstanz, Germany; Department of Psychology, University Lumière of Bujumbura, Burundi; Vivo International e.V., Germany(1).
Child Abuse Negl. 2014 Jun;38(6):1041-50. doi: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2013.12.003. Epub 2014 Jan 7.
Aggressive behavior in children and youths is commonly associated with exposure to violence and maltreatment. Consequently, aggressive behavior has often been explained as a form of reactive behavior in response to violence-inflicted mental suffering. However, perpetrating violence can become appealing, fascinating and exciting, i.e., may acquire appetitive, self-rewarding aspects. We postulated that this appetitive form of aggression reduces the vulnerability for developing Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in insecure and violent environments. Furthermore we investigated the extent to which reactive aggression and appetitive aggression account for recent violent behavior in children and youths. We conducted semi-structured interviews in a sample of 112 children and youths (Mage=15.9 years) recruited from the streets, families and a residential center for vulnerable children in Burundi. We investigated the cumulative exposure to traumatic events and to domestic and community violence, assessed the recently committed offenses, the severity of PTSD symptoms, and the potential for reactive and appetitive aggression. Reactive aggression was positively related to PTSD, whilst appetitive aggression was negatively related to PTSD. Children higher in appetitive aggression were also more likely to display violent behavior. These results suggest that an appetitive perception of violence may be an useful adaption to insecure and violent living conditions reducing the vulnerability of children for trauma-related mental disorders. However, positive feelings experienced through violent or cruel behavior are also an important risk factor for ongoing aggressive behavior and therefore need to be considered in prevention strategies.
儿童和青少年的攻击性行为通常与接触暴力和虐待有关。因此，攻击性行为常被解释为对暴力所致精神痛苦的一种反应性行为。然而，实施暴力可能会变得有吸引力、令人着迷且兴奋，也就是说，可能会具有欲望性、自我奖励的方面。我们推测，这种欲望性攻击形式会降低在不安全和暴力环境中患创伤后应激障碍（PTSD）的易感性。此外，我们还研究了反应性攻击和欲望性攻击在多大程度上解释了儿童和青少年近期的暴力行为。我们对从布隆迪街头、家庭和一个弱势儿童寄宿中心招募的112名儿童和青少年（平均年龄=15.9岁）进行了半结构化访谈。我们调查了对创伤事件以及家庭和社区暴力的累积接触情况，评估了近期实施的犯罪、PTSD症状的严重程度以及反应性和欲望性攻击的可能性。反应性攻击与PTSD呈正相关，而欲望性攻击与PTSD呈负相关。欲望性攻击程度较高的儿童也更有可能表现出暴力行为。这些结果表明，对暴力的欲望性认知可能是对不安全和暴力生活条件的一种有益适应，可降低儿童患创伤相关精神障碍的易感性。然而，通过暴力或残忍行为体验到的积极情绪也是持续攻击性行为的一个重要风险因素，因此在预防策略中需要加以考虑。
