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Precursors to aggression are evident by 6 months of age

Dale F Hay1, Cerith S Waters, Oliver Perra

  • 1School of Psychology, Cardiff University, UK.

Developmental Science
|March 12, 2014
PubMed

Insights

Early signs of aggression in infants, including anger and biting, are stable and predict future conduct problems. These developmental precursors to aggression appear by six months of age.

Area of Science:

  • Developmental Psychology
  • Child Psychiatry

Background:

  • Aggression is a significant concern in child development.
  • Identifying early precursors to aggression is crucial for timely intervention.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To test the hypothesis that developmental precursors to aggression are present in infancy.
  • To examine the stability and predictive validity of early aggressive behaviors.

Main Methods:

  • Longitudinal study of 301 firstborn infants, assessed at 6 months and toddlerhood.
  • Informant ratings (parents) and direct observations were used to measure anger, hitting, and biting.
  • Association with known risk factors for aggressiveness was examined.

Main Results:

  • Early precursor behaviors were significantly associated with known risk factors for high aggressiveness.
  • Individual differences in these behaviors were stable from infancy to age three.
  • These behaviors predicted broader conduct problems in toddlerhood.

Conclusions:

  • Developmental precursors to aggression are apparent in infancy, by as early as 6 months of age.
  • These findings have implications for early detection, prevention, and intervention strategies for aggression.
  • Early identification of aggressive trajectories can inform developmental and clinical research.

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