Aggression

Peer aggression is intentional behavior that harms or threatens to harm another person. Although aggression is quite common among children and adolescents, involvement in aggression predicts maladaptive outcomes for both the perpetrators and the [Page 55]victims. For instance, early aggression is associated with poor psychosocial adjustment, involvement in the legal system, and substance use in adolescence and adulthood. Peer victimization is associated with a range of internalizing symptoms (e.g., depression), poor academic outcomes, and substance use.

Children and adolescents with intellectual and developmental disabilities may be at particular risk for aggression and victimization because of characteristics associated with their disabilities, such as impulsivity, underdeveloped social skills, low frustration tolerance, and anxiety. This entry briefly describes subtypes of aggression as well as prevalence of and risk factors ...