Bram Orobio de Castro

Hostile Attribution of Intent and Aggressive Behavior: A Meta-Analysis

A meta-analytic review was conducted to explain divergent findings on the relation between childrens aggressive behavior and hostile attribution of intent to peers. Forty-one studies with 6,017 participants were included in the analysis. Ten studies concerned representative samples from the general population, 24 studies compared nonaggressive to extremely aggressive nonreferred samples, and 7 studies compared nonreferred samples with children referred for aggressive behavior problems. A robust significant association between hostile attribution of intent and aggressive behavior was found. Effect sizes differed considerably between studies. Larger effects were associated with more severe aggressive behavior, rejection by peers as one of the selection criteria, inclusion of 8- to-12-year-old participants, and absence of control for intelligence. Video and picture presentation of stimuli were associated with smaller effect sizes than was audio presentation. Staging of actual social interactions was associated with the largest effects. The importance of understanding moderators of effect size for theory development is stressed.

Emotions in social information processing and their relations with reactive and proactive aggression in referred aggressive boys.

We studied emotional aspects of social information processing (SIP) and their specific relations with reactive and proactive aggression in 54 boys ages 7 to 13 who had been referred for aggressive behavior problems and a comparison group. Participants listened to vignettes concerning provocations by peers and answered questions concerning SIP, own and peers emotions, and emotion regulation. Aggressive boys attributed more hostile intent, happiness, and less guilt; reported more anger; mentioned less adaptive emotion-regulation strategies; generated more aggressive responses; and evaluated aggressive responses less negatively than comparison boys. Hypothesized specific relations with reactive and proactive aggression were found, except for emotion regulation that was negatively related with both kinds of aggression. Potentially confounding effects of socially desirable answering, verbal intelligence, and recall of vignettes were controlled for.

Effectiveness of the Incredible Years parent training to modify disruptive and prosocial child behavior: a meta-analytic review.

The present meta-analytic review examined effectiveness of the Incredible Years parent training (IYPT) regarding disruptive and prosocial child behavior, and aimed to explain variability in intervention outcomes. Fifty studies, in which an intervention group receiving the IYPT was compared to a comparison group immediately after intervention, were included in the analyses. Results showed that the IYPT is an effective intervention. Positive effects for distinct outcomes and distinct informants were found, including a mean effect size of d=.27 concerning disruptive child behavior across informants. For parental report, treatment studies were associated with larger effects (d=.50) than indicated (d=.20) and selective (d=.13) prevention studies. Furthermore, initial severity of child behavior revealed to be the strongest predictor of intervention effects, with larger effects for studies including more severe cases. Findings indicate that the IYPT is successful in improving child behavior in a diverse range of families, and that the parent program may be considered well-established.

Does Socioeconomic Status Matter? A Meta-Analysis on Parent Training Effectiveness for Disruptive Child Behavior

Disadvantaged family socioeconomic status (SES) is often assumed to diminish parent training program effectiveness. In examining effects of SES, influences of initial problem severity have been largely ignored. In the present meta-analysis, we examined (a) whether there is a differential influence of SES on parent training effectiveness at immediate posttreatment and at 1-year follow-up—controlling for levels of initial problem severity—and (b) whether SES interacts with initial problem severity in its effect on program effectiveness. Seventy-five studies on parent training program effectiveness to reduce disruptive child behavior were included. Separate analyses were conducted for immediate posttreatment and approximately 1-year follow-up assessments. Immediately posttreatment, disadvantaged samples benefited less from parent training, but only when they had low levels of initial problem severity. At follow-up, disadvantaged samples benefited less from parent training regardless of initial problem severity. Initial problem severity was a strong predictor of effect sizes both immediately posttreatment and at follow-up. Parent training programs are equally effective for disadvantaged and nondisadvantaged families immediately posttreatment, at least when initial problems are severe. Maintenance of treatment gain, however, seems harder for disadvantaged families, suggesting that more sustained family support may be needed.

Origins of narcissism in children

Significance Narcissistic individuals feel superior to others, fantasize about personal successes, and believe they deserve special treatment. When they feel humiliated, they often lash out aggressively or even violently. Unfortunately, little is known about the origins of narcissism. Such knowledge is important for designing interventions to curtail narcissistic development. We demonstrate that narcissism in children is cultivated by parental overvaluation: parents believing their child to be more special and more entitled than others. In contrast, high self-esteem in children is cultivated by parental warmth: parents expressing affection and appreciation toward their child. These findings show that narcissism is partly rooted in early socialization experiences, and suggest that parent-training interventions can help curtail narcissistic development and reduce its costs for society. Narcissism levels have been increasing among Western youth, and contribute to societal problems such as aggression and violence. The origins of narcissism, however, are not well understood. Here, we report, to our knowledge, the first prospective longitudinal evidence on the origins of narcissism in children. We compared two perspectives: social learning theory (positing that narcissism is cultivated by parental overvaluation) and psychoanalytic theory (positing that narcissism is cultivated by lack of parental warmth). We timed the study in late childhood (ages 7–12), when individual differences in narcissism first emerge. In four 6-mo waves, 565 children and their parents reported child narcissism, child self-esteem, parental overvaluation, and parental warmth. Four-wave cross-lagged panel models were conducted. Results support social learning theory and contradict psychoanalytic theory: Narcissism was predicted by parental overvaluation, not by lack of parental warmth. Thus, children seem to acquire narcissism, in part, by internalizing parents’ inflated views of them (e.g., “I am superior to others” and “I am entitled to privileges”). Attesting to the specificity of this finding, self-esteem was predicted by parental warmth, not by parental overvaluation. These findings uncover early socialization experiences that cultivate narcissism, and may inform interventions to curtail narcissistic development at an early age.

The distinction between reactive and proactive aggression: Utility for theory, diagnosis and treatment?

For theoretical, practical, and research purposes, aggression is often subdivided into subtypes. A frequently used distinction is that between reactive and proactive aggression. Reactively aggressive children behave aggressively in reaction to perceived provocation or threat. Proactively aggressive children behave aggressively to achieve particular goals. In this paper, the utility of distinguishing between reactive and proactive aggression is explored. Eight specific criteria are formulated for this purpose. Based on a review of the research to date, it is concluded that the distinction appears to be useful. Despite considerable overlap between the two subtypes of aggression, reactive and proactive aggression appear to constitute two separate forms of aggression with different precursors, correlates, outcomes, and indicated interventions. Suggestions for future research and further application of the distinction are discussed in the conclusion.

I like me if you like me: on the interpersonal modulation and regulation of preadolescents’ state self-esteem

This experiment tested whether peer approval and disapproval experiences can cause immediate change in childrens state self-esteem. Childrens narcissistic traits and evaluator perceived popularity were examined as potential moderators. A total of 333 preadolescents (M = 10.8 years) completed personal profiles on the Internet that were ostensibly judged by a jury consisting of popular and unpopular peers. Participants randomly received negative, neutral, or positive feedback from the jury. Next, they could examine the feedback that each individual judge gave them. As expected, peer disapproval decreased self-esteem, especially in children high in narcissism. In contrast, peer approval increased self-esteem. Moreover, disapproved childrens self-esteem recovery was dependent on the extent to which they subsequently viewed positive feedback from popular judges. These findings support sociometer theory.

Social Information Processing in delinquent adolescents

Abstract In this study, Social Information Processing (SIP) and behaviour problems of incarcerated juvenile delinquents and non-delinquent peers were compared. Specific associations of SIP patterns with reactive and proactive aggression were assessed, and mediation of the relationship between intelligence and delinquency by SIP was examined. Participants were 42 incarcerated male delinquents, 40 non-delinquent adolescents in lower education, and 54 non-delinquent adolescents in higher education. Measures of behaviour problems, intelligence, and SIP were completed. Juvenile delinquents showed more externalizing behaviour problems and proactive aggression than their non-delinquent peers. Delinquent juveniles were more reactively aggressive than higher educated peers but no more than lower educated peers. Concerning SIP, juvenile delinquents attributed less sad emotions, generated fewer adaptive emotion-regulation strategies, and generated more aggressive responses than their higher educated peers. No group differences were found for hostile intent attribution or own emotions. Hostile intent attribution and adaptive emotion regulation related specifically to reactive aggression. The relation between intelligence and delinquency was not mediated by SIP.

The Effects of Emotion Regulation, Attribution, and Delay Prompts on Aggressive Boys' Social Problem Solving

Boys with aggressive behavior problems are frequently taught to “stop and think” before they act. In provocative situations, pausing to monitor their own feelings, to consider the feelings of others, or to delay their response is believed to reduce aggressive behavior. This study aimed to test these assumptions. Thirty-two highly aggressive boys in special education and 31 normal comparison boys were presented vignettes concerning provocation by a peer and given specific cognitive assignments. Participants were either asked to (1) monitor and regulate their own emotions, (2) consider the provocateurs emotions and intentions, (3) wait 10 s, or (4) answer a factual question. The cognitive assignments differentially affected response aggressiveness. Monitoring and regulation of own emotions reduced aggressiveness in the aggressive group. Considering the peers emotions and intentions tended to decrease aggressiveness in the normal comparison group and increase aggressiveness in the aggressive group. Delay increased response aggressiveness in the aggressive group as well. Answering factual questions had no effect on response aggressiveness. Implications for cognitive–behavioral interventions for aggressive boys are discussed.

What makes narcissists bloom? A framework for research on the etiology and development of narcissism

Narcissism is a dynamic form of personality characterized by a pervasive sense of grandiosity and self-importance, and by a need to obtain continuous self-validation from others. Very little is known about its etiology and development. What factors (e.g., temperament, parenting experiences) and processes (e.g., transactions between these factors over time) cause some children to become more narcissistic than others? When does narcissism first emerge, and how does narcissism develop over time? This article describes a framework for research on the etiology and development of narcissism, and recommends ten research priorities. This research should yield fundamental knowledge and should inform intervention efforts to minimize the negative impact narcissistic individuals have on themselves and on others.