Patrik Söderberg

Lethal aggression in mobile forager bands and implications for the origins of war.

Ancient Warriors or Murderers? Some have suggested that the human predilection for war is ancient, perhaps dating back to the emergence of our species, while others maintain that evidence for such early warring is scant. Past studies that looked at nomadic foraging bands as models of early humans and their potential for conflict concluded that war is in our blood. Fry and Söderberg (p. 270), however, reexamined the standard cross-cultural sample, the main repository for behavioral data on forage bands, and found little evidence for large-scale conflicts or wars. Instead, the majority of incidences of lethal aggression in these societies were homicides driven by a variety of factors relevant at the individual or family scale. Nomadic foragers are less warlike than assumed, suggesting that war may not have been an early component of human behavior. It has been argued that warfare evolved as a component of early human behavior within foraging band societies. We investigated lethal aggression in a sample of 21 mobile forager band societies (MFBS) derived systematically from the standard cross-cultural sample. We hypothesized, on the basis of mobile forager ethnography, that most lethal events would stem from personal disputes rather than coalitionary aggression against other groups (war). More than half of the lethal aggression events were perpetrated by lone individuals, and almost two-thirds resulted from accidents, interfamilial disputes, within-group executions, or interpersonal motives such as competition over a particular woman. Overall, the findings suggest that most incidents of lethal aggression among MFBS may be classified as homicides, a few others as feuds, and a minority as war.

Myths about hunter-gatherers redux: nomadic forager war and peace

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to critique several studies that claim to show that nomadic foragers engage in high levels of inter-group aggression. This is done through exploring four myths: nomadic foragers are warlike; there was a high rate of war mortality in the Pleistocene; the nomadic forager data support the “chimpanzee model” of lethal raiding psychology; and contact and state influence inevitably decrease aggression in nomadic forager societies. Design/methodology/approach – Using exact criteria, a sample of 21 nomadic forager societies is derived from the Standard Cross-Cultural Sample. This sampling method minimizes the chance of sampling bias, a shortcoming that has plagued previous studies. Only the highest quality ethnographic data, those classified as Primary Authority Sources, are used, which results in data on 148 cases of lethal aggression. The specifics of the lethal aggression cases are then discussed vis-a-vis the four myths to demonstrate the disjuncture between the data and...

Social Functioning and Mental Wellbeing in 13- to 15-year-old Adolescents in Iran and Finland: A Cross-cultural Comparison

Objectives: To investigate social functioning and mental wellbeing in 13-15 year-old adolescents in Iran and Finland, in order to explore potential cultural and gender-based differences during early adolescence. Methods: One thousand and one (1001) adolescents from Iran and 2205 adolescents from Finland (age range 13-15 years) filled in a questionnaire consisting of the following scales: the Mini Direct and Indirect Aggression Scale (Mini-DIA), the Self-Efficacy Questionnaire for Children (SEQ-C), the School Burnout Inventory (SBI), and the Multidimensional Scale for Perceived Social Support Assessment (MSPSSA). Results: Iranian boys scored highest on Aggression, Victimization, and School Burnout, and lowest on Social Support, Academic Self-Efficacy, and Interpersonal Self-Efficacy. The Finnish boys scored highest on Interpersonal Self-Efficacy and Emotional Self-Efficacy, and lowest on School Burnout and Victimization. Finnish girls had the highest scores on Social Support and Academic Self-Efficacy, but the lowest on Aggression and Emotional Self- Efficacy. The Iranian girls did not have any highest or lowest scores in this sample. Conclusion: Clear differences due to culture and gender were found. It appears that Iranian boys, despite their higher societal status than girls, experience their school environment as more stressful than Iranian girls do, and than Finnish boys do as well. The findings are discussed.

Narcissism, Perceived Social Status, and Social Cognition and Their Influence on Aggression.

This study had three primary goals: to explore the relationship between narcissism, participant roles, and aggression; to examine the role of gender as a moderating influence on narcissism-based aggression; and to examine how these variables work together to influence aggressive outcomes in a sample of aggressive middle and high school students. Narcissism and aggression appear to be similarly related for males and females; however, when examining high aggression males and high aggression females, we found that males were more influenced by leadership and authority aspects of narcissism and females were more influenced by self-absorption/self-admiration aspects of narcissism. Participants break down into three primary groups: perpetrators, helpers, and bystanders. For both genders, being a helper (either as a help-seeker or defender) is positively correlated with exploitiveness.

Patterns and Drivers of Political Participation among Ninth-graders Evidence from a Finnish Regional Survey

The aim of this article is to investigate patterns and drivers of political participation of young people in Finland by using data from the Ostrobothnian Youth survey, a web-based survey conducted in 2010–11 among 1674 ninth-graders in the West-Finnish region of Ostrobothnia. Using the ‘resource model’ of civic voluntarism as a theoretical framework, the article addresses two research questions: (i) what forms of political participation do ninth-graders principally participate in, and (ii) what are the main drivers of this participation? The results show higher levels of extracurricular political participation in comparison to representational and non-representational political participation. The foremost explanations of political participation were to be found in demographic variables, such as gender and language, but also in psychosocial and political resources. The findings thus offer support for the ‘resource model’, but also suggest that the association between resources and political participation is conditioned by the type of participation.

The Relationship between Physical Punishment at Home and Victimization from Peer Aggression at School in Adolescents in Iran and Finland: A Mediator‒Moderator Analysis

The aim of the study was to investigate whether depressive symptoms could serve as a mediator between the experience of physical punishment in childhood and victimization from peer aggression at school, as has been shown by Söderberg et al. (2016). An aggregated sample consisting of 1,001 Iranian adolescents and 2,205 Finnish adolescents, all 13-15 years of age, participated in the study. Data were analyzed with conditional process modeling (Preacher & Hayes, 2008). The hypothesis was only partially corroborated. Depression served only as a weak mediator, and not at all among Iranian boys. The results are discussed.

Exploring the effects of physical punishment on aggressive behavior and peer victimization: a conditional process analysis

Purpose – Recent studies indicate that exposure to physical punishment is associated with both aggressive behavior and peer victimization at school. The purpose of this paper is to explore the bidirectional relationship between aggressive behavior and peer victimization as outcomes of physical punishment, as well as the role of depressive symptoms. Design/methodology/approach – A sample of 2,424 Finnish upper primary school pupils (1,282 girls, 1,148 boys, mean age=14.2, SD=1.0) completed an online survey during class. Two conditional process models were applied using a macro for SPSS developed by Hayes (2012). Findings – Exposure to physical punishment was found to be associated with both aggressive behavior and peer victimization at school. The effect on victimization was partially mediated by aggressive behavior and depressive symptoms, whereas the effect on aggressive behavior was partially mediated by peer victimization experiences but not by depressive symptoms. The relationship between physical pun...

Sex Differences in Mental Health among 13-15 Year Old Adolescents in Iran and Finland: A Comparative Study

Objectives: To investigate sex differences in mental health in 13-15 year-old adolescents in Iran and Finland, in order to explore potential cultural influence on sex differences in mental health during early adolescence. Methods: Six hundred adolescents from Iran and 2205 adolescents from Finland (age range 13-15 yrs.) filled in a questionnaire consisting of scales from the Brief Symptom Inventory (anxiety, hostility and depression), the Ostrobothnian Youth Survey (body satisfaction and somatic symptoms), the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale and the SCOFF index for eating disorders. Results: In the Iranian sample, no sex difference was found on any of the seven measures. In the Finnish sample, sex differences were found on all seven, indicating better mental health among boys than among girls, in this age group. Conclusion: Studies conducted in Western nations usually find better mental health among adolescent boys than among adolescent girls. In the present study, it was true for the Finnish sample but not for the Iranian sample. The results suggest that the commonly found sex difference in mental health among adolescents may be a culturally based phenomenon. More study on the subject is needed.