Aggression in Society

Aggression in Society

Aggression is an action or reaction of an individual that is unpleasant to another person, and in some cases, it inflicts pain and causes harm to others. In humans, aggressive behavior can be in different forms such as physical violence, verbal malice, nonverbal intimidation, and passive aggression. Physical abuse involves acts of violence are aimed at inflicting pain and causing harm to the recipient by use of weapons or even bare hands and legs. Verbal malice is whereby emotional distress is served out to the recipient by word of mouth. Verbal hostility can be through name-calling, bullying, and issuing of threats. Nonverbal intimidation entails acting in a manner that will affect the recipient’s perception. Nonverbal intimidation may include stalking, following a person, or vandalizing the victim’s property. Passive aggression, on the other hand, entails expression of negative feelings and may not necessarily cause direct harm to the victim. In passive aggression, resentment may be expressed in different ways such as stubbornness, laziness, procrastination, and unwillingness to communicate.

Various risk factors have been associated with aggressive behavior in human beings. The risk factors vary from age to age. For toddlers, aggressive behavior may be as a result of genetic and biological conditions. Toddlers born with complications or those that have a nutrient deficit are likely to be aggressive. Aggressiveness in children is characterized by crying a lot and throwing objects. For school going children, aggressiveness may be as a result of imitating other children who are quarrelsome, bullying either in class or undertaking sporting activities. Defiance in children may also be as a result of poor parenting whereby the child is mistreated or ignored and as a way of seeking attention and recognition, children resort to troublesomeness.  For adolescents, aggressiveness may be carried over from childhood.

During adolescence, teenagers are exposed to drugs and substance use. Use of drugs and substances results in defiance. Media also plays a role in aggression among adolescents. Some films aired in televisions ignite a feeling of violence. Violent video games also increase aggressiveness. Adolescents suffering depression tend to be more aggressive and those that have a family history of suicide and are experiencing relationship difficulties. In adult and older people, drug and substance also contribute to their aggressiveness. Domestic violence is also attributed to violence among adults. For older adults, conditions like dementia may result in confusion and misunderstanding of motives. This confusion leads to aggressiveness (Liu et al. 163). Aggression cuts across all ages and abuse is a common cause in all ages.

Aggression has adverse effects on society. In married couples physical and verbal aggression may lead to indulging in the drinking of alcohol (Keiley et al. 309). Drinking of alcohol may destabilize the marriage and eventually lead to depression. Children whose parents abuse alcohol and drugs are adversely affected, and performance in school may deteriorate. The aggression of one partner may also stimulate aggression in the other and children ending up with a toxic family. Aggression may also lead to suicide. Loss of lives through aggression may be devastating and end up affecting the society negatively. Aggressive adolescents may resort into criminal behavior such as stealing, and truancy. Criminal behavior may lead to them being arrested or even lynched by the mob. Parents whose children are branded criminals by society suffer psychologically and are neglected by people surrounding them.

For patients with dementia, managing aggression may be a quite difficult task for caregivers. Some caregivers may not understand them and may end up neglecting them. Handling aggression is also expensive since the agitation may force caregivers to place dementia patients in nursing homes. The anxiety of these patients may also cause physical injuries to themselves. Families with dementia patients suffer trauma as a result of that aggression (Wharton and Ford 462). Children who are victims of aggressive behavior may experience irritability, sleep disturbances, and emotional distress. Aggressive children also have difficulty in forming and maintaining relationships, and when this is not taken care of, they can easily fall into depression and end up committing suicide. Aggression not only affects the individuals but also it affects the society at large, and therefore mechanisms have to be put in place to curb it.

Aggression and agitation can be managed in various ways. Communication plays a vital role in transforming aggressive behavior. Through counseling and having a personal relationship with the victims, they can accept themselves and therefore feel the need to change (Daffern et al. 413). Victims should not be ridiculed, but instead, they should be shown love and affection. Handling of the risk factor that led to aggression also helps in changing the behavior. Encouraging role-playing in schools also help victims of aggression overcome it. Role-playing boosts socialization; therefore, one learns to accommodate another person. Teaching conflict resolution helps in managing passive aggression since one can reach out when offended. Engaging in co-curricular activities in schools is therapeutic, and therefore aggression will be reduced. For persons suffering agitation as a result of dementia should be placed under specialized care.

Work Cited

Daffern, Michael, et al. “Implications for the Prevention of Aggressive Behavior within Psychiatric Hospitals Drawn from Interpersonal Communication Theory.” International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, vol. 56, no. 3, 2012, pp. 401–419.

Keiley, Margaret K., et al. “Effects of Physical and Verbal Aggression, Depression, and Anxiety on Drinking Behavior of Married Partners: A Prospective and Retrospective Longitudinal Examination.” Aggressive Behavior: Official Journal of the International Society for Research on Aggression, vol. 35, no. 4, 2009, pp. 296–312.

Liu, J., et al. “Understanding Aggressive Behaviour across the Lifespan.” Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing, vol. 20, no. 2, 2013, pp. 156–68. Wiley Online Library, doi:10.1111/j.1365-2850.2012.01902.x.

Wharton, Tracy C., and Bryan K. Ford. “What Is Known About Dementia Care Recipient Violence and Aggression Against Caregivers?” Journal of Gerontological Social Work, vol. 57, no. 5, July 2014, pp. 460–77. Taylor and Francis+NEJM, doi:10.1080/01634372.2014.882466.