Developing Prosocial Behaviors in Early Adolescence with Reactive Aggression

Abstract

Despite the alarming rise of early adolescence aggression in Hong Kong, it is the pioneer evidence-based outcome study on Anger Coping Training (ACT) program for early adolescence with reactive aggression to develop their prosocial behaviors. This research program involved experimental and control groups with pre- and postcomparison using a mixed model research method. Quantitative data collection consisted of the Peer Observation Checklist (POC), while qualitative data collections of the early adolescents’ behaviors were assessed through structured interviews (early adolescents, parents and teachers). In post-intervention and follow-up studies the treated early adolescents showed a consistent increase in their physical and verbal prosocial behaviors

References

1. Achenbach, T. M. (1991). Manual for the child behavior checklist/4-18 and 1991 profile. Burlington, VA: University of Vermont Department of Psychiatry.
2. Brook, J. S., Whiteman, M. M., & Finch, S. (1992). Childhood aggression, adolescent delinquency, and drug use: A longitudinal study. Journal of Genetic Psychology, 153, 369-383.
3. Brook, J. S., Whiteman, M. M., Finch, S., & Cohen, P. (1995). Aggression, intrapsychic distress, and drug use: Antecedent and intervening process. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 34, 1076-1084.
4. Brook, J. S., Whiteman, M. M., Finch, S., & Cohen, P. (1996). Young adult drug use and delinquency: Childhood antecedents and adolescent mediators. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 35, 1584-1592.
5. Buckley, M. A. (2000). Cognitive-developmental considerations in violence prevention and intervention. Professional School Counselling, 4(1), 60-71.
6. Bullis, M., & Walker, H. M. (1995). Characteristics and causal factors of troubled youth. In C. M. Nelson, R. B. Rutherfird, & B. I. Woflord (Eds.), Developing comprehensive and collaborative systems that work for troubled youth: A national agenda. Richmond, KY: National Coalition for Juvenile Justice Services.
7. Carlo, G., Fabes, R. A., Laible, D., & Kupanoff, K. (1999). Early adolescence and prosocial/moral behavior II: The role of social and contextual influences. Journal of Early Adolescence, 19, 133-147.
8. Carlo, G., Hausmann, A., Christiansen, S., & Randall, B. A. (2003). Sociocognitive and behavioural correlates of a measure of prosocial tendencies for adolescents. Journal of Early Adolescence, 23(1), 107-134.

9. Cavell, T. A. (2000). Working with parents of aggressive children. Washington: American Psychological Association.
10. Coie, J. D., Terry, R., Lenox, K., Lochman, J., & Hyman, C. (1995). Childhood peer rejection and aggression as predictors of stable patterns of adolescent disorder. Development and Psychopathology, 7, 697-714.
11. Dumas, J. E. (1989). Treating antisocial behavior in children: Child and Family approaches. Clinical Psychology Review, 42, 435-442.
12. Eron, L. D., Gentry, J. H., & Schlegel, P. (1996). Reason to hope a psychosocial perspective on violence and youth. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
13. Fabes, R. A., Carlo, G., Kupanoff, K., & Laible, D. (1999). Early adolescence and prosocial/moral behavior I: The role of individual processes. Journal of Early Adolescence, 19, 5-16.
14. Farrington, D. P. (1978). The family backgrounds of aggressive youths. In L. A. Hersov, M. Berger, & D. Schaffer (Eds.), Aggression and anti-social behavior in childhood and adolescence. NY: Pergamon.
15. Fung, L. C. (2004). Anger Coping Training (ACT) program with physically aggressive children: A treatment outcome study. Ph.D.’s thesis, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
16. Fung, L. C., & Tsang, H. K. M. (2006). Parent-child parallel-group intervention for childhood aggression in Hong Kong. Emotional and Behavioral Difficulties,11, 27-44.
17. Fung, L. C., Wong C. M., & Wong L. P. (2004). Practitioner’s training manual and guideline for children with aggressive behavior. Hong Kong: St. James Settlement.
18. Hymel, S., Rubin, K. H., Rowden, L., & LeMare, L. (1990). Children's peer relationships: Longitudinal predictions of internalizing and externalizing problems from middle to late childhood. Child Development, 61, 2004-2021.
19. Johnson, B., & Christensen, L. (2004). Educational research: Quantitative, qualitative, and mixed approaches. Boston: Pearson.
20. Kazdin, A. E. (1987). Treatment of antisocial behavior in children: Current status and future direction. Psychology Bulletin, 102, 187-203.
21. Kazdin, A. E. (1995). Conduct disorders in childhood and adolescence (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
22. Kazdin, A. E. (1996). Problem solving and parent management in treating aggressive and antisocial behavior. In E. S. Hibbs, & P. S. Jensen (Eds.), Psychosocial treatments for child and adolescent disorders: Empirically based strategies for clinical practice (pp. 377-408). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
23. Kendall, P. C., & Sheldrick, R. C. (2000). Normative data for normative comparison. Journal of Counselling and Clinical Psychology, 68(5), 763-773.
24. Kupersmidt, J. B., & Patterson, C. J. (1991). Childhood peer rejection, aggression, withdrawal, and perceived competence as predictors of self-reported behavior problems in preadolescence. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 19, 427- 449.
25. Lochman, J. E. (1990). Modification of childhood aggression. In M. Hersen, R. Eisler, & P. M. Miller (Eds.), Progress in behavior modification (Vol. 25, pp. 48-86). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
26. Lochman, J. E. (1999). Parent and family skills training in indicated prevention. Unpublished manuscript, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL.
27. Lochman, J. E., & Dodge, K. A. (1998). Distorted perceptions in dyadic interactions of aggressive and nonaggressive boys: Effects of prior expectations, context, and boys' age. Development and Psychopathology, 10, 495-512.
28. Lochman, J. E., & Larson, J. (2002). Helping schoolchildren cope with anger. London: Guilford.
29. Lochman, J. E., & Wells, K. C. (1996). A social-cognitive intervention with aggressive children: Prevention effects and contextual implementation issues. In R. D. Peters, & R. J. McMahon (Eds.), Preventing childhood disorders, substance abuse, and delinquency (pp. 111-143). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
30. Lochman, J. E., Whidby, J. M., & FitzGerald, D. P. (2000). Cognitive-behavioral assessment and treatment with aggressive children. In P. C. Kendall (Eds.), Child and adolescent therapy: Cognitive-behavioral procedure (2nd ed., pp. 31-87). London: Guilford.
31. Loeber, R., Green, S. M., Keenan, K., & Lahey, B. B. (1995). Which boys will fare worse? Early predictors of the onset of conduct disorder in a six-year longitudinal study. Journal of American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 34, 499-509.
32. Long, P., Forehand, R., Wierson, M., & Morgan, A. (1994). Does parent training with young noncompliant children have long-term effects? Behavior Research and Therapy, 32, 101-107.
33. McMahon, R. J., & Wells, K. C. (1989). Conduct problems. In E. J. Mash, & R. A. Barkley (Eds.), Treatment of childhood disorders (2nd ed., pp. 111-207). London: Guilford.
34. Michael Nelson III, W., & Finch, A. J., Jr. (2000). Managing anger in youth: A cognitive-behavioral intervention approach. Ardmore, PA: Workbook.
35. Miranda, A., & Presentacion, M. J. (2000). Efficacy of cognitive-behavioral therapy in the treatment of children with ADHD, with and without aggressiveness. Psychology in the Schools, 37(2), 169-182.
36. Patterson, G. R. (1982). A social learning approach: Coercive family process. Eugene, OR: Castalia.
37. Patterson, G. R. (2002). The early developmental of coercive family process. In J. B. Reid, G. R. Patterson, & J. Snyder (Eds.), Antisocial behavior in children and adolescents: Developmental theories and models for intervention (pp. 25-44). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
38. Prasad-Gaur, A., Hughes, J. N., & Cavell, T. (2001). Implications of aggressive children's positively biased relatedness views for future relationships. Child Psychiatry and Human Development, 31(3), 215-231.
39. Richardson, F. C., Fowers, B. J., & Guignon, C. B. (1999). Re-envisioning
40. psychology: Moral dimensions of theory and practice. California: Jossey- Bass.
41. Robins, L. N. (1966). Deviant Children Grown Up. Baltimore: Williams & Wilkins.
42. Robins, L. N. (1978). Study childhood predictors of adult anti-social behavior: Replications from longitudinal studies. Psychological Medicine, 8, 611-622.
43. Roff, J. D. (1992). Childhood aggression, peer status, and social class as predictors of delinquency. Psychological Reports, 70, 31-34.
44. Rubin, K. H., Chen, X., McDougall, P., Bowker, A., & McKinnon, J. (1995). The waterloo longitudinal project: Predicting internalizing and externalizing problems in adolescence. Development and Psychopathology, 7, 751-764.
45. Sanders, M. R., & McFarland, M. (2000). Treatment of depressed mothers with
46. disruptive children: A controlled evaluation of cognitive behavioral family
47. intervention. Behavior Therapy, 31, 89-112.
48. Southam-Gerow, M. A., & Kendall, P. C. (2000). Cognitive-behavior therapy with youth: Advances, challenges, and future directions. Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, 7, 343-366.
49. Tate, D. C., Reppucci, N. D., & Mulvey, E. P. (1995). Violent juvenile delinquents: Treatment effectiveness and implications for future action. American Psychologist, 50, 777-781.
50. Tolan, P. H., & Guerra, N. (1994). What works in reducing adolescent violence: An empirical review of the field (Monograph prepared for the Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence). Boulder: University of Colorado.
51. Vitaro, F., Gendreau, P.L., Tremblay, R.E., & Oligny, P. (1998). Reactive and proactive aggression differentially predict later conduct problems. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines, 39, 377-385.
52. Wahler, R. G. (1997). On the origins of children's compliance and opposition: Family context, reinforcement, and rules. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 6, 191- 208.
53. Walker, H. M., Colvin, G., & Ramsey, E. (1995). Antisocial behavior in school: Strategies and best practices. Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole.
54. Webster-Stratton, C., & Hancock, L. (1999). Training for parents of young children with conduct problem: Content, methods, and therapeutic processes. In J. M. Briesmeister, & C. E. Schaefer (Eds.), Handbook of parent training: Parents as co-therapists for children's behavior problems. NY: John Wiley.
55. Wissink, I. B., Dekovic, M., & Meijer, A. M. (2006). Parenting behavior, quality of the parent-adolescent relationship, and adolescent functioning in four ethnic groups. Journal of Early Adolescence, 26(2), 133-156.
56. Zimmer-Gembeck, M. J., Geiger, T. C., & Crick, N. R. (2005). Relational and physical aggression, prosocial behavior, and peer relations. Journal of Early Adolescence, 25(4), 421-452.