In this work, figures in the field of childhood aggression share what is known about the cultural, biological and psychological roots of violence and develop intervention strategies to deal with the needs of young people. Coverage includes clinical assessment and treatment of children with inappropriate aggressive behaviour; socioenvironmental factors that contribute to inappropriate aggressive behaviour; behavioural and neurobiological consequences of environmental and emotional insults; neurochemical control of aggression and the moral and ethical implications of psychopharmacology in children; and psychosocial intervention strategies for helping children who are excessively aggressive.

Understanding and Treating the Aggression of Children: Fawns in Gorilla Suits provides a thorough review of the theoretical and research basis of the techniques and interventions in the treatment of aggressive and sometimes violent children. This is not a dry and sterile academic review but rather one that comes from work directly in the therapy room with thousands of hurting and in many cases traumatized children. One cannot read this book without being deeply moved and touched by the pain of these children and yet also be buoyed by their courage and willingness to persevere against formidable barriers. The metaphor of the fawn in a gorilla suit is introduced, followed by chapters covering developmental failures and invisible wounds, profound and unacknowledged losses, the implication of new findings from neuroscience, psychodynamics of aggressive children, risk factors when treating the traumatized child, special considerations when treating children in foster care, strengthening relationships with parents and helping them be more effective, enhancing relationships with direct care and instructional staff, developing mature defenses, and coping skills, creating a therapeutic milieu for traumatized children, and fostering hope and resilience.

Some children are prone to a particular kind of aggression when they are with their peers. For these children, any harm done to them—even something as inconsequential as a jostle in the lunch line—is perceived as intentional. Their style of social information processing, termed “hostile attributional bias,” increases the likelihood of retaliating with excessive and inappropriate physical aggression. In this valuable book, parents and professionals who work with children will learn what can be done to better understand and control children’s aggression. Beginning with a reader-friendly review of the literature, Cynthia Hudley underscores the substantial risks of long-term problems for elementary-school-age children who demonstrate aggressive behavior. Then, drawing on her work as founder of a successful school intervention program, the BrainPower Program, Hudley describes methods for reducing children’s peer-directed aggression. She concludes with a discussion of the importance of broad social contexts in supporting nonaggressive behavior.

This thesis project guided the creation of a pamphlet that breaks down and explains the aggressive behaviors that are displayed by typically developing children and children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) to caregivers and educators. The information in the pamphlet was obtained from a literature review focusing on aggressive behaviors in children with ASD. Several studies support different strategies and techniques that caregivers and educators can use with their children or students at home or at school. The thesis describes the author's methods for creating the pamphlet such as external evaluations and the target audience for the pamphlet. It also includes recommendations for future research in this area for the ASD community, such as providing this pamphlet in several languages so it is available to all families that may have a child with ASD. Lastly, the thesis states that what is highly needed in this area is research that primarily focuses on aggression in preschool children who have ASD so that it this behavior can be better understood by caregivers and educators.

Accessible and sensitive, this book provides a comprehensive overview of sexual abuse perpetrated by children 12 years old and younger. Drawing attention to this frequently overlooked population, the author explores the familial, extrafamilial and situational factors conducive to various types of sexual abuse by children so young. For professionals and researchers having to consider sexually aggressive acts by children as young as two or three, this book examines the theories and frameworks used to explain this kind of behaviour, and outlines their associated social and psychological characteristics. Sharon KAraji identifies nine programmes and practices designed by therapists treating individuals, families and groups deali

Features a step-by-step method for parents that experience problems with their children; discusses seven myths of parenting; and offers advice for solving common issues with children in different age groups, from toddlers to adolescents.

This comprehensive volume reviews and synthesizes a vast body of knowledge on maladaptive aggression and antisocial behavior in youth. Written from a clinical-developmental perspective, and integrating theory and research from diverse fields, the book examines the origins, development, outcomes, and treatment of this serious problem in contemporary society. Major topics addressed include the types and prevalence of aggressive and antisocial behavior; the interplay among neuropsychiatric, psychosocial, and neurobiological processes in etiology; known risk and protective factors; gender variables; and why and how some children "grow out of" conduct disturbances. Chapters also discuss current approaches to clinical assessment and diagnosis and review the evidence for widely used psychosocial and pharmacological interventions.