Variables Correlated with Violent Behavior in Young Children

Abstract

A study was made at the Bronx Municipal Hospital Outpatient Clinic on correlates with violence in young children. A group of aggressive children were compared with a similar control group on non-assaultive children at the clinic. It was found that the non-assaultive group showed more passivity, day dreaming and sexually seductive behavior than the aggressive group, who were more prone to tantrums, had a destructive attitude towards objects, and suffered from night terrors, more frequent mood changes and a greater number of behavioral problems. The aggressive children were more likely to be Puerto Rican or Black than white, and they were more likely to be raised by the mother alone. There was also a significantly higher frequency of delusions among the assaultive group.