Citation

Brugman S, Lobbestael J, Sack AT, Cima MJ, Schuhmann T, Emmerling F, Arntz A. Psychiatry Res. 2018; 269: 610-620.

Affiliation

Department of Clinical Psychological Science (CPS), Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience (FPN), Maastricht University, Universiteitssingel 40, P.O. Box 616, 6200 MD Maastricht, The Netherlands.; Department of Clinical Psychology, Department of Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2018, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.psychres.2018.08.095

PMID

30208350

Abstract

This study aimed at examining cognitive predictors of reactive and proactive aggression in a forensic-psychiatric (n = 80) and a non-clinical sample (n = 98; Brugman et al., 2015). Three different cognitive predictors were incorporated: (1) attentional bias towards aggressive stimuli (measured with Emotional Stroop task) and towards angry faces (measured with a visual search task); (2) interpretation biases (measured with Aggressive Interpretative Bias Task (AIBT) and a vignette task), and (3) implicit self-aggression association (measured with a Single-Target Implicit Association Task). To measure aggression, the Reactive-Proactive Aggression Questionnaire (RPQ) and the Taylor Aggression Paradigm (TAP) were used. An automatic self-aggression association positively predicted proactive aggressive behavior on the TAP in both samples. Furthermore, this self-aggression association predicted, increased self-reported proactive aggression (RPQ) in the forensic sample only. Pain, injury, and danger interpretations reported on the vignettes, negatively predicted self-reported proactive aggression in both samples. A stronger aggressive interpretation bias on the AIBT predicted more reactive aggressive behavior (TAP) in the non-clinical sample only. Taken together, findings show both common and distinct mechanisms in reactively vs. proactively driven aggressive behavior.

Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Language: en

Keywords

Aggressive behavior; Cognitive predictors; Forensic psychiatric patients; Proactive aggression; Reactive aggression; Taylor aggression paradigm