Theses and Dissertations from UMD

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New submissions to the thesis/dissertation collections are added automatically as they are received from the Graduate School. Currently, the Graduate School deposits all theses and dissertations from a given semester after the official graduation date. This means that there may be up to a 4 month delay in the appearance of a give thesis/dissertation in DRUM

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Subject: search.filters.subject.Aggression

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Now showing 1 - 5 of 5
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    Relations Among Peer Victimization, Aggression, And School Climate in Elementary School Students
    (2019) Sullivan, Kathryn; Wang, CIxin; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    Peer victimization in schools is a growing concern in China, where prevalence rates range from 22-26.1% (Han, Zhang, & Zhang, 2017; Cheng et al., 2010). Peer victimization is linked to many negative outcomes, including increased aggression (Arsenault et al., 2006; Averdijk et al., 2016). A positive school climate, which includes factors that support learning, physical and emotional safety, connection, support, and engagement, may serve as a protective factor against both peer victimization and its negative outcomes. This study examined the longitudinal relations between peer victimization, aggression, and school climate by examining self-report survey data collected from 800 3rd to 6th-grade students in China. Results indicated that a positive school climate was a significant moderator of the positive relationship between peer victimization and later aggression. These findings have important implications for the role of school climate as protective against later behavioral difficulties for victimized students.
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    The Influence of the Interaction Between Trust and Cognitions on Aggressive and Withdraw Communication Behavior Between Members of Clinical Couples
    (2012) Ross, Donald Bruce; Werlinich, Dr. Carol A.; Family Studies; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    The purpose of this study was to examine the moderation effect of avoidance and aggressive cognitions on the relationship between levels of trust and levels of negative communication behavior, within a clinical sample of 60 heterosexual couples who had experienced mild-to-moderate conflict or abuse in the relationship. Results were found separately for males and females. For males, a non-significant positive trend was found suggesting avoidance cognitions have an effect on the relationship between trust and avoidance communication behavior. Females showed a significant association between avoidance cognitions and withdraw communication behaviors. The level of trust and the level of aggressive cognitions were significantly predictive of aggressive communication behavior in males. And the level of trust and the level of avoidance cognitions were significantly predictive of withdraw communication behavior in females. Implications for clinical interventions are discussed.
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    Characterization and Control of Aggression and Reproduction in the Male Clouded Leopard (Neofelis nebulosa)
    (2012) DeCaluwe, Heather Burton; Ottinger, Mary Ann; Animal Sciences; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    Clouded leopards are a striking and elusive cat species whose secretive nature has made it difficult to gather information on population statistics and behavior in the wild, where the population is in decline. While captive populations are intended as a hedge against extinction, breeding clouded leopards ex situ has been a challenge, primarily due to extreme male aggression toward females. Despite the importance of aggression in this species, there has as yet been no systematic study characterizing the basis of aggressive episodes. Two mechanisms seem to underlie the aggressive behavior in clouded leopards: degree of anxiety and circulating testosterone levels. Three studies were conducted to characterize mechanisms modulating aggression in male clouded leopards. In Study 1, sixteen adult male clouded leopards were categorized as `anxious' or `calm' using a keeper questionnaire and fecal endocrine (androgen and glucocorticoid) profiles; these measures were correlated with behavior rates and frequencies before, during, and after a series of behavioral reaction tests aimed at assessing an individual's response to stress-inducing situations. In Study 2, the behavioral and endocrine responses to the same tests were compared in the same clouded leopards following three treatments: 1) an anxiety-reducing psychotropic drug (clomipramine, n = 4); 2) a gonadotropin releasing hormone agonist (deslorelin, n = 5), or 3) no treatment (n = 4). In Study 3, the long-term effects of the drug treatments on spermatogenesis and hormone concentrations were compared in clouded leopards (n = 2/treatment) and domestic cats (n = 5/treatment), a model for non-domestic felid reproduction. Studies revealed important findings about the basis of aggressive behavior in male clouded leopards. First, two of the behavioral reaction tests - `mirror image stimulation' and `unfamiliar people' - were effective tools for evaluating temperament and eliciting a behavioral response. Second, treatment with both clomipramine and deslorelin reduced anxious and aggressive behaviors (e.g. `tail flicking' and `growling') indicating multiple physiological mechanisms likely modulate aggression in this species. Finally, deslorelin temporarily suppressed hormone concentrations and reproductive function, while clomipramine had no clear effect on either. Ultimately, this information provides important tools for improving male-female pairing success and the overall management of captive clouded leopards.
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    The Intentionality and Social Information Processing Patterns Associated with Ethnic Minority Children's Aggression
    (2009) Simcox, April Guzy; Teglasi-Golubcow, Hedwig; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    According to Dodge and colleagues' social information processing model (e.g. Crick and Dodge, 1994) when faced with social situations, children engage in five components of decision making. In previous research using the model and corresponding social information processing (SIP) instruments, deficiencies in different components corresponded with childhood aggression. In particular, a tendency to interpret others' intentions as hostile is associated with aggression. Dodge and his colleagues cite schemas, or mental structures, as responsible for SIP deficiencies. However, the relationship between schemas and childhood aggression has not been systematically examined. This study investigated the social information processing patterns and schemas of ethnic minority children in relation to reactive and proactive aggression, as rated by teacher, peer, and self informants. The SIP instrument measured participants' social information processing patterns and the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) assessed schemas underlying aggression using portions of Teglasi's coding system (2001) and coding procedures developed to capture SIP components. The TAT and SIP instruments were not correlated with one another and each correlated with different aspects of aggression. The SIP correlated primarily with teacher rated reactive aggression whereas the TAT correlated primarily with both peer and teacher rated proactive aggression. Prior research using the SIP instrument which found relationships between intentionality and aggression were not replicated. The TAT showed that among second and third grade children, most do not spontaneously consider the intentionality behind a provocation (intent attribution) but do consider the intention behind their response to a provocation (goal formation). Older age--within the two year span, significantly correlated with improved performance on some aspects of the SIP and TAT. On the SIP, girls were more likely than boys to select aggressive responses to a hypothetical situation, but expressed these in proactive ways while boys expressed more reactive aggression. Gender differences on the TAT were not present. Overall the TAT was a better predictor of both aggression types than the SIP and this was true for all informants. The use of multiple measures and multiple informants to capture various aspects of aggression is discussed along with implications for theory and practice, and directions for future research.
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    Behavioral Outcomes of Interpersonal Aggression at Work: A Mediated and Moderated Model
    (2004-08-06) Raver, Jana; Gelfand, Michele J; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    Interpersonal aggression at work is abundant, yet despite the importance of this topic for employees' well being, systematic research on aggression in organizational settings is only beginning to accumulate, and research on outcomes experienced by targets of aggression is limited. The purpose of this dissertation was to extend the workplace aggression literature by proposing and testing a more comprehensive model of behavioral outcomes associated with interpersonal aggression i.e., counterproductive work behaviors (CWBs), organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs), job search behaviors, and work-family conflict. Furthermore, I examined two cognitive and emotional mediators of the relationship between experiencing interpersonal aggression and behavioral outcomes (i.e., interpersonal justice and negative affect at work), as well as several moderators including job characteristics (i.e., job autonomy, job mobility), target characteristics (i.e., dispositional hostility, neuroticism), and perpetrator characteristics (i.e., perpetrator status). The hypotheses were tested through established survey measures administered to a representative sample of 728 working adults who were diverse with regard to their jobs, occupations, and industries among other factors. The results revealed that the frequency of interpersonal aggression experiences was significantly related to enacting high levels of CWBs aimed at both the organization and at other individuals, and also related to high levels of job search behaviors. Interpersonal aggression experiences were also associated with perceptions of interpersonal injustice and negative affect at work, but there was no evidence for these psychological processes mediating interpersonal aggression's relationships with the behavioral outcomes. The results also revealed moderation effects for job autonomy, job mobility, dispositional hostility and neuroticism, yet moderated SEM results failed to provide evidence for differential relationships in the model based upon whether the perpetrator of the aggression was one's supervisor or a coworker. Implications for research and theory, future directions, and implications for organizations are provided.