The role of anxiety in the development, maintenance, and treatment of childhood aggression

Abstract

The majority of aggressive children exhibit symptoms of anxiety, yet none of our developmental models of aggression incorporate the role of anxiety, and our treatments ignore this comorbidity. This article outlines a novel theoretical model that specifies three hypotheses about comorbid anxious and aggressive children: (a) unpredictable parenting induces anxiety in children that in turn triggers aggressive behavior; (b) prolonged periods of anxiety deplete children's capacity to inhibit impulses and trigger bouts of aggression, and aggression in turn functions to regulate levels of anxiety; and (c) minor daily stressors give rise to anxiety while cognitive perseveration maintains anxious moods, increasingly disposing children to aggress. Little or no research has directly tested these hypotheses. Extant research and theory consistent with these claims are herein reviewed, and future research designs that can test them specifically are suggested. The clinical implications most relevant to the hypotheses are discussed, and to improve the efficacy of treatments for childhood aggression, it is proposed that anxiety may need to be the primary target of treatment.