Showing papers by "L. Rowell Huesmann published in 1997"

Children's normative beliefs about aggression and aggressive behavior

Abstract: Normative beliefs have been defined as self-regulating beliefs about the appropriateness of social behaviors. In 2 studies the authors revised their scale for assessing normative beliefs about aggression, found that it is reliable and valid for use with elementary school children, and investigated the longitudinal relation between normative beliefs about aggression and aggressive behavior in a large sample of elementary school children living in poor urban neighborhoods. Using data obtained in 2 waves of observations 1 year apart, the authors found that children tended to approve more of aggression as they grew older and that this increase appeared to be correlated with increases in aggressive behavior. More important, although individual differences in aggressive behavior predicted subsequent differences in normative beliefs in younger children, individual differences in aggressive behavior were predicted by preceding differences in normative beliefs in older children.

Assessment of family relationship characteristics: A measure to explain risk for antisocial behavior and depression among urban youth

Abstract: Two large samples of urban families were used to develop and cross-validate an assessment model and a measure to tap basic family processes and risk among diverse ethnic groups. Six scales (Cohesion, Beliefs About Family, Deviant Beliefs, Organization, Support, and Communication) produced a 3-dimension higher order factor model (Cohesion, Structure, and Beliefs). Tests support reliance on composite family scoring. Most scales and each higher order factor relate to depression, and aggression. Relations vary little by age, ethnicity, marital status of parent, or family income. Implications for family assessment methodology and risk models are discussed.

Observational Learning of Violent Behavior

Abstract: Although habitual aggressive and violent behaviors seldom develop in children unless there is a convergence of multiple predisposing and precipitating biosocial and contextual factors, there is compelling evidence that early observation of aggression and violence in the child’s environment or in the mass media contributes substantially to the development of aggressive habits that may persist throughout the life course (Bandura, 1986; Berkowitz, 1993; Paik & Comstock, 1994; Eron, Huesmann, Lefkowitz & Walder, 1972; Huesmann, 1986; Huesmann & Eron, 1986; Huesmann & Miller, 1994). The empirical evidence concerning the importance of observational learning has been accumulating for decades but has been given added relevance by the emergence of social/cognitive process models to explain individual differences in aggression. In this chapter 1 provide an overview of an unified cognitive/information-processing model of social behavior within which aggression can be understood, I elaborate on the key role that observational learning plays in the development of the cognitive/information-processing structures that control social behavior in general and aggressive behavior in particular; and I discuss the biosocial processes that seem to be involved in observational learning of these cognitive/information-processing structures.

Poverty and Violence

Abstract: What is the relation between poverty and violence? This is difficult to ascertain because violence is a multidetermined behavior and poverty is just one of the factors that help determine whether a person will respond with violence in a given situation. Many of these contributory factors are biological, many are psychological, social, economic and/or political. No one factor by itself can explain the cause of violence. It is only when there is a convergence of many of these factors that violence occurs. Poverty by itself does not explain much of the variance in violent behavior. However, each of the accompaniments of poverty probably contributes its own effect—homelessness, overcrowding, lack of opportunity, economic deprivation. And these then interact with the biological and psychological factors, e.g. low birth weight, neurological trauma, learning disorders, bad socialization practices of parents, etc.