Parenting styles that link with aggression

Aggression in children today is becoming more and more evident in our society. Violence is popping up everywhere and there are strong indicators that suggest our youth's aggression has escalated. Not only are children becoming more aggressive but also the children are displaying aggression today at a much younger age. There are many reasons as to why this might be happening. Societies structure is becoming difficult to deal with. Not only are societies moving faster but have also become more demanding, families too are demanding more of their children to receive better marks and to strive higher. With such expectations there is no wonder why the youth are lashing out. There have been many studies related to this issue and it has lead researches to believe that there really isn't any one factor that is the cause of the aggressive behaviour but rather a few factors. In some cases there can be two or three factors in play at the same time. And this review will focus on the research behind parenting styles other wise known as child rearing and how it effects aggression.

The different types of aggression

There are many forms of aggression for example: as found in the Oxford dictionary (2005) altruistic aggression (this means aggression that functions to protect others), anticipatory aggression (this means an aggressive reaction against a predator), displaced aggression (is aggression aimed at something other then the source it originated from) induced aggression (this is when aggression is artificially aroused) instrumental aggression (this is aggressive actions which have been a result of learning experiences) maternal aggression (any attack like response when a threatening situation occurs to their offspring)

Aggression is often the result of underlying problems. It does not matter whether the aggression is altruistic, anticeptory, displaced, induced, instrumental, or maternal, there will always be internal and/or external factors of the individual at play. In the past perhaps the main focus was the aggressive behaviour it self, because that is the behaviour one could easily observe. However, researchers now are beginning to look not only at the internal causes behind the aggressive behaviour; but also the external setting and environment, which may also be the cause. And this is the focus of this review, predominantly aiming its attention at parenting and the different styles that affect, or have affected

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