NCJ Number
247397
Journal
Aggression and Violent Behavior Volume: 19 Issue: 3 Dated: May/June 2014 Pages: 251-262
Date Published
June 2014
Length
12 pages
Annotation
This article reviews the similarities and differences between two subtype classifications of aggression.
Abstract
Research on violence and aggression has identified two subtype classifications of aggression. The first subtype infers a spontaneous lack of control that occurs with little or no thought and is usually called reactive, impulsive, affective, or hostile aggression. The second subtype infers a planned violent response and is usually referred to as proactive, premeditated, predatory, or instrumental aggression. This article examines the historical development of these two subtypes of aggression and explores whether the differences and similarities between them are semantic, theoretical, or empirical in nature. A review of the literature found the following: 1) several studies identified an overlap between premeditated and proactive aggression in the areas of psychopathy, impulsiveness, and psychophysiology; 2) several studies found an overlap between impulsive and reactive aggression in the areas of social/interpersonal, attentional problems, emotions/affect, psychopathy, suicide, verbal processing, and social information processing; 3) mixed findings with regards to the aggressive subtype premeditated and proactive have been found for the areas of social/interpersonal, emotions/affect, extraversion, and verbal processing; and 4) mixed findings with regards to the aggressive subtype impulsive and reactive have been found for the areas of delinquency, substance abuse, and psychophysiological. The findings from this review suggest that the two subtype classifications of aggression are conceptually and empirically distinct. Implications for clinical use and study limitations are discussed. Table and references