Appetitive Aggression in Women: Comparing Male and Female War Combatants

Appetitive aggression refers to positive feelings being associated with the perpetration of violent behavior and has been shown to provide resilience against the development of PTSD in combatants returning from the battlefield. Until this point, appetitive aggression has been primarily researched in males. 

This study investigates appetitive aggression in females. Female and male combatants and civilians from Burundi were assessed for levels of appetitive aggression. In contrast to non-combatants, no sex difference in appetitive aggression could be detected for combatants. Furthermore, each of the female and male combatant groups displayed substantially higher levels of appetitive aggression than each of the male and female civilian control groups. 

This study demonstrates that in violent contexts, such as armed conflict, in which individuals perpetrate numerous aggressive acts against others, the likelihood for an experience of appetitive aggression increases- regardless of whether the individuals are male or female.

Below:  Mean AAS sum scores in males and females with and without combat experience. Bars represent standard error

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By:  Meyer-Parlapanis D1, Weierstall R1, Nandi C1, Bambonyé M2, Elbert T1, Crombach A3.

• 1Department of Psychology, University of Konstanz (http://www.uni-konstanz.de/en/welcome/) Konstanz, Germany.
• 2Department of Clinical Psychology, Université Lumière, Bujumbura, Burundi.
• 3Department of Psychology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany; Department of Clinical Psychology, Université Lumière, Bujumbura, Burundi. 

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Aggressive and Violent Behavior among Military Personnel Deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan: Prevalence and Link with Deployment and Combat Exposure

A systematic review and meta-analyses were conducted on studies of the prevalence of aggressive and violent behavior, as well as of violent offenses and convictions, among military personnel following deployment to Iraq and/or Afghanistan; the relationship with deployment and combat exposure; and the role that mental health problems, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), have on the pathway between deployment and combat to violence. 

Seventeen studies published between January 1, 2001, and February 12, 2014, in the United States and the United Kingdom met the inclusion criteria. Despite methodological differences across studies, aggressive behavior was found to be prevalent among serving and formerly serving personnel, with pooled estimates of 10% (95% confidence interval (CI): 1, 20) for physical assault and 29% (95% CI: 25, 36) for all types of physical aggression in the last month, and worthy of further exploration. In both countries, rates were increased among combat-exposed, formerly serving personnel. 

The majority of studies suggested a small-to-moderate association between combat exposure and postdeployment physical aggression and violence, with a pooled estimate of the weighted odds ratio = 3.24 (95% CI: 2.75, 3.82), with several studies finding that violence increased with intensity and frequency of exposure to combat traumas. The review's findings support the mediating role of PTSD between combat and postdeployment violence and the importance of alcohol, especially if comorbid with PTSD.

Full PDF article at:  http://goo.gl/tfAkP2

By:  Deirdre MacManus^*, Roberto Rona,Hannah Dickson,Greta Somaini,Nicola Fear andSimon Wessely

^*Correspondence to Dr. Deirdre MacManus, Department of Forensic and Neurodevelopmental Sciences, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, De Crespigny Park, Denmark Hill, London SE5 8AF, United Kingdom (e-mail: deirdre.macmanus@kcl.ac.uk).

 

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