Are you one of the thousands of Canadians who work or volunteer with children and youth? Do you know:
* how to respond effectively when a young person behaves aggressively?
* what kinds of aggression are considered normal for a young persons age and stage of development?
* what kinds of aggression may suggest that a young person has a problem that needs specialized intervention?
Acting Out aims to help you answer yes to these questions. It describes the causes of aggressive behaviour in young people, and discusses approaches to handling it.
Aggression among young people is an important social issue. Fortunately, early intervention and treatment can significantly reduce the risk of harmful outcomes. This book:
* explains various types of aggressive behaviour exhibited by young people
* identifies factors related to aggressive behaviour
* distinguishes between normal aggression and aggression that is of greater concern
* gives practical advice on how to address aggression in children and youth
* highlights proven prevention and intervention strategies and indicates strategies to avoid
* discusses the assessment and diagnosis of more serious aggressive behaviour in young people.
Acting Out is a valuable tool for anyone who works with young people, including teachers and school administrators, day-care and recreation centre workers, youth shelter workers, social service workers, sports coaches, youth leaders, camp counsellors and directors.
--- from the publisher
About the editor
You can make a difference
2. About aggression
What is aggression?
Types of aggression
3. Understanding aggression:
Risk factors and protective factors
Individual risk and protective factors
..IQ and success at school
..Hormones and neurotransmitters
..Mental health disorders
Family risk and protective factors
..Level of supervision
Family peace and stability
Child abuse and neglect
Parental traits, conditions or behaviours
Environmental risk and protective factors
..Economic and social family living conditions
..Attachment to community
4. Normal aggression
What is normal aggression?
..Infants and toddlers (ages 02)
..Preschoolers (ages 35)
..School-aged children (ages 611)
..Adolescents (age 12 and older)
How to manage normal aggression
..After an incident is over
5. When is aggression a concern?
Overview of aggression by age group
Determining if there is a serious problem
Navigating the system
What an assessment involves
..Checklists and rating scales
Pros and cons of an assessment
7. Prevention and intervention
Interventions that target individual risk and protective factors
..Social skills training
..Problem-solving skills training
..Anger management training
Interventions that target family risk and protective factors
..Parent management skills training
..The Arson Prevention Program for Children
Interventions that target environmental risk and protective factors
..School and classroom intervention programs
..After-school programs and activities
Interventions that target individual, family and environmental
risk and protective factors together
..Prevention and early intervention programs
..Universal prevention programs
Pros and cons of a diagnosis
Disruptive behaviour disorders
..Oppositional defiant disorder
Substance use disorders
Mood, anxiety and psychotic disorders
..Major depressive disorder
..Posttraumatic stress disorder
Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder
Medical management of mental health disorders
About the Editor:
David A. Wolfe, PhD, holds the inaugural RBC Chair in Childrens Mental Health at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH). He is a Professor of Psychiatry and Psychology at the University of Toronto and Head of the CAMH Centre for Prevention Science. David has broad research and clinical interests in abnormal child and adolescent psychology, with a special focus on child abuse, domestic violence and developmental psychopathology. He and his colleagues (Peter Jaffe, Claire Crooks and Ray Hughes) are currently evaluating The Fourth R, a comprehensive school-based initiative for reducing adolescent violence and related risk behaviours through the promotion of positive, non-violent relationships.
David is the 2005 recipient of the Canadian Psychological Associations Donald O. Hebb Award for Distinguished Contributions to Psychology as a Science. He is Editor-in-Chief of Child Abuse & Neglect: The International Journal. His recent books include Adolescent Risk Behaviors: Why Teens Experiment and Strategies to Keep Them Safe (with Peter Jaffe and Claire Crooks; Yale University Press, 2006); Child Abuse: Implications for Child Development and Psychopathology, 2nd edition (Sage, 1999); and Abnormal Child Psychology, 3rd edition (with Eric Mash; Wadsworth, 2005).
Many CAMH clinicians in the Child, Youth and Family Program contributed their breadth of knowledge and practical experience to the development of this book. Their guidance and input shaped the content and forms the core of the book.
Drafts were reviewed by people with scientific or clinical expertise about the topic and by people who are the intended audience for the publication.