Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #116929

Elizabeth Anson, BA¹, Robert E. Cole, PhD¹, Harriet J. Kitzman, RN, PhD¹, Kimberly J. Sidora-Arcoleo, MPH¹, and Linda Chaudron, MD, MS². (1) School of Nursing, University of Rochester Medical Center, 255 Crittenden Blvd, Rochester, NY 14620, 585-275-0507, elizabeth_anson@urmc.rochester.edu, (2) Department of Psychiatry, University of Rochester Medical Center, 300 Crittenden Blvd., Rochester, NY 14642-8409

Objective: Physically aggressive behavior results from a complex interaction of environmental, parent and child factors. Physical aggression peaks between 24 - 42 months. As language develops, children shift from use of physical to verbal aggression. We examined the relationship between children's verbal ability, maternal depression, and physical aggression.

Methods: Prospective study of an economically and racially diverse sample of 278 mothers of 3 year-old children. Maternal depression assessed using the computerized diagnostic interview schedule (C-DIS) and child verbal ability at age 3 assessed using the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT). Physical aggression measured at age 4 using the physical aggression items from the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL).

Results: Children with lower verbal ability exhibited greater physical aggression (b= -.004, p =.02) and presence of maternal depression predicted increased physical aggression (b= .18, p=.03). There was an interaction between maternal depression and child verbal ability on physical aggression (b= -.10 p=.05). These results remained after controlling for mother's socioeconomic status (SES) and education.

Conclusions: Children with low verbal ability and depressed mothers had the highest incidence of physically aggressive behavior. Non-depressed mothers managed to socialize their children such that weak verbal skills did not lead to physical aggression. The relationships between child temperament and skill levels are not unequivocally related to aggression- they are moderated by parental characteristics. It is necessary to examine, through evidence-based research, more complex models of parent, child and environmental factors if effective early prevention approaches tailored to these specific characteristics are to be developed.

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