Aggression und soziale Interaktion im Erziehungsheim

In einer Kamerabrillenstudie werden die sozialen und materiellen Umwelten von Jugendlichen, die in Erziehungsheimen für verhaltensauffällige und sozial beeinträchtigte Kinder und Jugendliche leben, untersucht und mit einer Kontrastgruppe nicht verhaltensauffälliger, zuhause lebender Jugendlichen verglichen. Die Ergebnisse deuten darauf hin, dass Heimjugendliche über einen eingeschränkten Streifraum verfügen, weniger mit Peers interagieren und mehr Aggression ausgesetzt sind. Für den Erfolg der Heimerziehung ist es zentral, Peers nicht unbeaufsichtigt zu lassen, weil durch eine negative Peerbeeinflussung der Erfolg der Intervention geschwächt wird.

Aggression, impulsivity and serotonin in drug dependence

Aggression, impulsivity, and central serotonergic function were evaluated in two groups of human volunteers; one group having a history of substance dependence (DRUG+) and another group with no drug use history (DRUG$-$). The hypothesis was that DRUG+ subjects would be more aggressive, more impulsive, and have attenuated serotonergic function. Results showed that DRUG+ subjects behaved more aggressively in a computer paradigm of aggression and also reported more aggression on questionnaires than DRUG$-$ subjects. In a computer paradigm of impulsivity, the DRUG+ group showed a lesser ability to delay gratification than the DRUG$-$ group in the last session of testing. The DRUG+ subjects also reported more venturesomeness and problems associated with low impulse control on questionnaires. Serotonergic function was measured through the neuroendocrine and hypothermic response to an orally administered serotonin (5-HT) agonist specific to the 5-HT$\rm\sb{1A}$ receptor subtype (ipsapirone). The neuroendocrine responses did not differ between DRUG$\pm$ groups, indicating no difference in the sensitivity of the presynaptic or postsynaptic 5-HT$\rm\sb{1A}$ receptors. An unexpected result was that the indicator hormone, cortisol, was at a lower baseline level in the DRUG+ group than the DRUG$-$ group. Lowered cortisol levels have been previously noted in children at high risk foul antisociality and future drug use. A principal components analysis including impulsivity, aggression, and serotonergic function measures produced three unique factors. The factors, Antisocial Tendency and Self-Control and Serotonergic Function combined to produce a significant regression equation explaining 36% of variability in the DRUG$\pm$ groups. These factors included measures of aggression, impulsivity, mood, and educational attainment. These results suggest that the current measures of aggression and impulsivity were predictive of a drug dependence disorder but that neuroendocrine function is not yet a useful indicator of drug dependence status. ^

Ein aggressiver Patient in meinem Dienst - Teil 1: Theorie, Epidemiologie und Pathophysiologie zur Aggression

Quintessenz • Jeder zweite Arzt erlebt im Laufe seiner Berufstätigkeit Gewalt. • Höchstes Gewaltrisiko haben medizinisches Personal in Ausbildung, weibliche Angestellte und Mitarbeiter in der Psychiatrie und den Notfallzentren. • Es gibt ex- und intrinsische Risikofaktoren für aggressives Verhalten von Patienten und Angehörigen gegenüber medizinischem Personal. • Internistische, neurologische und psychiatrische Störungen (inklusive Alkohol-/Drogenintoxikation) sowie medikamentöse Therapien können von aggressiven Verhaltensweisen begleitet sein. • Auf neurobiologischer Ebene handelt es sich um ein Ungleichgewicht im System des frontalen Cortex, anterioren Gyrus cinguli und der Amygdala. • Folgen eines Gewaltakts reichen von körperlichen und psychischen Problemen des Betroffenen bis hin zu ständigen Personalwechseln, Rekrutierungsproblemen und Wettrüsten der Institutionen. • Es wird eine «Null-Toleranz-Politik» gegen Gewalt im medizinischen Bereich und die Teilnahme an Kursen für Aggressionsmanagement empfohlen

Ein aggressiver Patient in meinem Dienst – Teil 2: Behandlung von und Umgang mit Aggression im klinischen Setting

Quintessenz • Das Erkennen von Frühwarnzeichen, Erheben einer Risikoeinschätzung bei Eintritt und der professionelle Umgang mit aggressiven Verhaltensweisen können zu Schadensbegrenzung und geringerem Verletzungsrisiko bei Patienten, Angehörigen und medizinischem Personal beitragen. • Nicht zögern bei pharmakotherapeutischen und nichtmedikamentösen, der Sicherheit dienenden Massnahmen gegen Gewalt und Aggression. • Bei selbst- und fremdaggressivem Verhalten werden Krisengespräch und Kriseninterventionsmassnahmen in der Regel durch einen psychiatrischen Dienst, auf der psychiatrischen Abteilung Isolations- und Zwangsmassnahmen ausgeführt. • Bei Selbst- und Fremdgefährdung im Rahmen einer psychischen Störung und/oder Intoxikation können die Anordnung einer fürsorgerischen Unterbringung und Einweisung in eine psychiatrische Klinik in Begleitung der Sanität und/oder Polizei erforderlich sein. • Die Teilnahme an Kursen für Aggressionsmanagement ist insbesondere für Personal von Psychiatrie und Notfallzentren empfohlen.

Hope as a resource for self-directed career management: Investigatiing mediating effects on proactive career behaviors, life and job satisfaction

ABSTRACT Hope is increasingly recognized as an important psychological resource for career development, yet the empirical research on its functioning in this domain is sparse. This paper describes an investigation of how dispositional hope is related to career decidedness, career planning, and career self-efficacy beliefs and whether these more proximal career attitudes mediate the effects of hope on proactive career behaviors, life satisfaction, and job satisfaction. This investigation was conducted using two independent samples of university students (N = 1,334) and working professionals (N = 233). The results showed that in both samples, hope was significantly related but empirically distinct from career variables. In both samples, hope had a direct effect on proactive career behaviors, partially mediated by more career planning. Hope had significant direct and indirect effects on life satisfaction among students, mediated by the three career development attitudes. Although hope was significantly correlated with job satisfaction among employees, no direct effect of hope was found in the mediation model, but an indirect effect through career decidedness was found. The results suggest that hope is an important resource for proactive career development at different career stages and that the positive relation of hope to life and job satisfaction can partially be attributed to the positive relation between hope and favorable career development attitudes.

The Career Engagement Scale: Development and validation of a measure of proactive career behaviors

Careers today increasingly require engagement in proactive career behaviors; however, there is a lack of validated measures assessing the general degree to which somebody is engaged in such career behaviors. We describe the results of six studies with six independent samples of German university students (total N = 2,854), working professionals (total N = 561), and university graduates (N = 141) that report the development and validation of the Career Engagement Scale - a measure of the degree of which somebody is proactively developing her or his career as expressed by diverse career behaviors. The studies provide supprt for measurement invariance across gender and time. In support of convergent and discriminant validity, we find that career engagement is more prevalent among working professionals than among university students and that this scale has incremental validity above several specific career behaviors regarding its relation to vocational identity clarity and career self-efficacy beliefs among students and to job and career satisfaction among employees. In support of incremental predictive validity, beyond the effects of several more specific careeer behaviors, career engagement while at university predicts higher job and career satisfaction several months later after beginning work.

Career engagement: Investigating intraindividual predictors of weekly fluctuations in proactive career behaviors

The present study applies a micro‐level perspective on how within‐individual differenc motivational and social‐cognitive factors affect the weekly fluctuations of engageme proactive career behaviors among a group of 67 German university students. Career efficacy beliefs, perceived career barriers, experienced social career support, positive negative emotions, and career engagement were assessed weekly for 13 consecutive w Hierarchical linear regression analyses showed that above‐average levels of career engage within individuals were predicted by higher than average perceived social support and pos emotions during a given week. Conversely, within‐individual differences in self‐effi barriers, and negative emotions had no effect. The results suggest that career interven should provide boosts in social support and positive emotions.

Proactive motivation and engagement in career behaviors: Investigating direct, mediated, and moderated effects

Proactive career behaviors become increasingly important in today's career environment, but little is known about how and when motivational patterns affect individual differences. In a six-month longitudinal study among German university students (Study 1; N = 289) it was demonstrated that motivation in terms of “can do” (self-efficacy and context beliefs), “reason to” (autonomous career goals), and “energized to” (positive affect) significantly predicted career behaviors. Contrary to expectation, negative context beliefs had a positive effect when combined with other motivational states. Study 2 replicated and extended those results by investigating whether “can do” motivation mediates the effect of proactive personality and whether those effects are conditional upon the degree of career choice decidedness. We tested a moderated multiple mediation model with a unique sample of 134 German students, assessed three times, each interval being 6 weeks apart. The results showed that effects of proactivity were partially carried through higher self-efficacy beliefs but not context beliefs. Supporting a moderation model, indirect effects through self-efficacy beliefs were not present for students with very low decidedness.

Examining the Relationship Between Media Use and Aggression, Sexuality, and Body Image

Objectives: The primary purpose of this research is to understand the media's impact on individual attitudes and behaviors related to aggression, sexuality, and body image. This research is of particular importance because it uses up-to-date data reflecting effects based on the current media environment. Additionally, it includes a racially diverse sample. Methods: A survey of 407 students at a large, public university was conducted. The survey instrument contained general measures related to media consumption, including overall television, video game, and internet use, as well as more specific questions related to particular types of media, such as pornography. For the dependent variables, questions were included that measured both attitudes and behaviors related to aggression, sexuality, and body image. Results: Consistent with predictions, media use impacted both attitudes and behaviors related to aggression, sexuality, and body image. Specifically, overall television consumption led to increased levels of aggression (r=.18, pr=.20, pr=.24, pr=.42, pr=.40, p Conclusions: The media continue to play an important role in the development of attitudes and behaviors. It is warranted, therefore, to continue to investigate what media can cause negative outcomes, as well as to determine how those outcomes vary based on race and gender.

Relationships of impulsivity and physical fighting history to alcohol -induced aggression in women

Research suggests women respond to the aggression-inducing effects of alcohol in a manner similar to men. Highly aggressive men are more prone to alcohol-induced aggression, but this relationship is less clear for women. This study examined whether alcohol consumption would differentially affect laboratory-measured aggression in a sample of aggressive and non-aggressive women and how those differences might be related to components of impulsive behavior. In 39 women recruited from the community (two groups: with and without histories of physical fighting) ages 21–40, laboratory aggressive behavior was assessed following placebo and 0.80 g/kg alcohol consumption (all women experienced both conditions). Baseline laboratory impulsive behavior of three impulsivity models was later assessed in the same women. In the aggression model (PSAP), participants were provoked by periodic subtractions of money, which were blamed on a fictitious partner. Aggression was operationalized as the responses the participant made to subtract money from that partner. The three components of impulsivity that were tested included: (1) response initiation (IMT/DMT), premature responses made prior to the completion of stimulus processing, (2) response inhibition (GoStop), a failure to inhibit an already initiated response, and (3) consequence sensitivity (SKIP and TCIP), the choice for a smaller-sooner reward over a larger-later reward. I hypothesized that, compared to women with no history of physical fighting, women with a history of physical fighting would exhibit higher rates of alcohol-induced laboratory aggression and higher rates of baseline impulsive responding (particularly for the IMT/DMT), which would also be related to the alcohol-induced increases aggression. Consistent with studies in men, the aggressive women showed strong associations between laboratory aggression and self-report measures, while the non-aggressive women did not. However, unlike men, following alcohol consumption it was the non-aggressive women's laboratory aggression that was related to their self-reports of aggression and impulsivity. Additionally, response initiation measures of impulsivity distinguished the two groups, while response inhibition and consequence sensitivity measures did not; commission error rates on the IMT/DMT were higher in the aggressive women compared to the non-aggressive women. Regression analyses of the behavioral measures showed no relationship between the aggression and impulsivity performance of the two groups. These results suggest that the behavioral (and potentially biological) mechanism underlying aggressive behavior of women is different than that of men. ^

Sozialer Status und Hup-Verhalten: Ein Feldexperiment zum Zusammenhang zwischen Status und Aggression im Strassenverkehr

Der Frage nach dem Zusammenhang zwischen sozialem Status und Aggressionsverhalten im Straßenverkehr wurde bereits verschiedentlich mit Hilfe des so genannten Hup-Experiments nachgegangen. Die Zeit, die vergeht, bis ein durch ein experimentelles Fahrzeug an der Weiterfahrt gehinderter Verkehrsteilnehmer die Hupe betätigt, wird dabei als (umgekehrt proportionaler) Indikator für das Ausmaß an geäußerter Aggression verwendet. Während bisherige Studien jeweils nur auf den blockierenden oder den blockierten Verkehrteilnehmer fokussierten, wird im vorliegenden Beitrag argumentiert, dass es sich um soziale Interaktionen handelt, in denen das Zusammenspiel der Eigenschaften beider Akteure für die unternommenen Handlungen von Bedeutung ist. Es werden Ergebnisse eines in der Schweiz durchgeführten Feldexperiments (N = 123) berichtet, die dafür sprechen, dass das Ausmaß an Aggression allgemein mit größerer sozialer Distanz zunimmt, und Aggression nicht, wie man aufgrund von Befunden zum Zusammenhang zwischen Status und Aggression in anderen Kontexten erwarten würde, vor allem gegenüber statustieferen Akteuren ausgedrückt wird.

Enhanced recommendations for e-learning authoring tools based on a proactive context-aware recommender

Authoring tools are powerful systems in the area of e-Learning that make easier for teachers to create new learning objects by reusing or editing existing educational resources coming from learning repositories or content providers. However, due to the overwhelming number of resources these tools can access, sometimes it is difficult for teachers to find the most suitable resources taking into account their needs in terms of content (e.g. topic) or pedagogical aspects (e.g. target level associated to their students). Recommender systems can take an important role trying to mitigate this problem. In this paper we propose a new model to generate proactive context-aware recommendations on resources during the creation process of a new learning object that a teacher carries out by using an authoring tool. The common use cases covered by the model for having recommendations in online authoring tools and details about the recommender model itself are presented.

Proactive and reactive thermal aware optimization techniques to minimize the environmental impact of data centers

Data centers are easily found in every sector of the worldwide economy. They are composed of thousands of servers, serving millions of users globally and 24-7. In the last years, e-Science applications such e-Health or Smart Cities have experienced a significant development. The need to deal efficiently with the computational needs of next-generation applications together with the increasing demand for higher resources in traditional applications has facilitated the rapid proliferation and growing of Data Centers. A drawback to this capacity growth has been the rapid increase of the energy consumption of these facilities. In 2010, data center electricity represented 1.3% of all the electricity use in the world. In year 2012 alone, global data center power demand grep 63% to 38GW. A further rise of 17% to 43GW was estimated in 2013. Moreover, Data Centers are responsible for more than 2% of total carbon dioxide emissions.