Children with low self-restraint more likely to develop aggressive behaviour

Primary school children aged between six and 11 years with lower executive function are more likely to show physical, relational and reactive aggression down the line, but not proactive aggression.

According to a study published in open-access journal Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience, this is due to an increased tendency for anger but the aggression could be reduced and restricted by improving their executive function – a measure of cognitive skills that allow a person to achieve goals by controlling their behaviour.

Children with a greater deficit executive function at the start of the study displayed more aggressive behaviour up to three years later.

Aggressive behaviour was found to be more common among boys, but the links between executive function, anger, and aggression seemed to be similar regardless of gender.

Deficits in executive function were linked to an increase in reactive aggression over time, but not proactive aggression.

Helena Rohlf, the lead author on the study which was conducted by researchers at the University of Potsdam in Germany, said this latest point tied in with the idea of proactive aggression as 'cold-blooded', planned aggression.

“Executive function allows children to behave in a planned and deliberate fashion, which is characteristic of proactive aggression,” she explained.

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