# DEVELOPMENT AND SOCIAL ORGANIZATION OF AGGRESSION

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL · 1994 · $137,691

## Abstract

The goal in this research is to clarify the longitudinal course and cross-
generational transmission of social patterns.  A correlated aim is to
understand the mechanisms that regulate the etiology, course, and cross-
generational transfer of acting out, aggressive behaviors in individuals.
The project involves a representative sample of men and women of a longterm
longitudinal study who will be in their mid-twenties at this assessment,
their spouses, and their offspring.  The original longitudinal subjects
have been observed since their own childhood -- one cohort began when the
children were in the 4th grade, the other cohort begin when the children
were in the 7th grade.  The original sample has remained virtually intact
over nine annual assessments, with minimal loss due to attrition (i.e., 99%
of the living subjects in the two original cohorts were seen in the
assessment wave in the 12th grade).  Embedded in the original group were
subgroups of persons and matched controls who, as children, were at high
risk for subsequent behavioral problems.  Special attention will be given
in this study to the mechanisms that permit persons to escape the cycle of
assaultive, aggressive behavior in their own development and in the
development of their children.

Three groups of subjects will be assessed:  (i) the original longitudinal
subjects (N-689), (ii) the children of the original subjects (N-373), and
(iii) the spouses of the original subjects (N-334).  The assessments for
subjects and spouses will involve standardized measures of personal,
career, and marital adjustment, along with assessments of child rearing
patterns.  The child assessments will involve longitudinal waves of age-
appropriate measures of social network, personal, and cognitive
development.  In addition, selected official records will be obtained for
subjects, spouses, and children.  The research measures are multilevel and
transgenerational in order to determine the sequelae of conduct problems
observed in childhood and adolescence.  The results of these observations
will be integrated with the prospective longitudinal data from the
preceding generation.  For certain comparisons, it will be possible to
analyze adaptation in four successive generations.  Both person-oriented
and variable-oriented parametric analyses will be employed.  The research
team is an interdisciplinary one which involves collaborating investigators
whose scientific training has been in psychology, psychiatry, internal
medicine, education, and ethology.  It is anticipated that the findings
will clarify the etiology, course, and cross-generational transmission of
social patterns, with special focus on problem behaviors.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 2198818
- **Project number:** 5R01HD023302-06
- **Recipient organization:** UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL
- **SAM.gov UEI:** D3LHU66KBLD5
- **Principal Investigator:** ROBERT B CAIRNS
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 1994
- **Award amount:** $137,691
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 1987-08-01 → 1996-01-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/2198818

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 2198818, DEVELOPMENT AND SOCIAL ORGANIZATION OF AGGRESSION (5R01HD023302-06). Retrieved via MORVS 2026-10-25 from https://api.morvs.ai/grant/nih/2198818. Licensed CC0.

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