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Culture is key for understanding and treatment of adolescent aggression

A recent study out of Vietnam, in Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology, offers important insights into how culture affects adolescents' aggressive responses to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). ACEs include child abuse and neglect, exposure to domestic violence, and other damaging experiences.

The study focused on the central cultural dimensions of collectivism (fundamentally defining oneself as a function of the groups of which one is a member, in particular one's family) and individualism (fundamentally defining oneself as a function of one's own individual characteristics and traits, and strongly valuing one's independence). Overall, the study found that collectivism was associated with reduced effects of ACEs on adolescents' aggressive behavior, whereas individualism was associated with increased effects.

Led by Bahr Weiss, research professor of psychology and human development at Vanderbilt Peabody College of education and human development, the study is the first to assess the moderating effects of two critical subdimensions of collectivism and individualism on relations between ACEs and youth functioning:

• The vertical subdimension, which refers to one's belief in and acceptance of the reality and necessity of power hierarchies within one's culture.
• The horizontal subdimension, which refers to belief in and emphasis placed on equality among people within one's society.

Vietnam traditionally has had high levels of collectivism, but levels of individualism have been increasing with globalization. Vietnam also has high levels of the vertical subdimension.

The study explored the potential implications of this cultural shift within a sample of 644 Vietnamese high school students and found that adolescents who had experienced child abuse or neglect, or who had been exposed to collective or peer violence, were more likely to engage in proactive and reactive aggressive behavior, such as physical and verbal aggression toward their peers.

Most importantly, however, the results indicated that collectivism—in particular vertical collectivism—reduced the effects of these ACEs on aggressive behavior. The results suggest, for example, that in a culture with high levels of vertical collectivism such as Vietnam, an adolescent who has experienced ACEs and who, in response, feels aggressive toward others, may restrain their aggressive impulses because they are concerned about how their aggressive behavior might shame their parents and family within the hierarchical society. Consequently, the adolescent may be more likely to alter their reaction to preserve family honor.

"The study results highlight the importance of the horizontal-vertical subdimensions, as they may provide for more precise theoretical explanatory and intervention models," Weiss said. "For instance, concern for the power hierarchy's reactions (vertical collectivism) to one's aggression versus concern for harm to one's groups (horizontal collectivism) by one's aggression has different implications for prevention and treatment that may be useful for maximizing the effectiveness of interventions."

Although the United States is a highly individualistic country, Weiss says that about 70% of the world's population lives in countries, like Vietnam, that are predominantly collectivistic; furthermore, a significant portion of the U.S. population are immigrants from more collectivistic cultures.

Thus, the study's findings may be useful for therapists around the world to consider how to best develop culturally sensitive treatments for adolescent aggressive behavior. For instance, a child in a collectivistic cultural setting, whether in Asia or in a sub-group in the United States, may find that being made aware of the shame that their family will feel from their actions is more effective for reducing their aggressive behavior. In contrast, a child in an individualistic culture may find that being made aware of potential punishments at school or from the law is more effective.