A study from the University of Arizona reveals that the decisions teens make about whether to act aggressively in early adolescence influence their future behaviors as young adults. This is the first research that indicates decision-making and behavior are related over time.

Researchers asked 522 middle and high school students and their parents to complete questionnaires about aggressive behaviors such as fighting, lying, bullying, and stealing. When the teens were in grades 8 and then grade 11, they watched videos that presented situations in which they could choose to act aggressively. For example, in one scenario, a teen picks up an abandoned backpack and then someone picks a fight with him. The first teen has to decide whether to fight back.

The results of the study indicate that there is a link between antisocial conduct and judgments about aggressive behaviors in early, middle, and late adolescence, and that the way teens evaluate aggressive behaviors influences their own behaviors and decisions.

This study appears in the journal Child Development.

Labels: aggression, behavioral_issues, studies