October 30, 2007
Kamloops Daily News


Canadians' worst fears are confirmed by recent statistics.
We think teenagers are a violent group so it's not
surprising to learn that 84 teenagers were charged with
killings last year, most of them gang related.

What is surprising is that teenagers are not the most
violent age group. That distinction belongs to a much, much
younger group according to a documentary produced by the
National Film Board of Canada called Origins of Human
Aggression recently shown on the Knowledge Network.

Researchers wanted to find out just when aggression started
in humans so they started studying younger subjects. They
were surprised to learn that babies express a lot of anger
and aggression.

This discovery was astonishing because the usual stereotype
of babies is that they are cute and cuddly. It also
contradicts commonly held theories of the origin of
aggression: children are born pure but are corrupted by
society; adolescents are like fruit that goes rotten with
time; babies are born in sin but their wicked ways are soon
beaten out of them.

All of them are wrong but the last theory is the closest,
according to Dr. Richard Tremblay of University of Montreal.
He discovered that the apparent wide-eyed innocence of
babies is deceptive.

We enter the world born angry and aggressive. The damage
that we do is only limited by our small physical size and
puny strength. Compared to babies, teenagers are civilized.

Tremblay filmed and recorded the actions of babies for two
decades. Cuteness aside, he found that one-quarter of all
their actions were aggressive.

However, babies are not born in sin - - they are simply
underdeveloped humans in need of nurture and guidance.

Aggression develops as baby grows. Improved motor skills
allows for exploratory aggression. Crawling babies pull
hair and punch others. Once a toddler is able to stand, his
hands are freed for pushing and hitting.

Most parents will recognize the unexplained bouts of rage
that start in the terrible twos. Tantrums are triggered by
seemingly minor things. Walking allows these tiny terrors
to increase striking range. If they weighed 200 lbs and had
real weapons rather than toys, we would live in a much more
violent society.

While motor skills improve the three-year-old's potential
for serious violence, physical aggression is beginning to
decline. And by school age, aggression has declined
further.

In this period of development, the child's brain grows to
three times the original weight and significant
reorganization of the brain normally takes place.
Development of the prefrontal cortex plays a part
restraining aggression.

Adult intervention is important in the socialization of
children. Parents and caregivers must make it clear that
aggression is not acceptable and that there are non-violent
ways of resolving conflict such as speech and peer pressure.

Physical discipline is counterproductive. "Children who are
hit are more likely to hit later on, and hitting is a very
good predictor of crime later on," says criminologist Joan
McCord of Temple University.

Brain scans of murderers show underdeveloped prefrontal
cortices which coincide with lack of control of aggression.
The inhibiting brain functions can be damaged by dangerous
chemicals in the environment, poor diet, and exposure to
nicotine and alcohol. Shaking baby damages the prefrontal
cortex.

Physical abuse of children results in poor social skills and
a vicious cycle starts in which they are shunned by friends
who might otherwise have a good influence on them. With
nowhere else to go, dysfunctional children form groups with
others. These gangs revel in antisocial behaviour.

Is it any wonder that the increase of teen violence is the
result of gangs? When losers get together, they reinforce
antisocial behaviour and the escalation of violence becomes
the only way of maintaining esteem.

Juvenile delinquents represent a huge cost to society.
Nobel Prize-winning economist James Heckman studied social
spending and found that, from an economic perspective, early
intervention is cheaper than bigger prisons.

Canada's Conservative government proposes that we get tough
on crime. A good place to start is an investment in child
care and parenting skills. It will pay off in the next
generation.

However, it's difficult for governments to think past the
next election. The politics of fear and stereotypes wins
votes. So we constantly clean up the mess left by the
neglect of children of a previous generation.

The origins of human aggression are clear and reversible.
The sooner we start the better.




David Charbonneau is the owner of Trio Technical.
He can be reached at dcharbonneau13@shaw.ca

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