HETEROAGGRESSIVENESS: CHARACTERISTICS, COMPONENTS AND PATHOLOGIES - GEOGRAFÍA - 2024

The heteroaggressivity is a kind of aggressiveness that refers to all aggressive behavior characterized by heading toward another person. It encompasses a set of patterns of activity that can manifest themselves through a variable intensity. Such behaviors include behaviors such as physical fighting, gestures, or verbal expressions.

Multiple investigations have shown that all types of heteroaggressiveness can be facilitated by various mental disorders, both organic and psychotic, characteristic or affective.

However, from a psychopathological point of view, heteroaggressiveness is configured by three main syndromes. These are: disruptive behavior, explosiveness, and agitation.

This article presents the main characteristics of heteroaggressiveness. Its components and consequences are explained and the pathologies associated with this type of behavior are reviewed.

Characteristics of heteroaggressiveness

Heteroaggressiveness constitutes that type of aggressiveness that is characterized by being directed towards external elements. In this way, it differs from self-aggressiveness, where aggressive behaviors are directed towards oneself.

Both behaviors refer to a series of activity patterns that include both physical and verbal aggressiveness.

Heteroaggressiveness is considered today as an original concept in biology that is closely related to the sexual instinct and the sense of territoriality.

This alteration is also characterized by manifesting itself in each of the levels that make up a person. That is, it is executed both physically and emotionally, cognitively and socially.

As regards the physical level, the most predominant hetero-aggressive behavior is fighting through explicit bodily manifestations. On the emotional level, on the other hand, this response usually causes manifestations such as rage or anger.

These alterations can also manifest themselves through gestures or facial expressions, changes in the tone of the voice or modifications in the use of language.

At the cognitive level, hetero-aggressiveness usually motivates the appearance of obsessions, destructive fantasies, aggressive plans or ideas of persecution. Finally, heteroaggressiveness is characterized by directly affecting the social and relational sphere of the person.

Components of heteroaggressiveness

From the psychopathological point of view, heteroaggressiveness can be facilitated by various mental disorders, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression or personality disorders.

Beyond the psychological alteration, it is postulated that heteroaggressiveness is configured in three characteristic syndromes: disturbing behavior, explosiveness and agitation.

Disturbing behavior

Heteroaggressiveness implies the appearance of a series of behaviors that are disturbing to others. These behaviors usually appear during childhood and can be included within psychopathological disorders such as defiant negativity or conduct disorder.

Defiant negativity is a typical psychological disturbance in children under the age of ten. It is characterized by the presence of markedly hostile, defiant, disobedient and provocative behavior that is clearly out of the ordinary.

For its part, conduct disorder is a characteristic psychological disorder of children over ten years of age. It is defined by a repetitive and persistent pattern of behavior in which the basic rights of other people as well as social norms are violated.

Explosiveness

Another important component of heteroaggressiveness is explosiveness. In fact, aggressive behavior often originates in many cases through a psychopathological condition known as intermittent explosive disorder.

This disorder is characterized by the appearance of episodes of loss of control over aggressive impulses.

This explosiveness originates an aggressiveness clearly disproportionate to the potentially triggered factors and is usually manifested by different verbal and / or physical attacks.

In these cases, the out-of-control episodes usually last a few minutes but, regardless of their duration, they can subside spontaneously.

Agitation

Agitation is an element of heteroaggressiveness that is characterized by causing a picture of motor hyperactivity accompanied by emotional disturbances such as anxiety, anguish or fear.

The intensity of these pictures can vary markedly, from mild restlessness to very marked and violent agitation.

Disorders of motor agitation can be the manifestation of a wide variety of physical and mental disorders such as substance intoxication, side reactions to medications, systemic or central nervous system infections, neurological disorders, etc.

Consequences

Heteroaggressiveness can be caused by multiple factors, both internal and external. Likewise, within the external factors, these can be of a different nature: family, individual, social, etc.

Heteroaggressiveness can occur at very high levels, which can motivate the appearance of criminal behavior.

Likewise, pathological heteroaggressiveness is characterized by being destructive. That is, it does not solve problems or is realistic, so it leads to the appearance of unresolved emotional problems as well as very diverse personal and social conflicts.

Thus, heteroaggressiveness is a condition similar to anxiety. It constitutes a series of behaviors and physiological responses that, at a certain level, are considered normal and functional.

However, if the magnitude of the heteroaggressive response is triggered above normal values, it usually involves the generation of a large number of negative consequences both for the subject himself and for his environment.

Beyond the physical damage that hetero-aggressiveness can cause, this type of behavior can serve to coerce and influence the behavior of others, to demonstrate the power that one possesses among subordinates or to achieve a reputation and image of a leader.

Related diseases

Heteroaggressiveness is a behavior that can be part of the symptoms of a great variety of psychological pathologies.

However, its appearance does not always have to be associated with a psychological disorder.

With regard to mental illnesses, the alterations that tend to present heteroaggressiveness more frequently within their manifestations are:

1. Schizophrenia.
2. Bipolar disorder
3. The Depression.
4. Oppositional defiant disorder.
5. Conduct disorder.
6. Antisocial Personality Disorder.
7. Borderline personality disorder.

References

1. Casarotti, H, (2010). Violent acts in mental pathologies. Uruguayan Psychiatry Journal, 74 (1), 11-21.
2. Freud, S (1991). Defense neuropsychoses. In Complete Works. Volume III. Buenos Aires, Argentina: Amorrortu Editores. Original work published in 1894.
3. Samper, P., Aparici, G., and Meter, V. (2006). Self and heteroevaluated aggressiveness: variables involved. Psychological Action, 4 (2), 155-168.
4. Stingo, NR and Zazzi, MC (2005). Evaluation of dynamic risk factors for violence. Vertex, 16 (61), 188-195.