Relationship between Body Habitus and Aggression Subtypes among Healthy Young Adults from the American Midwest

ABSTRACT

This study examined associations between body habitus and functions of aggression, in a sample of 474 college students from the Midwestern region of the United States (age range = 18-25y; 73% Caucasian). Two instruments of aggression, the Reactive-Proactive Aggression Questionnaire from Dodge & Coie (DC) and Raine et al. (RPQ) were given as self-assessments. Body habitus measures standardized by age and gender specific weight and height were collected. Subjects considered to have a large body habitus in our study had both weight and height measures above the 75th percentile. Large body habitus was positively correlated with both proactive and reactive functions of aggression among adult males but not females; however, regression analyses indicated that body habitus was most strongly and robustly associated with proactive aggression. Findings suggest that even in a healthy homogeneous population, large body size in males is associated with aggression, particularly proactive aggression including bullying rather than retaliatory aggression. The presence of a large body physique may reinforce aggressive behavioral traits acquired through life experiences and activities evoking physical dominance. Alternatively, the relationship may reflect neurological processes related to size influenced by genetic factors and hormones leading to antisocial behaviors requiring future research on the role of genes for aggression.

KEYWORDS:

• Height
• weight
• body habitus
• proactive and reactive aggression
• healthy young adults

Acknowledgments

We acknowledge the funding provided to the Consortium for Translational Research on Aggression and Drug Abuse and Dependence (ConTRADA; Fite, Manzardo & Butler) from the University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS (grant number QB864900) and support from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (grant number HD02528).

Disclosure of interest

Samantha Hartin, Waheeda Hossain, Ann Manzardo, Shaquanna Brown, Paula Fite and Merlin Butler declare that they have no conflicts of interest to report.

Ethical standards and informed

All procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation [institutional and national] and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2000. Informed consent was obtained from all participants included in the study.

Additional information

Funding

Funding was provided to the Consortium for Translational Research on Aggression and Drug Abuse and Dependence (ConTRADA; Fite, Manzardo, & Butler) by the University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS (grant number QB864900) and support from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (grant number HD02528).