Publication year: 2011
Source: Aggression and Violent Behavior, Available online 22 September 2011
Aisling Malone, Andrew Carroll, Brendan P. Murphy
The current literature suggests a relationship between psychosis and the likelihood of engaging in aggressive behavior, though the factors involved are unclear. In this paper we use a social information processing framework to consider mediators of aggressive behavior in psychosis, especially facial affect recognition (FAR) deficits. The theoretical underpinnings of aggressive behavior are explored using the General Aggression Model (GAM) and FAR deficits are posited as a possible contributor to increased aggression in psychosis. Current research investigating the relationship between FAR, psychosis, and aggression is critically examined, and the role of potential confounding variables including positive symptoms, psychopathic personality traits, childhood trauma, and substance use briefly explored. In conclusion, we argue that socioemotional processing deficits, such as impaired FAR, are a fruitful area for research aimed at understanding, and hence reducing the risk of violence in psychosis.
Highlights
► Literature review exploring the potential contribution of facial affect recognition deficits in understanding the increased likelihood of aggressive behaviour in individuals suffering from psychosis. ► Use of social information processing framework to explore potential mediators of aggressive behaviour in psychosis. ► Review of existing literature investigating facial affect recognition deficits in psychosis, with particular focus on studies investigating the relationship between facial affect recognition deficits, psychosis and aggression. ► Discussion of potential confounding variables are their relationship to facial affect recognition, aggression and psychosis.