Volume 22, Issue 3
COGNITIVE FLEXIBILITY AND INHIBITORY CONTROL: A CLINICAL APPROACH TO UNDERSTAND PEER MALTREATMENT DUE TO ABUSE OF POWER
Abstract
Peer maltreatment due to abuse of power is a type of proactive aggression frequent among schools. Aggressive behavior has been linked to impairments in some prefrontal lobe functions. This study evaluated whether there are differences in inhibitory control and cognitive flexibility among victims, aggressors, aggressive victims and witnesses of peer maltreatment. The sample included 46 adolescents who are among 12 to 17 years old. Differences were found in cognitive flexibility but not in inhibitory control. Aggressive victims showed significantly lower performance compared to other groups in cognitive flexibility. Victims showed higher scores than the other groups and aggressors do not differ from witnesses. These results suggest the differential status of aggressive victims group and they also support evidences which describe aggressors as socially competent. The discussion suggests that intervention processes have to do special emphasis over group dynamics instead of focus exclusively in individual interventions.
Keywords
inhibitory control, cognitive flexibility, aggressive victims, peer maltreatment, bullying