The 18 types of aggression, and their effects

We have all witnessed some act of aggression at some time. Whether in real life, on television or even through a novel, violence is an element that continues to be part of our society even today. But we often make the mistake of identifying aggression with physical attack.

Although obviously an act of physical violence intentional and directed to harm another is an aggression, we can also observe other types of acts that can be considered as such. We are talking about different types of aggression, which we are going to talk about throughout this article.

• Related article: "The neurological bases of aggressive behavior"

Aggression: understanding the base concept

In order to understand the existence of differences between different types of aggression, it is first necessary to know what this concept refers to and what implications it has.

We understand as aggression to any act of violence characterized by causing intentional harm to a person, whether this act is direct or indirect. Although as we have indicated before it is traditionally associated with physical violence, aggression does not it has to be limited to it or it is even possible that there is no element in the act of aggression physical.

Damages can be physical, psychological, sexual, patrimonial or symbolic, and can have a series of serious effects on the health or integrity of the victim.

It is possible to find a large number of classifications when it comes to the different types of aggression. Examples of this are according to their nature, objective or victim.

1. Types of aggression according to its nature

There are multiple ways to classify the different types of assaults that exist. One of the most common is the one that takes into account the nature of the aggression. In turn, these can be classified into two large groups, although generally the categories are not totally mutually exclusive.

1.1. Direct assault

Direct aggression is called any type of aggression that is carried out in a perceptible way for the person attacked, whether it is on a physical or psychological level. This includes both the direct exercise of the aggression and the threat to carry it out, requiring as a minimum the aggressor and attacked in said relationship. The victim is fully capable of identifying his aggressor. Starting in adolescence, it tends to be more common in males.

1.2. Physical aggression

Any act that involves the voluntary and intentional causation of direct damage generated through any physical means and with the capacity to generate bodily harm to the person attacked. Injuries can be temporary or permanent and appear both in the short and long term, with consequences that can even be fatal. Physical aggression tends to be more associated with the male sex.

1.3. Verbal / psychological aggression

It is understood as such to all that set of acts and actions that, although they do not generate damage at a physical level, they do cause or intend to cause in the person who suffers the aggression some kind of mental or emotional damage. It includes insults, humiliations and devaluations. In this sense, this type of direct violence tends to be more distributed between the sexes. Statistically, it is one of the most practiced by women.

1.4. Sexual assault

Type of aggression in which the attacking party forces or coerces the attacked party to maintain some type of sexual contact (whether or not there is penetration) or else depriving him of the freedom to decide. Includes both rape and groping, shoves or withdrawal of the condom without consent / knowledge of the fact. Although female cases have increased in recent years, most sex offenders are male.

• You may be interested: "The Sexual Assault Control Program: this is how this type of treatment works"

1.5. Indirect assault

Indirect aggression is understood to be any act of aggression that is carried out in a indirectly, causing damages to the attacked anonymously (although he may recognize the aggressor). This type of attack is spreading more and more, and is the most frequent in women from adolescence, both academically and at work. Includes spreading rumors and slander, anonymous or publication of humiliating and ridiculing websites and messages.

1.6. Relational aggression

Indirect form of aggression based on the social exclusion caused by the person attacked, or on the cause of damage to your reputation through slander. It is usually verbal or psychological.

1.7. Cyber ​​aggression

Although it can be included in some of the previous groups (both indirect and direct), cyber aggression has as the main distinctive feature the fact that information and communication technologies are used for this purpose. communication. Through it we can find attacks on social networks, identity theft, coercion, theft of accounts, defamatory publications, non-consensual recordings (including that of possible attacks carried out with the victim), etc.

1.8. Asset aggression

This type of aggression is based on the destruction or damage to the possessions of the person attacked. Their abduction or usurpation can also be observed. It may or may not be aimed at causing harm to the victim, especially if said possessions are of high emotional value or obtaining them has required a great effort. In reality, it can be both indirect and direct (as the destruction may or may not occur covertly).

1.9. Symbolic aggression

Type of indirect aggression characterized by the fact that the attack is not carried out directly on the victim, but on elements that symbolize aspects related to him or her such as religion, politics, sexual orientation or nationality.

2. According to your goal

In addition to the main aggressions mentioned above, we can also find other types of aggression depending on the objective they pursue.

2.1. Hostile aggression

This type of aggression refers to any action aimed mainly at inflicting some type of harm to a person, so that harm is the main objective of the aggressor.

2.2. Instrumental assault

On this occasion, the aggressive act is not intended to cause harm to the person attacked, not being the suffering or discomfort of the other what is intended, but what motivates the attack is obtaining some kind of profit or benefit from said attack. An example may be financial gain, social approval, or the acquisition of a position of dominance and power.

2.3. Induced aggression

It is a type of aggressive act in which the aggressor acts moved by other people or by factors such as fear or the attempt to escape from some highly aversive situation.

3. Depending on the victim

Different types of aggression can also be observed depending on who is the person to whom the act of violence is directed.

3.1. Self-inflicted assault

It is called as such any act of aggression in which the person who is the victim of this is the same person who causes the aggression. In other words, it is an attack on oneself that can be motivated by a large number of causes. It can include self-harm caused by people with different pathologies or suicide.

3.2. Interpersonal aggression

It is the most classic and well-known type of aggression, in which one person inflicts damages on another voluntarily.

3.3. Collective aggression

Type of aggression characterized by being carried out intergroup, attacking one group to another. The target of the aggression can be variable, in many cases there is hatred, stigmatization and attempts to eliminate the other group. In this type of aggression we could include events as serious as genocides.

4. According to the context in which it occurs

Another possible classification of aggressions may come from the context in which they occur. In this sense, we can find, among others, the following

4.1. Intra-family and partner aggression

This type of interpersonal aggression can be separated from the rest by the fact that has the characteristic of occurring within the same family or between people who in principle maintain an affective bond. Domestic violence can take many forms, being mainly of a direct type, whether at the level of physical, psychological or even sexual aggression.

4.2. Aggression in the workplace

Any act of aggression produced in the context of work. We can include in this the presence of physical, verbal or even sexual assaults between employees with the same rank or those that are produced taking advantage of the difference in rank and position within the business.

4.3. Aggression at school

On this occasion we refer to acts of aggression carried out in the academic environment between students or between students and teachers. We can observe among others the presence of bullying.