Childhood aggression is associated with many deleterious outcomes and is a common reason for psychiatric referral (Card & Little, 2006; Gurnani et al., 2016). One factor associated with childhood aggression is Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs; Felitti et al., 1998). However, existing research remains equivocal on which characteristics of ACEs (e.g., cumulative impact, typology, etc.) are significantly elated to aggression, especially when considering differential effects of ACEs on proactive aggression (PA) and reactive aggression (RA; Dodge & Coie, 1987). Post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) are a common negative sequalae of ACEs and are characterized by disruptions in several cognitive, emotional, and behavioral processes similar to those associated with both RA and PA (e.g., Marsee, 2008). As such, the examination of PTSS as an underlying mechanism of influence on the relation between ACEs, PA, and RA is warranted. The present study fills several gaps in the literature by examining ACE characteristics that might be related to PTSS, PA, and RA while also examining direct and indirect effects on the relation between ACEs, PTSS and PA and RA. Results indicated the type of ACE, specifically child maltreatment ACEs (CM-ACEs), was most strongly related to all outcome variables. Therefore, CM-ACEs were included in a path analysis with PTSS, PA, and RA. Results indicated a significant indirect effect for PTSS on the relation between CM-ACEs and RA (β = .18, p < .01) but not PA. Findings have several implications for future research and clinical practice, especially for children with an extensive history of CM-ACEs.

童年的侵略行为与许多有害的后果相关联，并且是精神科转诊的常见原因（Card＆Little，2006； Gurnani等，2016）。与儿童侵略有关的一个因素是不良儿童经历（ACEs； Felitti等，1998）。但是，现有研究仍然不清楚ACE的哪些特征（例如，累积影响，类型等）与攻击显着相关，尤其是考虑到ACE对主动攻击（PA）和反应性攻击（RA； Dodge＆Coie）的不同影响时（1987年）。创伤后应激症状（PTSS）是ACEs常见的阴性症状，其特征是与RA和PA相似的一些认知，情感和行为过程受到破坏（例如，Marsee，2008年）。因此，PTSS作为影响ACE，PA和RA之间关系的潜在机制的研究是有必要的。本研究通过检查可能与PTSS，PA和RA相关的ACE特性，同时检查对ACE，PTSS和PA与RA之间的关系的直接和间接影响，填补了文献中的空白。结果表明ACE的类型，特别是儿童虐待ACE（CM-ACE），与所有结果变量关系最密切。因此，CM-ACEs已包含在PTSS，PA和RA的路径分析中。结果表明，PTSS对CM-ACE与RA之间的关系具有显着的间接影响（β  = .18，p  <.01），而对PA没有影响。这些发现对未来的研究和临床实践具有若干意义，特别是对于具有丰富CM-ACE病史的儿童。