Sections
Definition and Diagnostic Criteria | Epidemiology | Comorbidity | Pathogenesis | Course | Treatment
Excerpt
IED is a DSM diagnosis used to describe people with pathological
impulsive aggression. Many clinicians and researchers rarely consider
this diagnosis, although impulsive aggressive behavior is relatively
common. In community surveys, 12%–25% of
men and women in the United States reported engaging in physical
fights as adults, a frequent manifestation of impulsive aggression
(Robins and Regier 1991). Impulsive aggressive behavior
usually is pathological and causes substantial psychosocial distress
or dysfunction (McElroy et al. 1998). Being on the
receiving end of impulsive aggressive behavior can lead to similar
behavior in a child who grows up in this environment (Huesmann et al. 1984).