Aggression and emotional upbringing. New prospects for the family
PAPASTYLIANOU D.
Associate Prof. of Social Psychology University of Thraki

The rapid social developments of recent decades are affecting and altering family potentialities and pose a challenge in terms of bringing up children. As has emerged from recent studies, the role of the parents and more specifically the father has a substantial influence on the child's mental health and behaviour. In terms of aggressiveness and various forms of violence on the social and personal level, paternal involvement and the form of paternal emotional upbringing would appear to be related to aggression in children, substance abuse, co-morbidity, domestic violence, inadequate personal care and hygiene, failure to adjust at school and poor academic performance. The presentation focuses on the social position of the man and father and the psycho-social demands placed upon him as a result of the social shift of women over the past three decades or so. It shows the importance of the man's own emotional development and self-knowledge to the emotional upbringing of his children so as to promote pro-social behaviour, empathy and social and academic adjustment whilst also strengthening their mental and physical health and wellbeing. Encephalos 2010, 47(2):90.

Key words: Aggression, violence, family, emotional upbringing, children, parents.