Promotionsförderung Anja Zeller
Anecdotally, combatants report to feel appealed by the perpetration of violence.
This trait is also called combat high or appetitive aggression. Thus far, appetitive
aggression is only assessed through self-report. The proposed PhD project intends
to create an objective marker for appetitive aggression through epigenetic
analyses. I will implement this by applying Elastic Net multivariate regression
modelling following the model of the epigenetic clock by Horvath (2013). I will
use already existing DNA data from former child soldiers and abducted children in
Uganda (N = 1012), and from active soldiers in Burundi (N = 200, two
measurement points). DNA methylation profiles from these saliva samples have
already been generated using Infinium MethylationEPIC BeadChips (Illumina). In
addition, I will also have access to collected data from other groups of excombatants
(DR Congo, N = 400; Burundi, N = 390) and active soldiers (Burundi,
N = 281, two measurement points) which will be analysed over the course of the
project. With these data sets I will create and test an epigenetic reference panel
for appetitive aggression.
Subsequently, the model will then be tested in independently collected DNA
samples. Furthermore, I will investigate which external changes impact the
characteristics of appetitive aggression on a molecular level. This novel approach
will help to improve and to test the effectiveness of interventions regarding
appetitive aggression in an objective manner.
- FB Psychologie
Name | Project no. | Description | Period |
---|---|---|---|
Sonstige | 727/18 | Hector Fellow Academy gGmbH |
Period: | 01.12.2018 – 30.11.2021 |