An investigation of the dynamics of impulsive antisocial, aggressive behavior in children reveals that frequently this is a means of avoiding feelings of depression. The authors use the word 'depression' to designate what they see as a sense of helplessness or impotence of the ego, accompanied by feelings of hopelessness and worthlessness. They note that aggressive behavior is stimulated by a recognition of depressed feelings, on occasions when a child's adequacy or fancied omnipotence is directly threatened by the realities of a situation, where the possibility of receiving positive feelings from an adult strikes a chord within the child which reminds him of longings in the past and similar situations which may not have worked. Also, the child is drawn to remember experiences from his past that reenforce feelings of worthlessness.