Teen aggression can be a result of a sad and stressful childhood, a new study from Cornwell University says.

Researchers tried to find how adversity during childhood like poor housing, abuse and single parenting can affect a child's behavior as a teenager. The study group had approximately 260 teenagers and their parents.

"Our research examines the additive effects of multiple stressor exposures, rather than the typical focus on single variables such as divorce, abuse or housing," said Gary W. Evans, Professor of Human Ecology in Cornell's College of Human Ecology.

The study found that children who were exposed to various type of stress during childhood were poor at critical thinking and planning. These kids were also less likely to be good at self-regulation.

Earlier studies had linked childhood adversity and stress to problems like obesity, depression, diabetes and certain types of cancer. The new study, however, says that they found that kids who were exposed to adversity were more likely to show aggression and delinquency (externalizing problems) than depression and anxiety (internalizing problems).

Researchers say that both externalizing and internalizing occur via different pathways and the causes that trigger them also operate separately.

"One of the things that chronic stress seems to do in children is damage the body's ability to regulate the physiological response system for handling environmental demands with consequences for physical and mental health. By tearing apart two major subtypes of psychological well-being, internalizing and externalizing, we have shown that their predictors operate differentially," Evans said.

A study from the University of Oxford had found that presence of father during early childhood can greatly reduce the likelihood of the child developing behavioral problems later in life.

Researchers say that care and nurture can help reduce some damaging effects of poverty.

"Overall, our results suggest that while it may not always possible to increase income or reduce all risk factors, by improving parenting skills or child self-regulation abilities we may be able to ameliorate some of the effects of poverty on children's mental health," Stacey N. Doan, PhD, assistant professor of psychology at Boston University Doan and lead author of the study said in a news release.

A study from Harvard has found that that nearly two thirds of U.S teenagers have intermittent explosive disorder and have taken part in violent behavior that included damaging property.

The study was published in Developmental Psychology.