Sex differences in relational and overt aggression in the late elementary school years

Sex differences in relational and overt aggression among 3rd (n=176), 4th (n=179), and 5th graders (n=145) from three public schools (n=500; 278 girls) were examined. Nominations of relational aggression increased over time among 4th and 5th grade girls, but not among boys or 3rd grade girls. Among 3rd graders, boys received more nominations for relational aggression than girls. By the end of the 5th grade, girls received more relational aggression nominations than boys. There was also a significant rise in nominations of overt aggression among 5th grade girls, but not among 5th grade boys or younger boys and girls. As expected, boys were more likely than girls to be nominated for overt aggression at all grade levels. The findings are helpful for explaining inconsistencies of earlier research pertaining to sex differences in relational aggression and for advancing our understanding of the causes of aggression. Aggr. Behav. 36:282–291, 2010. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

“We're not friends anymore! unless…”: the frequency and harmfulness of indirect,relational, and social aggression

The frequency of items of indirect, relational, social, verbal, and physical aggression was assessed in the school environment of 422 adolescents, using the Indirect/Social/Relational Aggression scale (ISRA), a measure that combined items from indirect, relational, and social aggression research. We also assessed the perceived harmfulness of each item. Comparing these findings with the occurrence of aggression on television, we found that adolescents were exposed to nearly 10 times more indirect, relational, and social aggression on television than they are in school. Overall, there was no sex difference in the amount of aggression reported by boys and girls. However, when examining specific items, girls reported more gossiping and boys more hitting. Girls perceived indirect, direct relational, and verbal aggression as more harmful than did boys. Limited evidence was found for a distinction between indirect, relational, and social aggression, although it was clear that they were more similar than different. Aggr. Behav. 32:1–14, 2006. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Effects of medial preoptic hypothalamus anterior lesions on three kinds of behavior in the rat: Intermale aggressive,male-sexual,and mouse-killing behavior

Large lesions in the medial preoptic area-anterior hypothalamus (MPOA-AH) of adult male S3 rats reduce both intermale aggressive behavior and male sexual behavior considerably, but mouse-killing behavior is not impaired. Daily treatment with high doses of testosterone propionate for 21 days does not restore these behavioral effects. Smaller lesions in the same area affect male sexual and intermale aggressive behavior differently; in the frontal part of the MPOA-AH they affect aggressive behavior, while in a more caudal part they affect sexual behavior. Indications were found that lesions in specific parts of the stria terminalis and the medial forebrain bundle inhibit aggressive and sexual behavior.     

Adolescent perceptions of indirect forms of relational aggression: sex of perpetrator effects

Different types of aggressive behavior (both physical and relational) by boys and girls have been shown to be perceived differently by observers. However, most research has focused on adult perceptions of very young children, with little research examining other ages. The aim of this study is to establish any sex differences in adolescent perceptions of indirect forms of relational aggression enacted by boys and girls. One hundred and sixty adolescents were shown one of the two videos involving relational aggression and completed a questionnaire that assessed their perceptions of the aggression. The videos were identical except for the sex of the aggressor and the victim; one condition portrayed boy-to-boy aggression, the other showed girl-to-girl aggression. Results indicated that participants viewed boy-to-boy relational aggression as more justified. This study revealed that stereotypes about aggressive boys are perpetuated even when the aggression is a type that is not commonly associated with boys.     

Do beliefs about aggression predict physical aggression to partners?

Three hypotheses concerning the association between instrumental (I) and expressive (E) beliefs about aggression and physical aggression were assessed among a sample comprising students (n=40), women from a domestic violence shelter (n=29), and male prisoners (n=46), all of whom had committed at least one act of physical aggression to a partner. Participants completed an adapted version of the EXPAGG [Archer and Haigh (1997a): British Journal of Social Psychology 35:1–23] to measure I and E beliefs about aggression, the Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS) [Straus (1979): Journal of Marriage and the Family 41:75–88] for themselves and their partner, and measures of fear and injuries resulting from partner violence. I beliefs predicted self‐reported physical aggression to the partner, most CTS acts of physical aggression, and injuries to the partner, with only minor and limited associations for E beliefs. Correlations for the student and prisoner samples, and for men and women, showed different strengths. The findings supported a general link between I beliefs and aggression but offered no support for the predictions that the link would be restricted to men or to men who showed a persistent pattern of violence to their partners. Aggr. Behav. 29:41–54, 2003. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Child sex moderates the association between negative parenting and childhood conduct problems

Although multiple dimensions of negative parenting behavior are associated with childhood conduct problems (CP), there is relatively little research on whether the association is equally robust in boys and girls. To improve the specificity of current models of negative parenting and offspring CP, we explored the potential moderating role of child sex in a sample of 179 5- to 10-year-old ethnically diverse boys and girls with and without attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) who were assessed using multiple methods (i.e., rating scales, semistructured interviews) and informants (i.e., parents, teachers). Controlling for children's age, race-ethnicity, and ADHD diagnostic status (i.e., ADHD vs. non-ADHD), inconsistent discipline was positively associated with offspring aggression and rule-breaking behavior, whereas harsh punishment was positively associated with aggression, rule-breaking behavior, and oppositional defiant disorder symptoms. Furthermore, child sex significantly moderated the association of inconsistent discipline and aggression and rule-breaking behavior, such that inconsistent discipline was positively associated with CP for boys, but not for girls. Given the centrality of negative parenting to theories of and efficacious interventions for aggression and CP, we discuss these findings within a developmental psychopathology framework and consider their implications for intervention.     

Applicability of olweu' aggression inventory in a sample of chinese primary school children

A sample of Chinese children in Grade 4 (155 boys and 135 girls with an average age of 10.3 years) completed Olweu' Aggression Inventory, an instrument developed for the assessment of aggressive and aggression controlling behavior tendencies in a Western culture. Results indicated that the questionnaire gave quite meaningful information when used with the Chinese children. Two interpretable factors, general aggression and aggression control, were derived; the pattern of factor loadings was essentially the same for boys and girls. The internal consistency reliabilities of the two factor scales were in the 0.80s and 0.70s, respectively. Overall, the findings indicated that there were distinct measurable individual differences among Chinese children in the domain of aggression—in spite of strong societal pressures against aggressive behavior and towards aggression control. However, some results suggested that aggression was a somewhat more global, or less differentiated, phenomenon for the Chinese as compared with the Swedish children. The two main factor scales were related meaningfully to other self report dimensions such as positive attitude to school and negative relations with parents. In all probability, the pattern of findings gave a valid picture of the behavior and attitudes of the Chinese children: By and large they were nonaggressive, well-behaved, ambitious, friendly, prosocial, and exerted strong control over aggressive feelings and behavior tendencies. In possible conflicts with adults, they were likely to take a humble and submissive attitude. These findings agree well with the impressions of Western observers and with what can be expected on the basis of the typical socialization patterns found in the People's Republic of China. Furthermore, quite marked sex differences in aggression were obtained and a partial correlation analysis showed that the higher aggression level of the boys could only to a very limited degree be explained by their lower level of aggression control or inhibitions. Generally, the sex differences in aggression were interpreted to reflect genetic variations in basic predispositions in boys and girls that had been subtly enlarged by more or less clear, sex-linked differences in environmental conditions.     

Comparison of two aggression inventories

Two recently developed questionnaire measures of aggression, the Aggression Questionnaire [Buss and Perry (1992; Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 63:452–459]; and the Aggression Inventory [Gladue (1991a); Psychological Reports 68:675–684], were administered to a British sample (N=320) of men and women undergraduates. Both questionnaires contain subscales measuring physical and verbal aggression; the other scales of the Aggression Questionnaire measure anger and hostility, and those of the Aggression Inventory measure impulsiveness and avoidance of aggression. The factor structure of scales were assessed using confirmatory factor analysis. The interrelations of the subscales were calculated in both cases: anger was independently related to verbal and physical aggression and to hostility on the Aggression Questionnaire; impulsivity, and verbal and physical aggression were associated on the Aggression Inventory. Sex differences were largest on the two physical subscales, of lesser magnitude but still significantly different for the two verbal subscales, but absent for anger and hostility. This supports the hypothesis that sex differences in aggression are larger for more escalated forms of aggression. The physical and verbal subscales of the two questionnaires were each highly correlated with one another and the impulsive subscale of the Aggression Inventory highly correlated with the anger subscale of the Aggresion Questionnaire. Thus, two aggression questionnaires developed in the US not only produce similar associations between subscales and sex differences among a British undergraduate sample, but also show high correlations between their respective scales. © 1995 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Effects of losing and testosterone upon subsequent behavior in male and female S3 (Tryon Maze Dull) rats

Attempts were made to determine whether modification of agonistic behavior by experience differs in the sexes and if so, whether testosterone is involved in this response. Gonadectomized male and female CPB-S3 (Tryon Maze Dull) rats were treated with testosterone propionate (TP, 250 μg) or vehicle and subjected to tests in which they became either winners or losers. S3 males and females were tested against Long Evans rats to become losers or against Wistar rats to become winners. Subsequently, S3 winners were tested against losers. In addition, winners and losers were tested against naive S3 opponents of the same sex. After varied agonistic experiences, all animals were tested for social preference in a situation in which they could choose between their respective opponents without the possibility of social interaction. Thereafter, they were also exposed to a two-choice passive avoidance learning procedure to see if the behavioral effects of aggressive interactions generalized to nonsocial learning. Males and females reacted differently to winning or losing, the presence of testosterone being a critical factor in the manifestation of this sex difference. Relatively permanent effects on aggressive and other behaviors were only established in TP-treated males. Losing experiences in the social-preference test generally led to a slight preference for naive, less aggressive animals. Testosterone-treated male losers, the group expected to be most vulnerable to generalized inhibition and impairment of learning, did not differ from other categories in the two-choice passive avoidance procedure, although marked differences were observed between the sexes and between testosterone and oil-treated animals.     

Is indirect aggression typical of females? gender differences in aggressiveness in 11- to 12-year-old children

Gender differences regarding aggressive behaviour were investigated in 167 school children, 11 to 12 years of age, through peer-rating techniques supported by self-ratings and interviews. The social structure of the peer groups also was studied. The principal finding was that girls made greater use of indirect means of aggression, whereas the boys tended to employ direct means. Gender differences in verbal aggression were less pronounced. The social structure of peer groups was found to be tighter among girls, making it easier for them to exploit relationships and harm their victims by indirect manipulative aggression. Because indirect aggression has rarely been satisfactorily studied with tests of aggression, this finding may help to explain 1) the generally lower correlation found between peer-rated and self-rated aggression in girls than among boys (indirect means not being so readily recognized by the subject as a kind of aggression) and 2) the low stability of aggressiveness in girls often found in developmental studies.     

Aggression among university employees

Harassment among university employees (n = 338; 162 males, 176 females) was investigated by help of the Work Harassment Scale (WHS), developed for the study. Nineteen cases of severe victimization by harassment were interviewed. Subjectively experienced symptoms of depression and anxiety were estimated with two subscales form SCL-90 [Derogatis LR, Lipman RS, Covi L (1973): Psychopharmacology Bulletin 9: 13-28] and aggressiveness was measured with the Buss-Durkee Inventory [Buss A, Durkee A (1957): Journal of Consulting Psychology 21: 343–349]. Females experienced themselves as significantly more harassed than men. Position was related to harassment: individuals in superior positions harassed more often than individuals in subordinate positions. Less victimization by harassment was experienced among individuals involved in research and teaching than among individuals involved in administration and service. The experienced reasons for harassment were predominantly envy and competition about jobs and status. In 25% of cases, victims felt that their sex might be a reason. Victims of harassment experienced higher levels of depression, anxiety, and aggression than others. The interviewed cases showed evidence of symptoms reminiscent of the post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). © 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Empathy as a cognitive inhibitor of interpersonal aggression

The studies presented in this paper examined empathy, especially perspective taking, as a potential inhibitor of interpersonal aggression. The theoretical rationale for these investigations derived from Zillmann's [(1988): Aggressive Behavior 14: 51–64] cognitive excitation model. Study 1 revealed that dispositional empathy correlates negatively with self-reported aggression and with conflict responses that reflect little concern for the needs of the other party. Empathy also was positively related to constructive responses to interpersonal conflict (i. e., those that do involve concern for the needs of the other party). In Study 2, perspective taking was manipulated with instructions to subjects prior to participation in a reaction-time task designed to measure aggression. When threat was relatively low, subjects who were instructed to take the perspective of the target responded less aggressively than did those who had been instructed to focus on the task. Study 3 examined the effect of dispositional perspective taking on verbal aggression. Threat was manipulated in terms of the combination of provocation and gender of the interactants. As predicted, perspective taking related to aggression inhibition under conditions of moderate threat–for males under low provocation and females under high provocation. These effects were predicted and explained in the context of the cognitive-excitation model. © 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Predictors of childhood trajectories of overt and indirect aggression: An interdisciplinary approach

The aim of this study was to advance our understanding of the development of aggression in boys and girls by testing a model combining insights from both evolutionary theory and developmental psychology. A sample of 744 children (348 girls) between six and 13 years old was recruited in schools with high deprivation indices. Half of the sample (N = 372; 40.1% girls) had received special educational services for behavioral and/or socio‐emotional problems. Two trajectories for overt aggression and two trajectories for indirect aggression were identified and binomial logistic regressions were used to identify environmental predictors and sex‐specific patterns of these trajectories. Results indicated that peer rejection predicted overt aggression and indirect aggression and that extraversion and male sex predicted overt aggression. The results also showed that interaction between parental practices and some child temperament traits predicted overt aggression (coercion and lack of supervision associated with extraversion or low effortful control) or indirect aggression (coercion and neglect associated with negative affect or low effortful control), and the absence of a father figure predicted high indirect aggression in girls.