Gender,the Perception of Aggression,and the Overestimation of Gender Bias

The purpose of this study was to investigate how the gender of aggressor, target, and observer influences the perception and evaluation of aggression. One hundred seventy-one university students (predominantly White) read 1 of 8 vignettes that described an aggressive act. The aggressor–target gender combinations and the aggressive act were varied. Data did not support the hypothesis that, because of the impact of gender stereotypes, participants would perceive more aggressiveness in men's aggression than in women's aggression. Participants rated women's aggression as more acceptable than men's aggression, and male participants considered the aggression more acceptable, apparently because they saw the act as less aggressive. In addition, participants estimated how most men/women would perceive and evaluate the aggression. Results suggest that people overestimate how biased others are toward members of their own gender.     

Executive Functioning and Engagement in Physical and Relational Aggression among Children with ADHD

Although evidence suggests that executive functioning (EF) impairments are implicated in physically aggressive behavior (e.g., hitting) these cognitive impairments have rarely been examined with regard to relational aggression (e.g., gossip, systematic exclusion). Studies also have not examined if EF impairments underlie the expression of aggression in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and if child gender moderates risk. Children with and without clinical elevations in ADHD symptoms (N = 124; ages 8–12 years; 48 % male) completed a battery of EF tests. Parent and teacher report of ADHD and oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) symptoms and teacher report of engagement in physical and relational aggression were collected. Models tested the unique association of EF abilities with physical and relational aggression and the indirect effect through the expression of ADHD or ODD behaviors; child gender was also tested as a moderator. EF impairment was uniquely associated with physical aggression, but better EF ability was associated with relational aggression. For boys, poor EF also was indirectly associated with greater physical aggression through the expression of ADHD behaviors. However, ADHD symptoms were unrelated to relational aggression. ODD symptoms also predicted physical aggression for boys but relational aggression for girls. Results suggest that there are multiple and distinct factors associated with engagement in physical and relational aggression and that better EF may actually promote relational aggression. Established models of physical aggression should not be assumed to map on to explanations of relational aggression.     

Roles of Callous-Unemotional Traits,Narcissism, and Machiavellianism in Childhood Aggression

This study obtained teacher ratings of impulsivity, callous-unemotional traits, narcissism, and Machiavellianism for a sample of 252 middle school children, and investigated the extent to which these variables were related to reactive versus proactive aggression and physical versus relational aggression. Results showed a main effect for gender, with boys rated highest on all measures of psychopathy and aggression, with the exception of relational aggression. Results of hierarchical multiple regressions showed that whereas impulsivity was associated with all types of aggression, CU traits, narcissism, and Machiavellianism were differentially related to specific forms of childhood aggression. In addition, Machiavellianism mediated the relationship between narcissism and relational aggression. Implications for fine-tuning interventions in ways that account for the motivators underlying subtypes of childhood aggression are discussed.     

Latent Profile Analysis of Traditional and Cyber-Aggression and Victimization: Associations with Dark Triad Traits and Psychopathology Symptoms

Research has shown that while traditional (e.g., physical and relational) and cyber aggression and victimization often co-occur, individuals may differ in terms of their experiences with aggression and victimization as well as social-psychological adjustment. The current study investigated whether there are distinct groups of college students who experience different forms of aggression and victimization using latent profile analysis (LPA), and whether these groups differ from one another in their maladaptive personality characteristics and psychopathology symptoms. Participants were 540 undergraduate students from a Midwestern university (53% female; 78.5% White; average age?=?19.27 years). Four profiles were identified: Non-Involved (80.7%), Traditional Victim-Only (10.3%), Traditional Aggressor/Victim (4.8%), and Combined Aggressor/Victim (traditional aggression, cyber aggression and victimization; 4.1%). Maladaptive personality traits and psychopathology symptoms differed across the four groups. Both the traditional aggressor/victim group and the combined aggressor/victim group, compared to the non-involved and traditional victim-only group, reported higher levels of narcissism, psychopathy, and callous-unemotional (CU) traits. The traditional aggressor/victim group, compared to the combined aggressor/victim group, reported higher levels of narcissism, Machiavellianism, psychopathy, and CU traits. The combined aggressor/victim group reported higher levels of psychopathology symptoms (i.e., emotion dysregulation, depression, anxiety, and stress) compared to the traditional aggressor/victim group. These findings enhance our understanding of the heterogeneity in experiences with aggression and victimization among college students, and highlight the importance of developing interventions that target their specific mental health needs.

     

Blacks' and Whites' Perceptions of Verbal Aggression

Eighty Black and 80 White undergraduate and graduate women were presented with a set of materials depicting two women as verbally aggressive. In a between-subjects design, each participant was presented with a set of materials depicting one of the following: two women who were (a) of the same race as the participant, (b) of a different race from the participant, or (c) a mixed racial pair. Each participant was asked to rate the randomly chosen identified aggressor on several variables related to aggression. Results of a 2×2×2 MANOVA (race of participant, race of identified aggressor, race of target) indicated a main effect for race of participant such that the White participants viewed all episodes as more aggressive than the Black participants. There were no other significant main effects or interactions.     

The relation between Rorschach signs of Aggression and behavioral Aggression in Emotionally Disturbed Boys

Ratings of aggressive behavior were related to Rorschach signs of aggression for sixty-three boys at a residential treatment school for children. The total list of 26 Rorschach signs was significantly correlated with the ratings, but much of this relationship was contributed by only a few individual signs. Indices of aggressive impulses, such as aggressive content, were not significant, while the more structural indices, considered as measures of impulse control, (presence of CF and absence of human movement responses), were significantly related to the behavior ratings. Presence or absence of human responses alone differentiated between low aggression and high aggression groups about as well as did a combination of indices.     

Forms of Aggression,Social-Psychological Adjustment,and Peer Victimization in a Japanese Sample: The Moderating Role of Positive and Negative Friendship Quality

The purpose of these studies was to examine the frequency and stability of relational and physical aggression and their associations with social-psychological adjustment or peer victimization, and how friendships are involved in the relations between forms of aggression and peer victimization in Japanese children. The sample consisted of 452 (Study 1) and 138 (Study 2) children who were in the fourth and fifth grades. Results of Study 1 demonstrated that relational aggression was uniquely and more strongly associated with internalizing adjustment problems than physical aggression. Moreover, Study 2 revealed that relational aggression and physical aggression were stable over a 6-month period and the stability of relational aggression was reinforced by negative friendships (i.e., high levels of exclusivity and friend victimization). Further, the association between relational aggression and relative increases in relational victimization was attenuated by positive friendships (i.e., high levels of intimacy, companionship, and friendship satisfaction). Interestingly, friendships were unrelated to physical aggression and its relation to physical victimization. The age and gender of the children in the two studies were also examined. Cultural and developmental processes involving forms of aggression, friendships, social-psychological adjustment, and peer victimization were discussed.     

Testing a Bifactor Model of Relational and Physical Aggression in Early Childhood

Different approaches have been used to classify children as relationally aggressive, physically aggressive, or both relationally and physically aggressive (co-occurring aggression). The goal of the current study (N = 164, 50.9% boys, M _age = 47.75 months, SD = 7.37) was to test a bifactor model of aggression, which allows for aggression to be assessed dimensionally, and postulates a co-occurring aggression factor as well as unique relational and physical aggression factors, during early childhood. Aggression was measured using reliable observer and teacher reports of physical and relational aggression subscales. The two-factor model was an adequate fit to the data but the bifactor model was a significant improvement in model fit compared to the two-factor model. Alternative statistics for evaluating bifactor models were used in the current study. The measurement invariance (e.g., configural invariance, metric invariance, and scalar invariance) of the bifactor model was tested across gender and results from the bifactor model using teacher report showed that the model was invariant across gender. Lastly, the criterion validity of the model was examined by evaluating the relations between the bifactor model and observations of physical and relational aggression and results generally supported the validity of the bifactor model. Overall, results suggest that a bifactor model of aggression may be a useful method for studying aggression in early childhood.     

Connected and Isolated Victims of Relational Aggression: Associations with Peer Group Status and Differences between Girls and Boys

Some adolescents who are relationally victimized by gossip and ostracism have limited close connections to a peer or friendship group, but victimization also can be group-based, occurring between or within friendship groups. The purpose of this study was to test gender differences in these two forms of victimization, referred to as isolated and connected victimization, and to test associations of each form with peer status (social prominence and preference within the peer group) and aggressive behavior. We expected that associations between victimization, especially connected victimization, peer status and aggressive behavior would differ for boys and girls. Australian students (N = 335, M _age = 12.5 years) self-reported victimization, and nominated peers who were victimized, accepted, rejected, socially prominent, and unpopular. Connected and isolated forms of victimization were correlated, but differences were found in their correlations with other measures and by gender. Especially when reported by peers, adolescents higher in connected victimization were also higher in both aggression and social prominence (i.e., they were more popular and considered leaders); yet, they were also more disliked (rejected). In contrast to connected victimization, isolated victimization was associated with negative peer status only, and weakly and inconsistently associated with aggression. Finally, gender moderation was found, which showed a pattern of aggression, prominence and dislike among adolescent females who were connected victims, but this pattern was not nearly as pronounced in their male counterparts.     

Combined Effects of Masculine Gender‐Role Stress and Sexual Prejudice on Anger and Aggression Toward Gay Men

This study was designed to examine the extent to which masculine gender‐role stress, sexual prejudice, and antigay anger collectively facilitate antigay aggression. Participants were 135 heterosexual men who completed a structured interview assessing masculine gender‐role stress, sexual prejudice, anger in response to a vignette depicting a non‐erotic male–male intimate relationship (i.e., partners holding hands, kissing), and past perpetration of antigay aggression. The results indicate that the association between masculine gender‐role stress and antigay aggression is partially mediated by antigay anger among sexually prejudiced men. These findings contribute to theoretical understanding of antigay aggression. Implications for future research and intervention are discussed.     

A Framework for Explaining Aggression Involving Groups

Aggression involving groups (versus individuals) can be particularly severe (e.g., hazings). Although an impressive amount of experimental research on the aggression of individuals exists, relatively less experimental research on aggression involving groups exists. We use existing theories of aggression and the available research to present a framework of aggression when groups are involved. We propose a provisional model that suggests that the extent of aggression to be committed depends on the composition of both source (i.e., perpetrators – group or individual) and target (i.e., victims – group or individual) entities. Evidence suggests that groups commit and receive more aggression than individuals. We propose that accessible hostile thoughts and the experience of negative affect contribute to the target effect (i.e., more aggression committed toward groups versus individuals), whereas disinhibition processes and arousal contribute to the source effect (i.e., more aggression committed by groups versus individuals). Our framework can guide future theory and research on aggression involving groups.     

Physical attractiveness in preschoolers: Relationships with power, status, aggression and social skills

Several lines of theory and research suggest that power (e.g., social dominance) and status (e.g., social prominence and positive peer regard) are enjoyed by those blessed with good looks. The present work addresses the relations among physical attractiveness, power, status, and aggression from a resource control theoretic perspective that suggests that group members find power holders physically attractive, even if they are aggressive. Teacher ratings of physical attractiveness, social dominance, peer reception, aggression, and social skills were collected on 153 preschoolers (3-6 years) from a Midwestern city. Positive peer regard was derived via sociometric nominations. Raters unfamiliar with the children assessed their physical attractiveness from photographs. Results show that teachers' perceptions of physical attractiveness are a function of power, status, and social skills. Additionally, teachers rated aggressive children who employ both prosocial and coercive strategies of resource control (bistrategic controllers) to be among the most physically attractive. These relations did not emerge for raters unbiased by children's behavior. Results suggest social dominance achieved via prosocial means begets attractiveness ratings, even if accompanied by high levels of aggression. The implications for intervention are discussed.     

A Review and Reconceptualization of Social Aggression: Adaptive and Maladaptive Correlates

The emergence of a research literature exploring parallels between physical and nonphysical (i.e., social, relational, indirect) forms of aggression has raised many questions about the developmental effects of aggressive behavior on psychological functioning, peer relationships, and social status. Although both forms of aggression have been linked to problematic outcomes in childhood and adolescence, more recent findings have highlighted the importance of considering the possible social rewards conferred by socially aggressive behavior. This paper examines relevant theory and empirical research investigating the adaptive and maladaptive correlates specific to nonphysical forms of aggression. Findings are explored at the level of group (e.g., peer rejection), dyadic (e.g., friendship quality), and individual (e.g., depressive symptoms) variables. Key developmental considerations and methodological issues are addressed, and recommendations for future research integrating current theoretical conceptualizations and empirical findings on social aggression are advanced.     

The Role of Relational Aggression in Identifying Aggressive Boys and Girls

Peer perceptions of relational and overt aggression and peer evaluations of social competencies were obtained for 461 boys and 443 girls in second and third grades. In contrast to Crick and Grotpeter (1995), boys obtained higher relational and overt aggression scores than girls, and the relation between both types of aggression and peer evaluations were similar for boys and girls. When controlling for levels of overt aggression, relational aggression made a statistically significant but small contribution to the prediction of both peer-evaluated competencies and teacher ratings of aggression in boys and girls. Analyses treating relational and overt aggression as categorical variables revealed gender differences in the prevalence and corresponding sociometric status of aggressive subtypes. When peer-rated relational aggression status is not considered, 60% of aggressive girls, compared to 7% of aggressive boys, are not identified as aggressive. High levels of overt aggression were more likely to result in peer rejection for girls than for boys. In a subsample of 112 children, peer-rated relational aggression contributed more to the discrimination of teacher-identified aggressive and nonaggressive girls, whereas peer-rated overt aggression contributed more to the discrimination of teacher-identified aggressive and nonaggressive boys.     

Exploring the Association between Aggression and Anxiety in Youth: A Look at Aggressive Subtypes,Gender, and Social Cognition

We examined the associations among dimensions of aggression and anxiety disorder symptoms in an ethnically diverse community sample of youth (N = 83; 46% female). Research supports the existence of four aggressive subtypes (i.e., reactive overt, reactive relational, proactive overt, and proactive relational), and past research has found associations between relational aggression and anxiety, as well as between reactive aggression and anxiety. However, past studies have not examined the associations among anxiety symptoms and the combined subtypes of aggression mentioned above. Results of our study provided support for an association between anxiety and reactive relational aggression. In addition, gender was found to moderate the association, in that males with high anxiety showed higher levels of reactive relational aggression than males with low anxiety and girls. Further, we found that socially based negative cognitive errors mediated the association between reactive relational aggression and anxiety. Results are discussed in terms of clarifying gender differences in aggression, treatment implications, and the need for longitudinal studies to delineate the temporal associations between aggression and anxiety.     

Aggressive Experiences and Aggressiveness: Relationship to Ethnicity,Gender, and Age1

This study assessed the relationship of experiences as a target and an instigator of aggression to ethnicity, gender, age, and scores on the Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire in a sample of 363 university students. Anglos reported experiencing more aggression in their lifetime than Hispanics as both target and aggressor, but there were no interactions between ethnicity and gender. Males had experienced more aggression than females both over a lifetime and in the last month; they also scored significantly higher on scales of physical and verbal aggression. Respondent age was negatively correlated with experiences of aggression in the last month and with aggression questionnaire scale scores. The results are consistent with a social learning account of aggression as influenced by both individual experiences and culture.     

Differential Genetic and Environmental Influences on Reactive and Proactive Aggression in Children

While significant heritability for childhood aggression has been claimed, it is not known whether there are differential genetic and environmental contributions to proactive and reactive forms of aggression in children. This study quantifies genetic and environmental contributions to these two forms of aggression in an ethnically diverse urban sample of 9–10 year old twins (N = 1219), and compares results across different informants (child self-report, mother, and teacher ratings) using the Reactive–Proactive Aggression Questionnaire (RPQ). Confirmatory factor analysis of RPQ items indicated a significant and strong fit for a two-factor proactive–reactive model which was significantly superior to a one-factor model and which replicated across gender as well as the three informant sources. Males scored significantly higher than females on both self-report reactive and proactive aggression, findings that replicated on mother and teacher versions of the RPQ. Asian–Americans scored lower than most ethnic groups on reactive aggression yet were equivalent to Caucasians on proactive aggression. African–Americans scored higher than other ethnic groups on all measures of aggression except caregiver reports. Heritable influences were found for both forms of aggression across informants, but while boys’ self-reports revealed genetic influences on proactive (50%) and reactive (38%) aggression, shared and non-shared environmental influences almost entirely accounted for girls’ self-report reactive and proactive aggression. Although genetic correlations between reactive and proactive aggression were significant across informants, there was evidence that the genetic correlation was less than unity in boys self reported aggression, indicating that genetic factors differ for proactive and reactive aggression. These findings provide the first evidence for varying genetic and environmental etiologies for reactive and proactive aggression across gender, and provide additional support for distinction between these two forms of aggression.     

Social sanction and threat explanations of gender effects on direct and indirect aggression

The present study examined two explanations for gender differences in expression of direct and indirect aggression. The social sanction model suggests that aggressor and target gender effects may be accounted for in terms of social sanctions against behaving aggressively; indirect aggression is the likely outcome of inhibitions against expression of direct aggression. The threat argument suggests that high levels of direct aggression in male‐male dyads as well as apparent inhibitions against harming females might be accounted for by the fact that males are more threatening targets than are females. Research participants completed a questionnaire measure of direct and indirect aggression twice, once with reference to their behavior toward a same‐gender target and once with reference to their behavior toward an other‐gender target. Although most direct aggression was reported by male aggressors toward male targets, gender of target did not relate to indirect aggression. Males reported approximately equal levels of indirect and direct aggression. Although females reported using more indirect than direct aggression, they did not differ from males in their reports of the frequency of use of indirect aggression. These results provided some support for both models of gender effects on human aggression and suggest the appropriateness of a relatively complex model of gender effects on aggression. Aggr. Behav. 25:425–434, 1999. © 1999 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Direct and Indirect Aggression: Relationships as Social Context

The studies reported in this paper examined the effect of social context—target gender and target relationship—on reports of direct and indirect aggression. In Study 1, participants completed the Richardson Conflict Response Questionnaire (RCRQ; Richardson & Green, 2003 ), which measured their direct and indirect aggression behavior in response to anger. Participants also selected a relationship partner to complete the RCRQ with reference to their own (i.e., participants') behavior. In Study 2, participants completed the RCRQ with reference to their behavior in response to anger with a romantic partner, a same-sex friend, and an opposite-sex friend. In both studies, relationship with aggression target was an important determinant of aggression, with more direct aggression occurring in romantic relationships, and more indirect aggression occurring in friendship relationships.