Hand test AGG and AOS variables: relation with teacher rating of aggressiveness

The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which the Hand Test (Wagner, 1983) variables Aggression (AGG) and the Acting Out Score (AOS) were able to differentiate a group of children who were identified as aggressive and referred for psychological assessment by their teachers from a nonreferred, control group. Hand Test scores of 37 children who had consecutive referrals for psychological assessment because of aggressiveness were compared to the Hand Test scores of 37 children, matched on age and sex, from a nonreferred group. Through the use of an analysis of variance, AOS and AGG were found to significantly differentiate between the two groups. Spearman (rho) correlations between AGG and AOS scores with aggressive-referred status were rho = .45, p = .0001, and rho = .32, p = .006, respectively. Also, diagnostic efficiency statistics demonstrated moderate to high overall correct classification rates for AOS > or = 0 and AGG > or = 2 in identifying children in the aggressive-referred group. The results of this study provide support for the validity of the AGG and AOS scores in the assessment of aggressive behavior in children and demonstrate the utility of the Hand Test to identify aggressive tendencies in children.