Social-information-processing factors in reactive and proactive aggression in children's peer groups.

In Study 1, a teacher-rating instrument was developed to assess these behaviors in elementary school children (N?=?259). Reactive and proactive scales were found to be internally consistent, and factor analyses partially supported convergent and discriminant validities. In Study 2, behavioral correlates of these forms of aggression were examined through assessments by peers (N?=?339). Both types of aggression related to social rejection, but only proactively aggressive boys were also viewed as leaders and as having a sense of humor. In Study 3, we hypothesized that reactive aggression (but not proactive aggression) would occur as a function of hostile attributional biases and intention-cue detection deficits. Four groups of socially rejected boys (reactive aggressive, proactive aggressive, reactive-proactive aggressive, and nonaggressive) and a group of average boys were presented with a series of hypothetical videorecorded vignettes depicting provocations by peers and were asked to interpret the intentions of the provocateur (N?=?117). Only the two reactive-aggressive groups displayed biases and deficits in interpretations. In Study 4, attributional biases and deficits were found to be positively correlated with the rate of reactive aggression (but not proactive aggression) displayed in free play with peers (N?=?127). These studies supported the hypothesis that attributional biases and deficits are related to reactive aggression but not to proactive aggression. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Categorizing partner-violent men within the reactive–proactive typology model.

A system for categorizing partner-violent men as either reactive or proactive aggressors was developed and evaluated in the present study. Sixty partner-violent men were reliably categorized, and the distribution (62% reactive, 38% proactive) fell within the expected range. Some construct validity was demonstrated, as several significant predicted group differences were found on factors of theoretical relevance to the typology model (affectivity, personality, and violence in the family-of-origin). Proactively versus reactively categorized participants were (a) more dominant and less angry during a 10-min interpartner interaction, (b) more antisocial and aggressive–sadistic and less dependent, and (c) more frequently classified as psychopathic (17% vs. 0%). Research and clinical implications of the system are discussed, as is the potential overlap between the reactively and proactively categorized partner-violent men in this study with previously identified types. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The role of proactive and reactive aggression in the formation and development of boys' friendships.

This study tested the hypothesis that friends are more similar in proactive aggression than in reactive aggression. Interpersonal processes that may account for this similarity (i.e., selection and mutual influence) were also examined. In the fall and spring of the school year, the friendships of 185 4th-, 5th-, and 6th-grade boys were identified. Proactive and reactive aggressive behavior were assessed with a teacher-rating instrument for each boy. The results support the general hypothesis and suggest that proactively aggressive boys tend to select proactively aggressive peers as friends; however, mutual influence between stable friends does not appear to account for similarity. These findings are discussed within the framework of G. R. Patterson, J. B. Reid, and T. J. Dishion's (1992) theory of antisocial behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reactive and proactive aggression: Evidence of a two-factor model.

This article examines the construct validity of reactive and proactive aggression, as assessed by the teacher-rating scale developed by K. A. Dodge and J. D. Coie (1987). In Study 1 (n?=?149 boys), confirmatory factor analyses revealed that a 2-factor model, in which a substantial correlation was observed between the 2 latent factors, presented a better fit than a single-factor model. Study 2 (n?=?193 boys) examined the relations presented by the 2 forms of aggression with peer status, leadership, social withdrawal, and victimization by peer. Reactive and proactive aggressive behaviors presented distinct patterns of relations consistent with the theoretical definitions. The results of these studies suggest that the questionnaire measures 2 forms of aggressive behavior that, although being substantially related, have a unique discriminant dimension. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social-cognitive processes of severly violent, moderately aggressive, and nonaggressive boys.

Examined social–cognitive processes of aggressive and nonaggressive boys at preadolescent and early adolescent age levels. The social-cognitive variables included processing of cues, attributions, social problem solving, affect labeling, outcome expectations, and perceived competence and self-worth. Results indicated that a wide range of social-cognitive processes is distorted and deficient for violent and moderately aggressive children, and that different types of social cognition contribute unique variance in discriminating among groups. Severely violent boys at both age levels had difficulties with cue recall, attributions, social problem solving, general self-worth, and a pattern of endorsing unusually positive affects that they may experience in different settings. Moderately aggressive boys shared some of the social-cognitive difficulties demonstrated by severely violent boys, but they also displayed indications that their aggression may be more planfully aimed to achieve expected outcomes. When the moderately aggressive and the violent boys differed from the nonaggressive boys on attributional biases and low perceived self-worth, a continuum existed with violent boys displaying more extreme social-cognitive dysfunctions than the moderately aggressive boys. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

It takes two to fight: A test of relational factors and a method for assessing aggressive dyads.

Observations of aggressive interactions in boys' laboratory play groups were used to evaluate the relative importance of relational and individual factors in accounting for aggressive acts. A classroom peer-rating method for identifying mutually aggressive dyads was validated in 11 5-session play groups, composed of 2 mutually aggressive boys and 4 randomly selected male classmates from 11 predominately African American 3rd-grade classrooms. When the social relations model was used, relationship effects accounted for equally as much of the variance in total aggression and proactive aggression as either actor or target effects. Mutually aggressive dyads displayed twice as much total aggression as randomly selected dyads. Members of mutually aggressive dyads attributed greater hostile intentions toward each other than did randomly selected dyads, which may serve to explain their greater aggression toward each other. The importance of studying relational factors, including social histories and social–cognitive processes, is discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Aggressive boys' hostile perceptual and response biases: the role of attention and impulsivity

The present study addressed whether (1) aggressive boys show hostile biases or general deficits in social perception, (2) aggressive boys' social perceptual difficulties also characterize isolate and isolate-aggressive children, (3) aggressive, isolate, and isolate-aggressive boys' social perceptual difficulties are attributable to inattention and impulsivity, and (4) aggressive and nonaggressive boys differ in the links between social perception and proposed behavioral responses. Aggressive boys demonstrated hostile biases, but not general deficits, in intention-cue detection relative to average-status boys. Isolate-aggressive boys resembled aggressive boys in social perception, whereas isolate boys showed mild deficits relative to average-status boys. Although isolates' general deficits were predominantly accounted for by inattention and impulsivity, aggressives' and isolate-aggressives' hostile biases remained after these problems were statistically controlled. The aggressive groups proposed aggressive responses much more frequently than the nonaggressive groups following intentions perceived as nonhostile. Measures corresponding to several stages of Dodge's social information processing model discriminated the aggressive from nonaggressive groups, thus providing support for this model.     

Aggressive behavior among Israeli elementary school students and associated emotional/behavioral problems and self-control.

This study aimed to identify aggression patterns among students, compare teachers' and students' reports on aggressiveness, and examine whether emotional and behavioral problems and self-control intercorrelate with aggression and can explain it among students. The study investigated 363 students aged 8 to 11 years and their 12 homeroom teachers in two elementary schools in central Israel. As expected, students reported higher verbal aggression than physical without gender differences in the general tendency. Also, students reported a higher rate of others' aggression toward them than their own aggression toward others. Similarities emerged between students' and teachers' reports. Four types of students were classified: the aggressive initiator (proactive), the aggressive responder (reactive), the passive victim, and a neutral type. An important outcome was the significant negative association of aggressiveness with self-control. Students with higher rates of self-control skills presented lower rates of aggressive behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The distinction between beliefs legitimizing aggression and deviant processing of social cues: Testing measurement validity and the hypothesis that biased processing mediates the effects of beliefs on aggression.

In 2 studies the authors examined knowledge and social information-processing mechanisms as 2 distinct sources of influence on child aggression. Data were collected from 387 boys and girls of diverse ethnicity in 3 successive years. In Study 1, confirmatory factor analyses demonstrated the discriminant validity of the knowledge construct of aggression beliefs and the processing constructs of hostile intent attributions, accessing of aggressive responses, and positive evaluation of aggressive outcomes. In Study 2, structural equation modeling analyses were used to test the mediation hypothesis that aggression beliefs would influence child aggression through the effects of deviant processing. A stronger belief that aggressive retaliation is acceptable predicted more deviant processing 1 year later and more aggression 2 years later. However, this latter effect was substantially accounted for by the intervening effects of deviant processing on aggression. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A cross-cultural study of the psychometric properties of the Reactive–Proactive Aggression Questionnaire among Italian nonclinical adolescents.

Five independent studies were used to test the hypothesis that a reliable 2-factor structure underlies the Reactive–Proactive Aggression Questionnaire (RPQ) items and that the 2 scales show distinct patterns of association with personality and bullying behavior measures. Study 1 (N = 1,447) gave evidence of a clear 2-factor structure of RPQ items with factor loading matrices closely matching reactive (congruence coefficient = .90) and proactive (congruence coefficient = .91) models of item assignment. The RPQ 2-factor structure was consistently replicated in Study 2 (N = 662), as well as across the remaining 3 studies. In Study 3 (N = 536), Neuroticism differentiated reactive and proactive forms of aggression. In Study 4 (N = 674), self-reports of bullying behaviors were selectively correlated with proactive aggression. Findings confirm and extend the differential correlates of proactive–reactive aggression and also support the psychometric properties of the RPQ in a different cultural context. Finally, in Study 5 (N = 347), the RPQ scales showed adequate 2-month test–retest reliability. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Video games and aggressive thoughts, feelings, and behavior in the laboratory and in life.

Two studies examined violent video game effects on aggression-related variables. Study 1 found that real-life violent video game play was positively related to aggressive behavior and delinquency. The relation was stronger for individuals who are characteristically aggressive and for men. Academic achievement was negatively related to overall amount of time spent playing video games. In Study 2, laboratory exposure to a graphically violent video game increased aggressive thoughts and behavior. In both studies, men had a more hostile view of the world than did women. The results from both studies are consistent with the General Affective Aggression Model, which predicts that exposure to violent video games will increase aggressive behavior in both the short term (e.g., laboratory aggression) and the long term (e.g., delinquency). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A developmental investigation of social aggression among children.

Social aggression consists of actions directed at damaging another's self-esteem, social status, or both, and includes behaviors such as facial expressions of disdain, cruel gossiping, and the manipulation of friendship patterns. In Study 1, 4th, 7th, and 10th graders completed the Social Behavior Questionnaire; only boys viewed physical aggression as more hurtful than social aggression, and girls rated social aggression as more hurtful than did boys. In the 1st phase of Study 2, girls participated in a laboratory task in which elements of social aggression were elicited and reliably coded. In the 2nd phase of Study 2, another sample of participants (elementary, middle, and high school boys and girls) viewed samples of socially aggressive behaviors from these sessions. Girls rated the aggressor as more angry than boys, and middle school and high school participants viewed the socially aggressive behaviors as indicating more dislike than elementary school children. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Multidimensional latent-construct analysis of children's social information processing patterns: Correlations with aggressive behavior problems.

Social information processing (SIP) patterns were conceptualized in orthogonal domains of process and context and measured through responses to hypothetical vignettes in a stratified sample of 387 children (50% boys; 49% minority) from 4 geographical sites followed from kindergarten through 3rd grade. Multidimensional, latent-construct, confirmatory factor analyses supported the within-construct internal consistency, cross-construct discrimination, and multidimensionality of SIP patterns. Contrasts among nested structural equation models indicated that SIP constructs significantly predicted children's aggressive behavior problems as measured by later teacher reports. The findings support the multidimensional construct validity of children's social cognitive patterns and the relevance of SIP patterns in children's aggressive behavior problems. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Examining genetic and environmental effects on reactive versus proactive aggression.

This study compared the contribution of genes and environment to teacher-rated reactive and proactive aggression in 6-year-old twin pairs (172 pairs: 55 monozygotic girls, 48 monozygotic boys, 33 dizygotic girls, 36 dizygotic boys). Genetic effects accounted for 39% of the variance of reactive aggression and for 41% of the variance of proactive aggression. The remainder of the variance was explained by unique environmental effects. Genetic as well as unique environmental effects were significantly correlated across reactive and proactive aggression (genetic correlation = .87, environmental correlation = .34), but this overlap was largely due to a common underlying form of aggression (i.e., teacher-rated physical aggression). Once common etiological factors due to physical aggression were accounted for, reactive and proactive aggression shared no other genes and only a few environmental influences, although additional specific genetic and environmental effects were observed for both reactive and proactive aggression. These specific effects indicate that both reactive and proactive aggression may be influenced mostly by socialization experiences that are specific to each type of aggression and only to a very small degree by specific genes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social maladjustment and problem solving in school-aged children.

Examined the relationship between social adjustment and the cognitive skills of solving interpersonal problems. 68 popular, aggressive, or isolated boys at 2 grade levels (2nd–3rd and 4th–5th) were presented with 6 hypothetical problem situations and asked to generate alternative solutions to the problems. Ss were subsequently asked to evaluate the effectiveness of solutions presented to them by the experimenter. It was found that the popular Ss generated more solutions than either the aggressive or isolated groups, which did not differ. The initial solutions of all groups were rated as "effective," in most cases, by independent coders. Subsequent solutions, however, varied as a function of S status. Popular Ss continued to generate effective solutions, whereas deviant Ss generated aggressive and ineffective solutions. No differences among S groups were found in the evaluations of the effectiveness of given solutions. Data support the notion that deviant boys are deficient in the cognitive problem-solving skills of generating alternative solutions but are not deficient in the evaluation of presented solutions. (22 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Factors associated with marital aggression in male alcoholics.

Male alcoholics who were physically aggressive toward their wives in the year before alcoholism treatment (n?=?71) were compared with nonaggressive counterparts (n?=?36). Two key patterns were associated with marital aggression: (a) binge drinking linked with coercive marital conflicts and (b) markers of a severe early onset alcoholism syndrome. Maritally aggressive men were younger and exhibited more binge drinking, higher prevalence of arrest, more verbal aggression, greater alcohol problem severity, earlier alcohol problem onset, more alcoholism among male biological relatives, less maternal alcohol use, less confidence in their ability to manage interpersonal conflict without drinking, and stronger beliefs that alcohol causes marital problems. Marital adjustment levels were not associated with marital aggression, and very few differences were found between moderate and severe violence groups. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The dyadic nature of social information processing in boys' reactive and proactive aggression.

The correlation between boys' social cognitions and their aggressive behavior toward peers was examined as being actor driven, partner driven, or dyadic relationship driven. Eleven groups of 6 familiar boys each (N?=?165 dyads) met for 5 consecutive days to participate in play sessions and social-cognitive interviews. With a variance partitioning procedure, boys' social-cognitive processes were found to vary reliably across their dyadic relationships. Furthermore, mixed models regression analyses indicated that hostile attributional biases toward a particular peer were related to directly observed reactive aggression toward that peer even after controlling for actor and partner effects, suggesting that these phenomena are dyadic or relationship oriented. On the other hand, the relation between outcome expectancies for aggression and the display of proactive aggression appeared to be more actor driven and partner driven that dyadic. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Boys with peer adjustment problems: Social cognitive processes.

30 4th-grade and 30 6th-grade males with positive (P) or negative (N) peer status were asked to generate alternative solutions to hypothetical problems, evaluate possible solutions, describe self-statements, and rate the likelihood of possible self-statements to investigate the hypothesis that maladjusted Ss (N peer status) would lack specific social cognitive skills. Hypothetical problems were presented in interviews that emphasized situations involving acts of aggression. Interviews were conducted in 2 parts, involving knowledge of interpersonal problem-solving strategies and attributional style assessment. Results indicate that N Ss generated fewer alternative solutions, proposed fewer assertive and mature solutions, generated more intense aggressive solutions, showed less adaptive planning, and evaluated physically aggressive responses more positively and positive responses more negatively than did P Ss. Data support the notion that boys with social adjustment problems are deficient in the cognitive problem-solving skill of generating multiple alternative solutions. Findings suggest that differences in knowledge and/or attitudes concerning normative social behavior may contribute to the more negative behavior patterns observed in socially maladjusted boys. (28 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The persistence of teacher-reported behavioral problems among children aged 8 to 12

This investigation assessed psychiatric symptoms in children reported by teachers at two points of time, and the persistence of symptom groups over an interval of four years. 1128 children born in 1981 (mean age 8.5 yr in Study 1 and 12.5 yr in Study 2) were studied, using the Rutter Scale B2 questionnaires in both studies. The frequencies of teacher-reported problems generally decreased over an interval of four years. Hyperkinetic symptoms were the most prevalent at both occasions. Gender differences were seen in both studies, boys outnumbering girls on most items. Symptoms were classified into five groups representing hyperactivity, internalizing and externalizing behaviour, relationship difficulties, and habits. The correlations of these different groups in Study 1 with those in Study 2 were moderate. Among deviant girls, correlations were high or moderate for externalizing, hyperactivity and internalizing behavior between the two studies. For deviant boys, high correlations between the studies were found for hyperactivity and habits. Externalizing behavior was also highly correlated with relationship difficulties among deviant boys. Two symptom groups (hyperactivity and relationship difficulties) and low performance level in Study 1 increased the probability of being deviant in Study 2 among boys, and four interactional terms (hyperactivity by relationship difficulties, hyperactivity by performance level, internalizing by performance level, and externalizing by relationship difficulties) also had an effect. Among girls, the probability of being deviant in Study 2 was increased if they were hyperactive or had relationship difficulties in Study 1. Furthermore, one interactional term (hyperactivity by performance level) had an impact on deviance among girls.