Engagement in gender normative versus nonnormative forms of aggression: Links to social–psychological adjustment.

Although many important advances have been made in our understanding of childhood aggression in recent years, a significant limitation of prior studies has been the lack of attention to the possible moderating role of gender in the links between aggression and social–psychological adjustment. To address this issue, the author evaluated the adjustment status associated with engagement in gender normative versus gender nonnormative forms of aggression for both boys and girls. Indexes of social–psychological adjustment assessed included teacher and self-reports of internalizing and externalizing difficulties (N?=?1,166 children 9–12 years old). Results showed that children who engaged in gender nonnormative forms of aggression (i.e., overtly aggressive girls and relationally aggressive boys) were significantly more maladjusted than children who engaged in gender normative forms of aggression and children who were nonaggressive. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relational and overt aggression in preschool.

This research was designed as an initial attempt to assess relational aggression in preschool-age children. Our goal was to develop reliable measures of relational aggression for young children and to use these instruments to address several important issues (e.g., the relation between this form of aggression and social–psychological adjustment). Results provide evidence that relationally aggressive behaviors appear in children's behavioral repertoires at relatively young ages, and that these behaviors can be reliably distinguished from overtly aggressive behaviors in preschool-age children. Further, findings indicate that preschool girls are significantly more relationally aggressive and less overtly aggressive than preschool boys. Finally, results show that relational aggression is significantly related to social–psychological maladjustment (e.g., peer rejection) for both boys and girls. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relational aggression, gender, and peer acceptance: Invariance across culture, stability over time, and concordance among informants.

It has been proposed that overt physical and verbal aggression are more prevalent among boys and that covert aggression in the context of interpersonal relationships is more typical of girls. The purpose of this study was to replicate and extend American research on this topic to Italy. Italian elementary school pupils (n?=?314) and their teachers provided nominations for aggression and prosocial behavior on 2 occasions within a single school year. Both peer and teacher nominations were highly stable, though there was very poor concordance between them. Peer nominations for both overt and relational aggression were linked to peer rejection. Contrary to expectations, boys scored higher than girls in both overt and relational aggression. Nevertheless, on the basis of the gender composition of extreme groups, the authors conclude that the distinction between overt and relational aggression is as useful in facilitating research on aggressiveness among girls in Italy as it is in the United States. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Gender differences in physical aggression: A prospective population-based survey of children before and after 2 years of age.

There has been much controversy over the past decades on the origins of gender differences in children's aggressive behavior. A widely held view is that gender differences emerge sometime after 2 years of age and increase in magnitude thereafter because of gender-differentiated socialization practices. The objective of this study was to test for (a) gender differences in the prevalence of physical aggression in the general population of 17-month-old children and (b) change in the magnitude of these differences between 17 and 29 months of age. Contrary to the differential socialization hypothesis, the results showed substantial gender differences in the prevalence of physical aggression at 17 months of age, with 5% of boys but only 1% of girls manifesting physically aggressive behaviors on a frequent basis. The results suggest that there is no change in the magnitude of these differences between 17 and 29 months of age. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Alcohol and aggressive personality styles: Potentiators of serious physical aggression against wives?

This study examined the relationship between alcohol consumption and marital aggression in a community sample (N?=?272) assessed in a longitudinal study at premarriage and at 6, 18, and 30 months of marriage. Participants completed self-report measures of alcohol problems and total alcohol consumption, aggressive personality style, marital aggression, marital adjustment, and divorce potential. Husbands' alcohol problems were associated with serious aggression at premarriage and at 6 months. Alcohol use interacted with aggressive personality traits in predicting aggression at 18 months. Husbands' premarital aggression, but not alcohol problems, was predictive of wives' future steps toward divorce and lower marital adjustment. Results are discussed in relation to the marital mediational model of alcohol and aggression in marriage and to the need to account for developmental changes in the relation between alcohol and aggression during the early years of marriage. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Personality Study of Construction Professionals in the Turkish Construction Industry

Although the relationship between personality characteristics and job performance has aroused significant research interest, there is limited research in the construction context. Thus, the primary focus of this study is to determine whether personality differences exist among the construction professionals. The Turkish version of Gough’s Adjective Check List is employed to assess the personality characteristics of construction professionals. Following are only some of the findings derived from the one way ANOVA and independent sample T-test used for the analysis: Architects tend to score higher on the scales of aggression, change, and creative personality than do civil engineers; whereas civil engineers have higher scores on the scales of order, endurance, interception, nurturable, affiliation, personal adjustment, military leadership, and feminine attributes than architects. When it comes to gender, counseling readiness, along with autonomy, become two of the most differentiating factors between males and females. The findings of this study reveal that similarities and differences do exist among architects and civil engineers, males and females, and various age groups and should be managed accordingly for the ultimate success in the construction profession.     

Age of onset, symptom threshold, and expansion of the nosology of conduct disorder for girls.

The study of conduct disorder (CD) in girls is characterized by several nosologic controversies that center on the most common age of onset, the most valid symptom threshold, and the possible inclusion of other manifestations of antisocial behavior and dimensions of personality as part of the definition of CD. Data from a prospective, longitudinal study of a community sample of 2,451 racially diverse girls were used to empirically inform these issues. Results revealed that adolescent-onset CD is rare in girls. There was mixed support for the threshold at which symptoms are associated with impairment: Parent-reported impairment provided the clearest evidence of maintaining the current Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed.; American Psychiatric Association, 1994) threshold of 3 symptoms. The impact of callousness and relational aggression on impairment varied by informant, with small effects for parent- and youth-reported impairment and larger effects for teacher-rated impairment relative to the effects for CD. These results support arguments for revising the typical age of onset of CD for girls but for maintaining the current symptom threshold. The results also suggest the need to consider subtyping according to the presence or absence of callousness. Given its content validity, relational aggression requires further study in the context of oppositional defiant disorder and CD. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relational and overt forms of peer victimization: A multiinformant approach.

This research addressed 2 limitations of past research on peer victimization: the tendency to study boys only and the tendency to focus on forms of peer maltreatment that are common in boys' peer groups (victimization through overt aggression) but occur much less frequently in girls' peer groups. Peer- and self-report instruments were used to assess a relational form of victimization in addition to the overt form that has been the focus of past research. Results showed that girls were more relationally victimized, whereas boys were more overtly victimized. Both forms of victimization were shown to predict concurrent sociopsychological adjustment problems significantly (e.g., peer rejection, loneliness) beyond aggression. Victims identified through a combination of self- and peer-reports were particularly maladjusted. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Response decision processes in relational and overt aggression

Response decision processes of relationally and overtly aggressive children were assessed for both boys and girls. A hypothetical-situation instrument, adapted from past research, was used to assess children's evaluations of relationally aggressive and overtly aggressive responses to both relational and instrumental conflict situations for third-through sixth-grade children (n = 1,166). Findings revealed that both overtly aggressive boys and overtly aggressive girls evaluated overtly aggressive responses to instrumental conflict situations in relatively positive ways. Further, overtly aggressive girls, but not boys, evaluated overtly aggressive responses to relational conflict situations in relatively positive ways. Additionally, relationally aggressive boys evaluated relationally aggressive responses to instrumental conflict situations in relatively positive ways. Gender differences were also obtained. Boys evaluated overt aggression more positively, whereas girls evaluated relational aggression more positively. Implications of these findings for the role of gender, situation type, response type, and aggression type for our understanding of children's social information processing are discussed.     

Gender labeling and the adoption of sex-typed behaviors.

A gender-labeling task was used to test the ability of 21 girls and 22 boys ranging in age from 21 to 40 mo to discriminate between pictures of boys and girls and male and female adults. Ss who passed the gender task (mean age 30 mo) were compared with Ss who failed it (mean age 26 mo) on 3 behaviors most often categorized as sex typed (toy choice, aggression, and peer playmate selection). It was predicted that Ss who passed the task would choose more sex-typed toys and same-sex peers and that there would be a drop in aggression for girls who passed but no change for boys. Results confirm the predictions for aggression and peer choice but not for toy choice. The relation between the child's understanding of gender categories and environmental influences is discussed. (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relational competence, relationships, and adjustment in old age.

Investigated how the implications of relational competence and satisfying personal relationships for adjustment differ among young-old (60–72 yrs) and old-old (73–94 yrs) adults. Four studies with 377 young-old and old-old adults were conducted to test the hypothesis that among old-old Ss, adjustment and psychological well-being would be less predictable from personality (relational competence) variables or from satisfactory social involvements. Results indicate that for the young-old Ss, relational competence, social involvement, and satisfaction with social support relationships were associated positively with morale, self-esteem, and adjustment to widowhood. This pattern was not found among the old-old Ss. Findings are consistent with the (role-theoretical) view that personality characteristics assume meaning only when they have interpersonal consequences, and with the notion that the very old often experience a less prescribed and less evaluative social environment, with fewer social opportunities or role functions. (43 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Parental support and psychological adjustment during the transition to young adulthood in a college sample.

The purpose of this study was to extend the understanding of how parental support relates to psychological adjustment during the transition from adolescence to young adulthood in a college sample. Ss were 175 college students who had relocated geographically on beginning college. Ss were followed for 2 yrs, beginning from when they were, on average, 18 yrs of age. Social support from both mother and father and a nonconflictual relationship between parents played an important adaptive role during the transition to young adulthood, as was hypothesized. Cross-sectional and prospective (controlling for initial sociable disposition and adjustment) structural equation models showed that initial parental support was associated with psychological adjustment 2 yrs later both directly and indirectly, through young adults' sociable disposition. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Harsh Parenting in Relation to Child Emotion Regulation and Aggression.

This study presents a model of harsh parenting that has an indirect effect, as well as a direct effect, on child aggression in the school environment through the mediating process of child emotion regulation. Tested on a sample of 325 Chinese children and their parents, the model showed adequate goodness of fit. Also investigated were interaction effects between parents' and children's gender. Mothers' harsh parenting affected child emotion regulation more strongly than fathers', whereas harsh parenting emanating from fathers had a stronger effect on child aggression. Fathers' harsh parenting also affected sons more than daughters, whereas there was no gender differential effect with mothers' harsh parenting. These results are discussed with an emphasis on negative emotionality as a potentially common cause of family perturbations, including parenting and child adjustment problems. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Concerns about drawing causal inferences from meta-analyses: An example in the study of gender differences in aggression.

Meta-analysis has increasingly been used as an explanatory research tool. The present investigation was designed to illustrate the potential limitations of meta-analysis for making causal inferences. Several meta-analytic investigations have led others to conclude that gender differences are getting smaller over time, however, there has been little concern regarding changes in research methodology over time. The present findings indicate that the gender differences in aggression appear to be remarkably stable when changes in study characteristics over time are controlled. The authors discuss the implications for the use of meta-analytic procedures to make causal inferences and the implications for understanding the causes of gender differences. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Overt and Relational Aggression and Perceived Popularity: Developmental Differences in Concurrent and Prospective Relations.

Relations of overt and relational aggression with perceived popularity among children and early adolescents were examined in 2 studies (Ns = 607 and 1,049). Among older youths, positive concurrent relations found between overt aggression and perceived popularity became nonsignificant when relational aggression was controlled, whereas positive associations found between relational aggression and perceived popularity held when overt aggression was controlled. Aggression and perceived popularity were not positively related for the younger participants. The 2nd study also examined the temporal ordering of these relations over 6 months. For older girls, positive relations between relational aggression and perceived popularity were bidirectional. For older boys, relational aggression did not predict increased perceived popularity, but perceived popularity predicted increased relational aggression. Implications for intervention are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Genetic and environmental architecture on human aggression.

A meta-analysis was performed on data from 24 genetically informative studies by using various personality measures of aggression. There was a strong overall genetic effect that may account for up to 50% of the variance in aggression. This effect was not attributed to methodological inadequacies in the twin or adoption designs. Age differences were important. Self-report and parental ratings showed genes and the family environment to be important in youth; the influence of genes increased but that of family environment decreased at later ages. Observational ratings of laboratory behavior found no evidence for heritability and a very strong family environment effect. Given that almost all substantive conclusions about the genetics of personality have been drawn from self or parental reports, this last finding has obvious and important implications for both aggression research in particular and personality research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Etiology and measurement of relational aggression: A multi-informant behavior genetic investigation.

Although the study of relational aggression is gaining attention in the literature, little is known about the underlying causes of this behavior and the relative validity of various informants. These issues were addressed in a sample of 1,981 6- to 18-year-old twin pairs (36% female, 34% male, 30% opposite-sex). Relational aggression was assessed via maternal and self-report using a structured interview. Univariate models estimated genetic and environmental influences by informant and examined evidence for gender differences. A psychometric model combined data from both informants to estimate etiologic influences that were both common to the informants and informant specific. In both sexes, the latent variable reflecting the mother’s and child’s shared perception of the child’s relational aggression was substantially influenced by both additive genetic (63%) and shared environmental (37%) influences, although this latent variable accounted for much greater variance in the maternal report (66%) than it did in the youth report (9%). In addition, informant-specific additive genetic and shared environmental influences were found only for the youth report, with all remaining variance in the mother’s report attributed to nonshared environmental influences. Results are discussed in the context of measuring relational aggression and the importance of multiple informants. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Young adult identities and their pathways: A developmental and life course model.

Developmental and life course studies of young adult identities have focused on 2 dimensions: subjective age and psychosocial maturity. This study examines the developmental synchrony of these 2 processes. In a longitudinal sample of young adults from Add Health (ages 18–22), a person-centered analysis of indicators of these dimensions identified 4 identity profiles. Two depict early and late patterns of identity; the others represent contrasting types of discordance: pseudo-adult, with subjective age more advanced than maturation level, and anticipatory, with subjective age less advanced than maturational level. The profiles vary by gender, socioeconomic status, and race–ethnicity, as well as by adolescent (ages 12–16) pubertal maturation, psychosocial adjustment, and family context. These results provide support for a more holistic, interdisciplinary understanding of adult identity and show that young adult identities in the Add Health sample follow differentiated paths into the adult years, with largely unknown consequences for the subsequent life course. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Personality influences on change in smoking behavior.

Objective: To investigate associations between personality traits in early adulthood (and changes in them) and change in smoking status. Design: Prospective, longitudinal study of a general-population birth cohort. Main Outcome Measures: We measured smoking at ages 18, 26, and 32, and personality at ages 18 and 26 using the Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire (Tellegen & Waller, in press). We assessed personality’s ability to predict future smoking, and assessed how changes in personality traits relate to change in smoking status. Results: Higher aggression and alienation at age 18 predicted smoking at 26; higher self-control and traditionalism at age 18 predicted nonsmoking at 26; and higher alienation at age 26 predicted persistence of smoking to age 32. Personality change between 18 and 26 was associated with change in smoking behavior; those who stopped smoking decreased more than others in negative emotionality and increased more in constraint. Conclusion: These findings suggest that interventions fostering personality change may be effective in reducing smoking and indicate appropriate targets for such antismoking interventions in young people. In particular, high alienation predicted smoking persistence, perhaps due to resistance to existing antismoking messages; we discuss approaches that may overcome this. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)