Publication Date
Spring 2000
Abstract
Previous studies of aggression in childhood have found that boys, as a group, are more aggressive than girls. The majority of these studies, however, focus only on physical aggression. Recently several studies have been conducted that differentiate relational aggression from physical aggression. Relational aggression involves harming others through the purposeful damage to their peer relationships (i.e., spreading rumors or ostracizing a peer from a group activity). Several studies have found sex differences in relational aggression, as well as physical aggression. The present study explores gender, developmental, and cultural differences and similarities in relational, physical, and verbal aggression in US and Indonesian children and adolescents' free descriptions of disliked peers. As hypothesized, the results of logistic regressions indicated that males were more likely than females to describe physical aggressive behavior, while females were more likely than males to describe relationally aggressive behavior. These results were found across cultures and age groups. This study extends the research on relational aggression by utilizing a new methodology for cross-cultural research on relational aggression.
Disciplines
Psychology
Recommended Citation
Jansen '00, Elizabeth A., "U.S. and Indonesian Children's Descriptions of Relational Aggression: Gender, Development and Cultural Comparisons" (2000). Honors Projects. 81.
https://digitalcommons.iwu.edu/psych_honproj/81