Aggression and self-esteem: a diary study of children's reactivity to negative interpersonal events.
The study employs a daily diary design to assess self-esteem reactivity and its association with children's aggressive behavior. We test the hypothesis that the self-esteem of aggressive children will be more reactive to negative interpersonal events than the self-esteem of nonaggressive children. Results provide partial support for the aggression/reactivity hypothesis. Aggressive children's self-esteem was more reactive to negative peer events but less reactive to negative adult events than the self-esteem of less aggressive children. These findings are discussed in relation to the experimental literature relating self-esteem instability and ego-threat to aggression and in relation to the extensive body of research on childhood aggression. Intervention implications are also considered.
Esposito
Alison J
AJ
Department of Psychology, University of Delaware, Newark 19716, USA.
Kobak
Roger
R
Little
Michelle
M
D000328:Adult; D000374:Aggression / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D002652:Child Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D003625:Data Collection; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008016:Life Change Events; D010379:Peer Group; D010551:Personality / Q000145:classification; D012649:Self Concept; D012963:Sociometric Techniques