title: A meta-analysis of the distinction between reactive and proactive aggression in children and adolescents.
abstract: The present meta-analytic review aimed to clarify divergent findings concerning the relation between reactive and proactive aggression in children and adolescents. Fifty-one studies with 17,965 participants were included in the analysis. A significant correlation between reactive and proactive aggression was found. The strength of this relation varied considerably between studies, from -.10 to .89. Observational assessment and tilt/noise tasks were associated with smaller correlations than questionnaires. Within the large group of questionnaire studies, studies disentangling the form and function of aggression found lower correlations than studies that did not disentangle form and function. Among questionnaire studies, higher reliability was associated with larger correlations. Effect size did not depend on other study characteristics such as sample type, age, and informant type. It is concluded that reactive and proactive aggression are most clearly distinguished with behavioral observations and questionnaires that unravel form and functions of aggression.
authors.affiliation: Developmental Psychology, Utrecht University, Heidelberglaan 1, Utrecht, 3508 TC, The Netherlands. J.D.M.Polman@fss.uu.nl
authors.forename: Hanneke
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Polman
authors.forename: Bram
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Orobio de Castro
authors.forename: Willem
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Koops
authors.forename: Herman W
authors.initials: HW
authors.lastname: van Boxtel
authors.forename: Welmoet W
authors.initials: WW
authors.lastname: Merk
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000374:Aggression / Q000523:psychology*; D000378:Agonistic Behavior; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004291:Dominance-Subordination; D005260:Female; D006791:Hostility; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010379:Peer Group; D010552:Personality Assessment; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires