Boys’ and Girls’ Relational and Physical Aggression in Nine Countries.
Distinguishing between relational and physical aggression has become a key feature of many developmental studies in North America and Western Europe, but very little information is available on relational and physical aggression in more diverse cultural contexts. This study examined the factor structure of, associations between, and gender differences in relational and physical aggression in China, Colombia, Italy, Jordan, Kenya, the Philippines, Sweden, Thailand, and the United States. Children ages 7–10 years (N = 1,410) reported on their relationally and physically aggressive behavior. Relational and physical aggression shared a common factor structure across countries. In all nine countries, relational and physical aggression were significantly correlated (average r = .49). Countries differed in the mean levels of both relational and physical aggression that children reported using and with respect to whether children reported using more physical than relational aggression or more relational than physical aggression. Boys reported being more physically aggressive than girls across all nine countries; no consistent gender differences emerged in relational aggression. Despite mean-level differences in relational and physical aggression across countries, the findings provided support for cross-country similarities in associations between relational and physical aggression as well as links between gender and aggression.
Center for Child and Family, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27708, USA. Lansford@duke.edu
Jennifer E
JE
Lansford
Ann T
AT
Skinner
Emma
E
Sorbring
Laura
L
Di Giunta
Kirby
K
Deater-Deckard
Kenneth A
KA
Dodge
Patrick S
PS
Malone
Paul
P
Oburu
Concetta
C
Pastorelli
Sombat
S
Tapanya
Liliana Maria Uribe
LM
Tirado
Arnaldo
A
Zelli
Suha M
SM
Al-Hassan
Liane Peña
LP
Alampay
Dario
D
Bacchini
Anna Silvia
AS
Bombi
Marc H
MH
Bornstein
Lei
L
Chang
D000374:Aggression / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D002652:Child Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D002681:China; D003105:Colombia; D003466:Cultural Characteristics; D005260:Female; D005783:Gender Identity; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D007558:Italy; D007597:Jordan; D007630:Kenya; D008297:Male; D010379:Peer Group; D010679:Philippines; D012649:Self Concept; D012737:Sex Factors; D013548:Sweden; D013785:Thailand; D014481:United States