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Is indirect aggression typical of females? gender differences in aggressiveness in 11‐ to 12‐year‐old children
Author(s) -
Lagerspetz Kirsti M. J.,
Björkqvist Kaj,
Peltonen Tarja
Publication year - 1988
Publication title -
aggressive behavior
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.223
H-Index - 92
eISSN - 1098-2337
pISSN - 0096-140X
DOI - 10.1002/1098-2337(1988)14:6<403::aid-ab2480140602>3.0.co;2-d
Subject(s) - aggression , human factors and ergonomics , injury prevention , poison control , psychology , developmental psychology , suicide prevention , occupational safety and health , medical emergency , medicine , pathology
Gender differences regarding aggressive behaviour were investigated in 167 school children, 11 to 12 years of age, through peer‐rating techniques supported by self‐ratings and interviews. The social structure of the peer groups also was studied. The principal finding was that girls made greater use of indirect means of aggression, whereas the boys tended to employ direct means. Gender differences in verbal aggression were less pronounced. The social structure of peer groups was found to be tighter among girls, making it easier for them to exploit relationships and harm their victims by indirect manipulative aggression. Because indirect aggression has rarely been satisfactorily studied with tests of aggression, this finding may help to explain 1) the generally lower correlation found between peer‐rated and self‐rated aggression in girls than among boys (indirect means not being so readily recognized by the subject as a kind of aggression) and 2) the low stability of aggressiveness in girls often found in developmental studies.