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Patterns of Change in Early Childhood Aggressive‐Disruptive Behavior: Gender Differences in Predictions from Early Coercive and Affectionate Mother‐Child Interactions
Author(s) -
McFadyenKetchum Steven A.,
Bates John E.,
Dodge Kenneth A.,
Pettit Gregory S.
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
child development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.103
H-Index - 257
eISSN - 1467-8624
pISSN - 0009-3920
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-8624.1996.tb01865.x
Subject(s) - psychology , developmental psychology , early childhood , human factors and ergonomics , poison control , injury prevention , child development , behavior change , childhood development , suicide prevention , social psychology , medicine , environmental health
The present study focused on mother‐child interaction predictors of initial levels and change in child aggressive and disruptive behavior at school from kindergarten to third grade. Aggression‐disruption was measured via annual reports from teachers and peers. Ordinary least‐squares regression was used to identify 8 separate child aggression trajectories, 4 for each gender: high initial levels with increases in aggression, high initial levels with decreases in aggression, low initial levels with increases in aggression, and low initial levels with decreases in aggression. Mother‐child interaction measures of coercion and nonaffection collected prior to kindergarten were predictive of initial levels of aggression‐disruption in kindergarten in both boys and girls. However, boys and girls differed in how coercion and nonaffection predicted change in aggression‐disruption across elementary school years. For boys, high coercion and nonaffection were particularly associated with the high‐increasing‐aggression trajectory, but for girls, high levels of coercion and nonaffection were associated with the high‐decreasing‐aggression trajectory. This difference is discussed in the context of Patterson et al.'s coercion training theory, and the need for gender‐specific theories of aggressive development is noted.