De Rol van Geslacht en Leeftijd in de Associatie tussen Agressie en Sociale Status bij Jongeren.

Abstract

Abstract Aggressive behavior of youth can cause several problems in adulthood. One reason of showing aggression is gaining social status. Previous research has indicated that aggression and social status are associated with each other. This study examined the association further between functions of aggression (proactive and reactive aggression) and dimensions of social status (popularity and social preference). In addition, this study adds the examination of the moderating role of gender and age (children and adolescents) between aggression and social status while using two datasets. The first consisted of 513 adolescents from the Netherlands (M = 13.8, SD = 1.0). They completed a questionnaire in which they named at least one classmate on various peer nomination questions. The second dataset consisted of 724 ten-year-old primary schoolchildren from Canada. The children completed a questionnaire in which they named two classmates on various peer nomination questions and their teachers were given a questionnaire about the children's behavior. Results indicated that reactive aggression was negatively associated with social preference, and proactive aggression was positively associated with popularity and negatively with social preference. There was no significant association between reactive aggression and popularity. In adolescents, gender affected the association between proactive aggression and popularity, and the association between reactive aggression and social preference. With stronger effects for girls. In children, gender did not affect the association between aggression and status. Finally, age affected the association between reactive aggression and social preference. With stronger effects for adolescents. Implications and suggestions for follow-up research are discussed. Keywords: proactive aggression; reactive aggression; social preference; popularity; age; youth; gender