Relational aggression and peer relations: Gender and developmental issues

Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, Jan 1997 by Gail S Rys, George G Bear

One of the strongest behavioral predictors of peer rejection in boys is physical aggression. Physical aggression in girls is much less common, and other behavioral predictors of rejection in girls have not been well documented. We investigated the relationship between three behaviors (physical aggression, relational aggression, and prosocial behaviors) and three social outcomes (peer rejection, acceptance, and reciprocal friendships) in third- and sixth-grade girls and boys. Significant gender differences in physical aggression and prosocial behaviors were found at both grade levels. Regression analyses demonstrated the gender-specific role of relational aggression. Among girls, but not boys, relational aggression explained variance in rejection beyond that explained by overt aggression. We further found that most children, even the most aggressive, had at least one reciprocal friend.

Aggression alone may not account for peer rejection, as reflected in research showing that as many as one half of all rejected boys are not excessively aggressive (Cillessen, van IJzendoorn, van Lieshout, & Hartup, 1992; Dubow, 1988; French, 1988). Nevertheless, aggression remains one of the strongest behavioral predictors of peer rejection (Bukowski, Gauze, Hoza, & Newcomb, 1993; Bukowski & Newcomb, 1984; Carlson, Lahey, & Neeper, 1984; Coie, Dodge, & Coppotelli, 1982; Dodge, Coie, Pettit, & Price, 1990; Waas, 1987). This is particularly true among boys-the primary focus of studies on aggression and social relations, as well as the primary focus of interventions that target aggressive behavior. However, until recently, most aggression research has been focused primarily on physical aggression to the exclusion of other forms of aggression (i.e., verbal and indirect). In this study, we were interested in exploring the association between a different type of aggression more commonly exhibited by girls, relational aggression, and two indices of peer relations-popularity (i.e., peer acceptance and rejection) and friendships. We were also interested in exploring whether the presence of a different type of social behavior, prosocial behavior, would change the relationship between aggression and popularity.

Past research has well established that boys are more physically aggressive than girls (Parke & Slaby, 1983). Additionally, researchers investigating children's cognitions about aggression have found that as early as second grade boys are more likely than girls to believe that physical aggression is an acceptable behavior (Huesmann, Guerra, Zelli, & Miller, 1992). This difference was found regardless of the conditions surrounding the aggression (provoked or unprovoked) or the targets of the aggression (aggression against other boys, against girls, or against adults). Although the idea that boys and girls might differ in other forms of aggression is not new (e.g., Feshbach, 1969), only recently have researchers investigated whether nonphysical forms of aggression among girls lead to the same negative social outcomes as does physical aggression among boys.

Lancelotta and Vaughn (1989) investigated the relationship between five types of aggression (provoked physical, unprovoked physical, outburst, verbal, and indirect) and peer acceptance. All five types of aggression correlated negatively and significantly with peer acceptance among girls. The same held true among boys, except that provoked physical aggression was not correlated with peer acceptance.

Bjorkqvist and his colleagues (Bjorkqvist, 1994; Bjorkqvist, Lagerspetz, & Kaukiainen, 1992; Bjorkqvist, Osterman, & Kaukiainen, 1992; Lagerspetz, Bjorkqvist, & Peltonen, 1988) used a cross-sectional design to investigate the use of three forms of aggression (physical, direct verbal, and indirect) among 8-, 11-, 15-, and 18-year olds. Both a developmental trend and gender differences were found in children's aggression strategies. Physical aggression was exhibited first among both boys and girls, reflecting younger children's immature language abilities and poor impulse control. This was followed by direct verbal aggression (insults, threats, yelling, name calling) and finally by indirect aggression. Indirect aggression was defined as social manipulation, consisting of such behaviors as character defamation (lies, gossip), betrayal of trust (revealing a peer's secrets to others), social exclusion by the aggressor, and influencing others to shun the victim.

In respect to gender differences, boys were more physically aggressive than girls. Although direct verbal aggression increased dramatically with age among both genders, 8-year-old boys used direct verbal aggression significantly more than same-age girls. By age 11 this difference disappeared and both boys and girls continued to use direct verbal aggression frequently through the remainder of the age groups studied.

At all ages, girls exhibited more indirect social aggression than did boys, with significant gender differences for 11-, 15-, and 18-year-olds (Bjorkqvist, Osterman, et al., 1992). According to Bjorkqvist and colleagues, the greater use of indirect aggression among school-aged girls reflected their earlier maturation and improved social intelligence. They learned ways of harming others through attacking peers' social reputation or standing without risking direct retaliation. These strategies take into account an effect/danger ratio of direct aggression that rarely favors girls' generally smaller physical size (Lagerspetz et al.,1988).