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Aggression

Aggression is a common problem among schoolchildren and results in negative psychological, educational, and social outcomes for both aggressors and victims. This entry considers this aggression from both sides, that is, the side of the aggressors and the side of their victims. More specifically, it defines the terms aggression and peer victimization and reviews prevalence estimates of each. It also reviews the consequences of aggression for both aggressors and victims, as well as the antecedents or risk factors for each. This entry then moves beyond these generalities to discuss some of the subtypes of aggression and victimization. Finally, it offers some conclusions that can be drawn from the existing research and describes likely future directions for studying aggression.

Definitions and Prevalence

Aggressive behavior can be defined as any act that is aimed at harming another individual. More specifically, the study of childhood aggression often involves aggressive behaviors among peers, that is, children of similar ages (excluding aggression toward or from adults). Using this definition, attention is placed both on aggressors, who frequently enact aggression toward their peers, and on victims, who are often the targets of aggression by peers. It is important to note that some children may be considered both aggressors and victims; these aggressive-victims often have outcomes and risk factors that are distinct from children who are only aggressors or only victims.

Prevalence estimates of aggressors, victims, and aggressive-victims vary widely across studies because of different measurement strategies (e.g., reliance on children's self-reports or nominations of peers, teacher reports, observations) and criteria for classifying children (e.g., many studies define a child as a victim if they are targeted about once a week or more, but others will consider entire school years or lifetime incidents). Despite this variability across studies, it appears that about 10% to 20% of children can be considered aggressors, 10% to 20% can be considered victims, and 5% to 10% can be considered aggressive-victims. These prevalence estimates are remarkably consistent across countries, so it appears that aggression is a problem among schoolchildren worldwide. It is also worth noting that although these prevalence estimates would suggest that most children (50%–75%) are not directly involved as aggressors and/or victims, most children play some role in aggressive incidents, often serving as assistants or reinforcers to aggressors or as defenders of victims.

Consequences

The substantial prevalence of aggression and victimization is especially alarming when one considers the serious negative consequences of each. Aggressive children are often disliked by their normative (nonaggressive) peers and affiliate with delinquent peers who may solidify and expand the child's antisocial tendencies. Aggressive children are also often disengaged from school, either by their own choice or through negative teacher reactions, suspensions, and expulsions. These negative consequences of childhood are often exacerbated over time, leading to further delinquency, substance use, and school dropout during adolescence and to criminal behavior, poor marital relations, and unemployment/underemployment during adulthood. Of course, these associations are not perfect, and most aggressive children will discontinue, or at least decrease, their use of aggression with time and lead normal, well-adapted lives (in fact, there is evidence that most early adolescents will engage in some antisocial behavior, generally with few long-term consequences). At the same time, these long-term associations suggest that childhood aggression places individuals at increased risk for negative trajectories, and such behavior should certainly not be dismissed as ‘kids being kids.’

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