Aggression in Schools

Subtypes of Aggression

There are a number of different ways to conceptualize subtypes of aggressive behaviors. First, many researchers have subdivided aggression into reactive and proactive subtypes. The reactive subtype is characterized by impulsive aggressive behavior that occurs in retaliation to another's behavior (e.g., a child who is bumped from behind while walking down the hall responds by hitting and punching the child who bumped into him or her). In contrast, the proactive subtype is characterized by aggressive behavior that is enacted in order to achieve a specific goal (e.g., a child pushes another child in order to obtain a desired toy). Children who exhibit reactive aggression have emotional regulation difficulties, inattentive and impulsive behaviors, social skills deficits, and are more disliked than children who frequently exhibit proactive aggression (Bloomquist & Schnell, 2002). On the other hand, children who exhibit high levels of proactive aggressive behavior are typically calm, self-confident, and expect to benefit from the aggressive action (Bloomquist & Schnell, 2002).

[Page 18]Over the past 10 to 15 years, there has been an increasing emphasis on understanding the ways in which boys and girls differently express their anger and aggression toward others. Most researchers agree that boys tend to display anger through direct, physical means, such as hitting, pushing, kicking, and punching. This subtype of aggression has been called physical or overt aggression and is thought to be related to dominance. However, there is a growing recognition that physical/overt aggression does not adequately capture the means by which girls demonstrate more subtle forms of aggression when angry at others. For instance, some researchers have argued that girls display indirect aggression. Indirect aggression is defined as attacking others in a more covert and circuitous manner such as through social manipulation. Others have characterized girls as expressing social aggression, which is described as damaging others' self-esteem, social status, or both, by verbally rejecting them, starting rumors, or expressing displeasure toward another through negative facial and body movements. Finally, the term relational aggression is used by an increasing number of researchers to designate the subtype of aggression that involves the harmful manipulation and damage of peer relationships. Relationally aggressive behaviors include starting rumors about others, ignoring peers or threatening to withdraw friendships, and excluding others from a group or activity (Crick & Grotpeter, 1995). Most research suggests that the gender gap in comparing the number of aggressive boys to aggressive girls is considerably lessened when one takes into account the means by which boys and girls aggress. Ongoing research is being conducted to better understand the differences between indirect, social, and relational aggression, and to determine which subtype may be the most meaningful one to contrast with physical/overt aggression.

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