It has been suggested in many studies and reviews that the form of aggressive behaviour displayed differs between the two genders. Studies that take on a developmental focus argue that the prevalence of aggression in general and relational/indirect aggression in particular varies over the developmental course of boys and girls with regard to its different function in children's and adolescents' biopsychosocial development. A closer look at the results on gender-specific expression of aggression reveals an ambiguous picture, however. Thus, the aim of this present paper is to discuss first results of a meta-analysis on studies that deal with questions regarding gender and age differences in relational and indirect aggression. Our results on 30 effect sizes from 23 primary studies on relational and indirect aggression revealed that there is sparse evidence for gender differences and for age differences in relational/indirect aggression, supporting a gender similarities hypothesis as opposed to a gender differences hypothesis. Further analyses are needed to investigate whether these differences are expression of developmental variances or the results of an underlying moderator effect of information source or other moderators.
When multisource feedback instruments, for example, 360-degree feedback tools, are validated, multilevel structural equation models are the method of choice to quantify the amount of reliability as well as convergent and discriminant validity. A non-standard multilevel structural equation model that incorporates self-ratings (level-2 variables) and others' ratings from different additional perspectives (level-1 variables), for example, peers and subordinates, has recently been presented. In a Monte Carlo simulation study, we determine the minimal required sample sizes for this model. Model parameters are accurately estimated even with the smallest simulated sample size of 100 self-ratings and two ratings of peers and of subordinates. The precise estimation of standard errors necessitates sample sizes of 400 self-ratings or at least four ratings of peers and subordinates. However, if sample sizes are smaller, mainly standard errors concerning common method factors are biased. Interestingly, there are trade-off effects between the sample sizes of self-ratings and others' ratings in their effect on estimation bias. The degree of convergent and discriminant validity has no effect on the accuracy of model estimates. The v 2 test statistic does not follow the expected distribution. Therefore, we suggest using a corrected level-specific standardized root mean square residual to analyse model fit and conclude with further recommendations for applied organizational research.
Supporting InformationThe following supporting information may be found in the online edition of the article: Appendix S1. R input for data generation.Appendix S2. Mplus input for model estimation.Analysing multisource feedback 315
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