Reactive and proactive aggression: Evidence of a two-factor model.

Abstract

This article examines the construct validity of reactive and proactive aggression, as assessed by the teacher-rating scale developed by K. A. Dodge and J. D. Coie (1987). In Study 1 (n = 149 boys), confirmatory factor analyses revealed that a 2-factor model, in which a substantial correlation was observed between the 2 latent factors, presented a better fit than a single-factor model. Study 2(n= 193 boys)"examined the relations presented by the 2 forms of aggression with peer status, leadership, social withdrawal, and victimization by peer. Reactive and proactive aggressive behaviors presented distinct patterns of relations consistent with the theoretical definitions. The results of these studies suggest that the questionnaire measures 2 forms of aggressive behavior that, although being substantially related, have a unique discriminant dimension.

Real‐time hostile attribution measurement and aggression in children

“…While some have argued that proactive and reactive aggression should be examined together because they often co-occur in a child, a strong body of literature suggests that many risk factors, including hostile attributions, relate differentially to proactive and reactive aggression (Card & Little, 2006;Dodge & Coie, 1987;Dodge et al, 1997;Kempes et al, 2006;Poulin & Boivin, 2000). The results of this study provide further support for the idea that it is helpful to partial proactive aggression out of reactive aggression to better understand the unique predictive ability of these two types of aggression.…”

“…Indeed, when examining the factor structure of the PRPA, Kempes and colleagues (2006) determined that a two-factor solution (reactive and proactive scales) was preferable to a single factor, despite the strong correlation between the two factors. Some literature has dealt with the distinction between reactive and proactive aggression by partialling out the portion of reactive aggression explained by proactive aggression, and the portion of proactive aggression that covaries with reactive aggression (Poulin & Boivin, 2000). In the current study, reactive and proactive aggression using the 11-item PRPA were highly positively correlated (r = .65, p < .001).…”

“…The effect has also been shown in samples ranging in ages from school-aged children (e.g. Crick & Dodge, 1996;Dodge & Coie, 1987) to emerging adults (Bailey & Ostrov, 2008 (Card & Little, 2006;Poulin & Boivin, 2000). Researchers have managed this apparent contradiction by using partial correlations to test the effect of each form of aggression, after partialling out the variability accounted for by the other.…”

“…The positive correlation between reactive and proactive aggression has been wellestablished (Card & Little, 2006;Kempes et al, 2006;Polman et al, 2007), though the two often differentially relate to variables of children's well-being (Card & Little, 2006;Dodge & Coie, 1987;Dodge, Lochman, Harnish, Bates, & Pettit, 1997;Kempes et al, 2006;Poulin & Boivin, 2000). Indeed, when examining the factor structure of the PRPA, Kempes and colleagues (2006) determined that a two-factor solution (reactive and proactive scales) was preferable to a single factor, despite the strong correlation between the two factors.…”

Interactive Links Between Theory of Mind, Peer Victimization, and Reactive and Proactive Aggression

“…As an organized and planned behavior, proactive aggression is related to the anticipation of a positive outcome of the aggressive behavior (Dodge et al 1997). Although studies usually report a high correlation between reactive and proactive aggression (mean r=0.68; Card and Little 2006), factor analyses and meta-analyses provide clear evidence for the validity of the distinction between the two functions of aggression (Card and Little 2006;Crick and Dodge 1996;McAuliffe et al 2007;Poulin and Boivin 2000;Vitaro et al 1998). As will be discussed in more detail below, evidence also suggests that these two functions of aggressive behavior are differentially related to social cognitive skills, particularly with respect to the decoding of social stimuli (Crick and Dodge 1996;Dodge et al 1997;Dodge and Coie 1987;Hubbard et al 2001;Schippel et al 2003).…”