Relational aggression during early childhood: A systematic review

Swit, Cara S.; Slater, Nicola M.

doi:10.1016/j.avb.2021.101556

Cited by 8 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 122 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…However, teacher reports on the STRS and the PPRA‐TR have been found to be highly reliable and related to other informants' views such as independent observer ratings (Doumen et al, 2009; Doumen et al, 2012; Perry et al, 2021). Moreover, teachers are accurate, reliable, and unobtrusive observers of child behavior and peer interactions (Juliano et al, 2006) and are the main reports of young children's aggression (Swit & Slater, 2021). Still, it is recommended that future studies include other informants' views on children's aggression and relationship quality.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Relational and physical aggression in preschool‐age children: Associations with teacher, parent, sibling, and peer relationship quality

Swit,

Harty,

Pascoe

2023

Aggressive Behavior

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Early childhood relationships with teachers, parents, siblings, and peers are foundational factors for later social functioning. High rates of childhood aggression have been associated with negative developmental consequences, however, the associations between child aggression on the quality of these formative relationships have not been studied extensively. In a sample of young children attending preschool (N = 114, Mage = 46.27 months, SD = 9.94, 40% girls), this study investigated associations between early childhood relational and physical aggression and the quality of concurrent teacher‐child and parent–child closeness and conflict, sibling relationship quality, and positive peer interactions and peer rejection. Early childhood relational and physical aggression was associated with negative teacher–child relationships, and this was true for boys and girls. Differential patterns of prediction were found for relational and physical aggression on the other relationship variables. Relational aggression strongly predicted more positive peer interactions, whereas physical aggression predicted fewer positive peer interactions and greater peer rejection. Early childhood relational aggression predicted higher levels of teacher‐child closeness, whereas physical aggression predicted lower levels of teacher–child closeness and fewer positive sibling interactions. These findings challenge common perceptions that aggression is negatively associated with relationship quality. Notably, relational aggression relative to physical aggression may be associated with some favorable relationship outcomes. We did not find support for an additive model of aggression whereby children who were both relationally and physically aggressive (co‐morbid) were at higher risk for negative relationship quality. Implications of these findings for future research and prevention and intervention are discussed.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Relational and physical aggression in preschool‐age children: Associations with teacher, parent, sibling, and peer relationship quality

Swit,

Harty,

Pascoe

2023

Aggressive Behavior

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…At the mean level, teachers reported higher relational aggression scores in girls than in boys (although this finding was no longer statistically significant with the BH correction), as well as higher physical aggression in boys than in girls, consistent with the established gender differences in aggression use by form (Crick et al, 2006; Ostrov et al, 2004; Vaillancourt et al, 2007). Parents are not as privileged as teachers to the child's varied peer interactions and thus teacher reports are more often relied on than parent reports when examining the social behavior of young children (Swit & Slater, 2021).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Love withdrawal use by toddlers: Multi‐informant associations with aggression and parents' use of love withdrawal

Brittain

Vaillancourt

2023

Aggressive Behavior

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Love withdrawal is a form of interpersonal manipulation that shares many features with relational aggression; its use by children has not been examined. Guided by social learning theory, we sought to investigate the prevalence of toddlers' use of love withdrawal toward caregivers (parents and teachers) and further investigate how this behavior was associated with relational and physical aggression and parents' use of love withdrawal. These aims were examined using parent and teacher reports in a sample of 198 toddlers (Mage = 33.62 months; SD = 5.00 months; 50.5% girls). We found that most toddlers used love withdrawal directed at parents (79.2%) and teachers (72.1%) when angry and displayed this type of behavior more than relational and physical aggression. Accounting for household income, hours per week in childcare, and child age in months, as well as classroom clustering, we found that relational aggression, and not physical aggression, predicted the use of love withdrawal by toddlers (teacher reports), and that the associations were stronger for love withdrawal and relational aggression than for physical aggression. We also found that parents' use of love withdrawal toward their child was correlated with their reports of their child's use of love withdrawal, but not with their child's use of aggression. These results highlight the importance of considering the use of love withdrawal by children given its association with aggression which is linked to poorer psychosocial functioning.

show abstract

“…In addition to severity, aggression may also be distinguished by forms. Two commonly studied forms of aggression are physical aggression (i.e., the intent to harm through physical means or threat of physical harm) and relational aggression (i.e., the intent to harm using the relationship as the vehicle of harm; Swit & Slater, 2021). Preschool is a unique time for the development of aggressive behavior.…”

Section: The Present Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Preschool is a unique time for the development of aggressive behavior. Relational aggression has been reliably observed around 30 months, and a wealth of research has examined relational aggression during early childhood (e.g., 106 articles examined relational aggression for children 0-8 years of age; for a review, see Swit & Slater, 2021). Relational aggression has been theorized to increase as children get older, and peaks in early adolescence (Crick et al, 2006;Fite & Pederson, 2018) and physical aggression peaks in toddlerhood, is common in preschool, and substantially decreases by middle childhood (Tremblay, 2000;Vitaro & Brendgen, 2011).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

A social–ecological model of preschoolers’ aggressive behavior: An exploratory analysis.

Perry,

Perhamus,

Memba

et al. 2024

School Psychology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Understanding classroom-level correlates of preschool children's aggressive behavior is critical to identifying multiple avenues for intervention within schools. The present school-based study evaluated the reliability and validity of a classroom-level measure of physical and relational aggression and examined a social-ecological model to test whether individual variables (i.e., temperament), dyadic peer factors (i.e., peer victimization, the number of a child's play partners), and classroom-level aggression were associated with individual aggression. Observations of play partners and teacher reports of temperament (i.e., daring, prosociality, and negative emotionality), peer victimization (i.e., physical and relational victimization), and classroom aggression were collected in a sample of preschoolers (N = 307; M age = 48.99 months, SD = 7.51). Observer reports of aggression were used to create aggression severity and directionality scores, reflecting the overall level of aggression a child displays and their propensity to use physical relative to relational aggression, respectively. There was evidence to support the reliability and validity of the classroom-level aggression measure providing initial support that this measure could be used by school psychologists. A multilevel regression model indicated that higher levels of negative emotionality, daring, and a greater number of play partners were associated with higher levels of aggression severity. Children in classrooms with more relational aggression were more likely to use relational instead of physical aggression. These findings demonstrate the importance for school psychologists to account for multiple levels of influence when examining preschoolers' aggression. Impact and ImplicationsThe present study addressed gaps in the school psychology literature by evaluating the association between preschoolers' classroom-level aggression and their individual aggression while controlling for child temperament and dyadic peer experiences. Results demonstrated that classroom relational aggression was associated with the type of aggressive behavior a child uses (i.e., relational aggression), whereas temperament was more strongly related to the severity of a child's aggressive behavior. These findings indicate that school psychologists should consider individual-, dyadic-, and classroom-level factors when considering children's aggressive behavior.

show abstract

Relational aggression during early childhood: A systematic review

Cited by 8 publications

References 122 publications

Relational and physical aggression in preschool‐age children: Associations with teacher, parent, sibling, and peer relationship quality

Relational and physical aggression in preschool‐age children: Associations with teacher, parent, sibling, and peer relationship quality

Love withdrawal use by toddlers: Multi‐informant associations with aggression and parents' use of love withdrawal

A social–ecological model of preschoolers’ aggressive behavior: An exploratory analysis.

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About