David A. Nelson

Overt and Relational Aggression in Russian Nursery-School-Age Children: Parenting Style and Marital Linkages.

Maternal and paternal parenting styles and marital interactions linked to childhood aggressive behavior as described in Western psychological literature were measured in an ethnic Russian sample of 207 families of nursery-school-age children. Results corroborated and extended findings from Western samples. Maternal and paternal coercion, lack of responsiveness, and psychological control (for mothers only) were significantly correlated with childrens overt aggression with peers. Less responsiveness (for mothers and fathers) and maternal coercion positively correlated with relational aggression. Some of these associations differed for boys versus girls. Marital conflict was also linked to more overt and relational aggression for boys. When entered into the same statistical model, more marital conflict (for boys only), more maternal coercion, and less paternal responsiveness were found to be the most important contributors to overt and relational aggression in younger Russian children.

Relational and Physical Victimization Within Friendships: Nobody Told Me There'd Be Friends Like These

In past research, relational and physical forms of peer victimization have been identified that have been shown to be significantly associated with social–psychological maladjustment. These forms of victimization, although studied primarily within the group peer context, also occur within dyadic relationships such as friendships. Gender differences in friend victimization and the association between friend victimization and childrens social–psychological adjustment were examined. Results showed that boys were more physically victimized by their friends than were girls. Girls were more relationally than physically victimized by their friends. Friend victimization was related to adjustment difficulties for both boys and girls; however, friend physical victimization was particularly related to boys whereas friend relational victimization was particularly related to girls. The implications of these findings for future research and intervention with victimized children are discussed.

Toward a More Comprehensive Understanding of Peer Maltreatment: Studies of Relational Victimization

Although many past studies of peer maltreatment have focused on physical victimization, the importance of an empirical focus on relational victimization has only recently been recognized. In relational victimization, the perpetrator attempts to harm the target through the manipulation of relationships, threat of damage to them, or both. We review what is currently known about relational victimization with three issues in mind: (a) developmental changes in the manifestation of relational victimization, (b) gender differences in the likelihood of being victimized, and (c) evidence that relational victimization is harmful.

Relational and Physical Aggression of Preschool-Age Children: Peer Status Linkages across Informants.

Little is known concerning how subtypes of aggression (relational and physical) might be differentially related to preschool-age childrens classification in peer sociometric status groups (popular, average, rejected, neglected, and controversial). Furthermore, associations between aggression and sociometric status might vary according to the assessment tools utilized (e.g., peer report vs. teacher report). In this study, relational and physical aggression as well as sociable behavior of preschool-age children was assessed using peer reports and teacher reports. Peer nominations of acceptance and rejection (like and dislike nominations) were also collected and used to form sociometric status groups. Findings indicate that the behavioral differences between sociometric status group categories, obtained with older samples in previous research, is already evident as early as preschool. Furthermore, relational aggression is associated with controversial sociometric status in this age group (based on peer reports). These findings complement an emerging body of research indicating that the practice of relational aggression may be associated with greater peer status for some children.

Proactive, reactive, and romantic relational aggression in adulthood: Measurement, predictive validity, gender differences, and association with Intermittent Explosive Disorder

The psychometric properties of a recently introduced adult self-report of relational aggression are presented. Specifically, the predictive utility of proactive and reactive peer-directed relational aggression, as well as romantic relational aggression, are explored in a large (N=1387) study of adults. The measure had adequate reliability and validity and the subscales demonstrated unique predictive abilities for a number of dependent variables. In particular, reactive but not proactive relational aggression was uniquely associated with history of abuse, hostile attribution biases, and feelings of distress regarding relational provocation situations. Reactive relational aggression was also more strongly related to anger and hostility than proactive aggression. In addition, relational aggression in the context of romantic relationships was uniquely related to anger, hostility, impulsivity, history of abuse, hostile attribution biases, and emotional sensitivity to relational provocations, even when controlling for peer-directed relational aggression. Gender differences in overall levels of relational aggression were not observed; however, males were most likely to engage in peer-directed proactive and reactive relational aggression whereas females were most likely to engage in romantic relational aggression. In a second study (N=150), relational aggression was higher in a sample of adults with Intermittent Explosive Disorder than in a sample of healthy controls or psychiatric controls. The findings highlight the importance of assessing subtypes of relational aggression in adult samples. Ways in which this measure may extend research in psychology and psychiatry are discussed.

Children's Intent Attributions and Feelings of Distress: Associations with Maternal and Paternal Parenting Practices.

Many studies point to the importance of social information processing mechanisms in understanding distinct child behaviors such as aggression. However, few studies have assessed whether parenting might be related to such mechanisms. This study considers how aversive forms of parenting (i.e., corporal punishment, psychological control) as well as parental warmth and responsiveness might be concurrently associated with children’s hostile intent attributions and emotional distress in response to ambiguous provocation scenarios (both instrumental and relational). A sample of 219 children (101 boys, 118 girls) and their parents participated. Bivariate associations showed that parenting dimensions and child variables were significantly associated in mostly expected ways, but only in father–child relationships (especially father–son relationships). Analyses generally showed dimensions of aversive parenting by fathers to be associated with a greater tendency toward hostile attributional bias in children. Moreover, paternal warmth and responsiveness, as well as corporal punishment, were associated with less emotional distress in boys. In contrast, paternal psychological control predicted greater emotional distress in boys. The findings suggest that the tone of the father–son relationship, in particular, may help set the tone for how boys interpret their social world. Psychological control figures prominently in this regard.

Intent Attributions and Aggression: A Study of Children and their Parents

This research aimed to further clarify the relationship between children’s self-reported hostile intent attributions (for ambiguous instrumental or relational provocations) and peer-reported aggression (physical and relational) in 500 fourth-grade children. In addition, we examined whether parents’ intent attributions might predict children’s intent attributions and aggression. Both parents (mothers and fathers) in 393 families completed intent attribution questionnaires. Results showed, consistent with past research, that boys’ instrumental intent attributions were related to physical aggression. Children’s relational intent attributions, however, were not associated with relational aggression. Contrary to expectations, most children responded with hostile intent attributions for relational provocations. Finally, in regard to parent–child connections, maternal intent attributions correlated with children’s intent attributions whereas paternal intent attributions corresponded with children’s relational aggression.

Relational aggression in marriage

Drawing from developmental theories of relational aggression, this article reports on a study designed to identify if spouses use relationally aggressive tactics when dealing with conflict in their marriage and the association of these behaviors with marital outcomes. Using a sample of 336 married couples (672 spouses), results revealed that the majority of couples reported that relationally aggressive behaviors, such as social sabotage and love withdrawal, were a part of their marital dynamics, at least to some degree. Gender comparisons of partner reports of their spouses behavior revealed that wives were significantly more likely to be relationally aggressive than husbands. Structural equation modeling demonstrated that relational aggression is associated with lower levels of marital quality and greater marital instability for both husbands and wives. Implications are drawn for the use of relational aggression theory in the future study of couple conflict and marital aggression.

Parenting and Peer-Group Behavior in Cultural Context

Whether specific patterns of parenting are similarly associated with child peer group behavior in diverse cultural contexts has been a fascinating topic of inquiry. From classic anthropological studies dating back to the early twentieth century to the current interest in cross-cultural studies, knowledge concerning the question of universality and cultural variation in parenting linkages to childhood adjustment has expanded at an unprecedented rate (e.g., Harkness & Super, 2002). As the general field of parenting research has uncovered distinctions in parenting styles and practices (e.g., Darling & Steinberg, 1993; Hart, Newell, & Olsen, 2003), these concepts have increasingly been applied to other cultures as well. Furthermore, the study of peer relationships has also increased in complexity. For example, descriptions of social behavior have evolved to represent significant subtypes of childhood aggression (e.g., physical and relational) and peer withdrawal (e.g., reticence, solitary–passive, solitary–active). In this chapter, we highlight cultural commonalities and variations in parenting and certain child peer group behaviors that have emerged from recent studies conducted in a number of cultures around the world. For example, our own collaborative work represents cultures of Adelaide, Australia; Beijing, China; Voronezh, Russia; as well as Provo, Utah, and Baton Rouge, Louisiana (United States). As a whole, these research endeavors uniquely contribute to cross-cultural developmental science. More often than not, a relatively coherent picture regarding parenting and child outcomes is emerging from numerous cultural studies. The structure of this chapter is as follows.

Profanity in Media Associated With Attitudes and Behavior Regarding Profanity Use and Aggression

OBJECTIVE: We hypothesized that exposure to profanity in media would be directly related to beliefs and behavior regarding profanity and indirectly to aggressive behavior. METHODS: We examined these associations among 223 adolescents attending a large Midwestern middle school. Participants completed a number of questionnaires examining their exposure to media, attitudes and behavior regarding profanity, and aggressive behavior. RESULTS: Results revealed a positive association between exposure to profanity in multiple forms of media and beliefs about profanity, profanity use, and engagement in physical and relational aggression. Specifically, attitudes toward profanity use mediated the relationship between exposure to profanity in media and subsequent behavior involving profanity use and aggression. CONCLUSIONS: The main hypothesis was confirmed, and implications for the rating industry and research field are discussed.