Aggression in Malaysian adolescents: Validation of the IRPA self-report to measure reactive and proactive aggression

We examined the concurrent relations of children’s reactive and proactive aggression with their experience of peer victimization. Extending previous research, we assessed these relations at both the child and classroom levels. We predicted that reactive aggression would relate positively to peer victimization, proactive aggression would relate negatively to peer victimization, and that these relations would vary with classroom levels of aggression. Participants included 1,291 fourth- and fifth-grade children (681 girls; M age = 10.14 years) and their 72 teachers from 9 schools in one public school district in the Mid-Atlantic United States. Children completed self-report measures of peer victimization and teachers completed measures of aggression for each child in their classrooms. Via two-level regression (level 1 = child; level 2 = classroom), reactive aggression related positively to peer victimization and proactive aggression related negatively to peer victimization. The positive relation between reactive aggression and peer victimization was only significant in classrooms with low levels of reactive aggression. The negative relation between proactive aggression and peer victimization was only significant in classrooms with low levels of proactive aggression. Our hypotheses were supported and offered further evidence for differential relations of reactive and proactive aggression with peer victimization at the child level, while demonstrating the important role of classroom norms for aggression in moderating these relations.

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Sex Differences in the Relationships between Forms of Peer Victimization and Reactive and Proactive Aggression in Schoolchildren

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph18105443 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (10) ◽

pp. 5443

Author(s):

Annis Lai-Chu Fung

Keyword(s):

Sex Differences ◽

Peer Victimization ◽

Social Exclusion ◽

Reactive Aggression ◽

Proactive Aggression ◽

Self Report ◽

Multiple Forms ◽

Physical Victimization ◽

Reactive And Proactive Aggression ◽

The Relationship

The original study investigated sex differences in the relationships between multiple forms of peer victimization (physical victimization, verbal victimization, and social exclusion) and subtypes of aggression (reactive aggression and proactive aggression) in schoolchildren. A self-report questionnaire assessing levels of peer victimization and aggression was administered to 3790 schoolchildren (1916 males and 1874 females) aged 11 to 17 (M = 13.19; SD = 1.17) from 10 middle schools in Hong Kong. The pure effect of each subtype of aggression were evaluated by statistically controlling for another subtype of aggression in analyses. Furthermore, participants were classified as non-aggressors, reactive aggressors, proactive aggressors, and reactive–proactive aggressors to investigate their differences in specific forms of peer victimization. Data were analyzed by hierarchical linear regression and ANOVA. The results showed: (1) Sex significantly moderated the relationship between specific forms of peer victimization and subtypes of aggression; (2) In males, reactive aggression was positively predicted by verbal victimization; proactive aggression was positively predicted by physical victimization and social exclusion, and negatively predicted by verbal victimization; (3) In females, reactive aggression was positively predicted by physical victimization and social exclusion; proactive aggression was negatively predicted by social exclusion; and (4) Reactive–proactive aggressors reported more physical victimization than other types of aggressors. The findings have significant implications for distinctive functions of reactive and proactive aggression and the need to develop differentiated interventions for male and female schoolchildren.

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Longitudinal Links of Individual and Collective Morality with Adolescents’ Peer Aggression

Journal of Youth and Adolescence ◽

10.1007/s10964-021-01518-9 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Gianluca Gini ◽

Robert Thornberg ◽

Kay Bussey ◽

Federica Angelini ◽

Tiziana Pozzoli

Keyword(s):

Aggressive Behavior ◽

Moral Disengagement ◽

Moral Identity ◽

Relative Strength ◽

Proactive Aggression ◽

Self Report ◽

Significant Interaction Effect ◽

Class Level ◽

Reactive And Proactive Aggression ◽

The Individual

AbstractAdolescents’ aggressive behavior has been often linked to biases in morality. However, limited knowledge is available regarding the relative strength of different moral correlates, both at the individual and class-level, in predicting different types of aggressive behavior over time. To address this gap, the present study tested the prospective associations of moral identity and moral disengagement with reactive and proactive aggression in a short-term longitudinal study. The sample consisted of 1158 Italian adolescents (48.7% females; Mage = 13.6 years, SD = 1.1). Participants completed self-report measures of moral identity, moral disengagement, perceived collective moral disengagement in the fall, and reactive and proactive aggression in the fall and in the spring. Multivariate multilevel analysis indicated that, at the individual level, after controlling for the stability of aggressive behavior, T2 (Time 2) reactive aggression was higher for students who reported lower moral identity and higher moral disengagement at T1 (Time 1). For proactive aggression, a significant interaction effect indicated that the negative association between T1 moral identity and T2 aggression was apparent only at high levels of T1 moral disengagement. Moreover, proactive aggression was significantly predicted by higher perceived collective moral disengagement. At the class-level, T1 collective moral disengagement helped explain between-class variability of T2 reactive and proactive aggressive behavior. How these results expand previous research on morality and aggressive behavior and their potential implications for prevention and intervention programs is discussed.

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Reactive and Proactive Aggression among Immigrant and Non-Immigrant Early Adolescents in Norway: The Relations to Emotional and Conduct Problems

Adolescent Psychiatry ◽

10.2174/2210676610666200327165927 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (3) ◽

pp. 219-230

Author(s):

Hildegunn Fandrem ◽

Brit Oppedal ◽

Thormod Idsoe

Keyword(s):

Conduct Problems ◽

Behavioral Problems ◽

Structural Equation ◽

Early Adolescents ◽

Emotional Problems ◽

Equation Model ◽

Proactive Aggression ◽

Self Report ◽

Foreign Born ◽

Reactive And Proactive Aggression

Objective: This study explores the differences in the association between three different types of aggression (reactive aggression, power-related proactive aggression and affiliation- related proactive aggression) and emotional and conduct problems between early adolescents with immigrant and non-immigrant backgrounds in Norway. Methods: The sample comprised 1759 early adolescents in fifth to eighth grade (10- to 15- year-olds). The proportion of early adolescent immigrants with two foreign-born parents was 862, and 897 participants were adolescents with two Norwegian-born parents. The gender distribution was similar in the immigrant and non-immigrant samples, 48.2% boys and 49.5% girls. The mean age was 11.6 years (SD 1.25) for immigrant boys, 11.7 (SD 1.29) for non-immigrant boys, 11.6 (SD = 1.25) for immigrant girls, and 11.8 (SD = 1.27) for nonimmigrant girls. Data were collected via self-report assessments. Results: A multigroup structural equation model revealed that the effects of reactive and proactive aggression were different for conduct and emotional problems. Only reactive and power-related proactive aggression was significantly associated with conduct problems, and effect sizes were independent of immigrant status. The effects of reactive and power-related proactive aggression on emotional problems were stronger for non-immigrant early adolescents, while the effects of affiliation-related proactive aggression were stronger for immigrant- background early adolescents. Conclusion: A better understanding of the underlying mechanisms of the associations between aggression and emotional problems and the variation between immigrant and nonimmigrant early adolescents can shed light on the etiology of mental health and behavioral problems. The importance of such knowledge in designing interventions targeting aggression among early adolescents in multicultural contexts is discussed.

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Hostility and normative beliefs in reactive and proactive aggression: A structural model

PsycEXTRA Dataset ◽

10.1037/e552512012-008 ◽

2006 ◽

Author(s):

J. M. Andreu ◽

J. M. Ramirez

Keyword(s):

Structural Model ◽

Proactive Aggression ◽

Normative Beliefs ◽

Reactive And Proactive Aggression

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Relating Reactive and Proactive Aggression to Trait Driving Anger in Young and Adult Males: A Pilot Study Using Explicit and Implicit Measures

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su13041850 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (4) ◽

pp. 1850

Author(s):

Veerle Ross ◽

Nora Reinolsmann ◽

Jill Lobbestael ◽

Chantal Timmermans ◽

Tom Brijs ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Pilot Study ◽

Cognitive Biases ◽

Young Male ◽

Proactive Aggression ◽

Implicit Measures ◽

Adult Males ◽

Young Males ◽

Targeted Interventions ◽

Driving Anger ◽

Reactive And Proactive Aggression

Driving anger and aggressive driving are main contributors to crashes, especially among young males. Trait driving anger is context-specific and unique from other forms of anger. It is necessary to understand the mechanisms of trait driving anger to develop targeted interventions. Although literature conceptually distinguished reactive and proactive aggression, this distinction is uncommon in driving research. Similar, cognitive biases related to driving anger, measured by a combination of explicit and implicit measures, received little attention. This pilot study related explicit and implicit measures associated with reactive and proactive aggression to trait driving anger, while considering age. The sample consisted of 42 male drivers. The implicit measures included a self-aggression association (i.e., Single-Target Implicit Association Test) and an attentional aggression bias (i.e., Emotional Stroop Task). Reactive aggression related positively with trait driving anger. Moreover, a self-aggression association negatively related to trait driving anger. Finally, an interaction effect for age suggested that only in young male drivers, higher proactive aggression related to lower trait driving anger. These preliminary results motivate further attention to the combination of explicit and implicit measures related to reactive and proactive aggression in trait driving anger research.

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Reactive and proactive aggression in sexual homicide offenders

Journal of Criminal Justice ◽

10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2020.101728 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 71 ◽

pp. 101728

Author(s):

Jonathan James ◽

Tamsin Higgs ◽

Stephanie Langevin

Keyword(s):

Proactive Aggression ◽

Sexual Homicide ◽

Reactive And Proactive Aggression

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Emotional reactivity and the association between psychopathy-linked narcissism and aggression in detained adolescent boys

Development and Psychopathology ◽

10.1017/s0954579412001186 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 25 (2) ◽

pp. 473-485 ◽

Cited By ~ 33

Author(s):

Luna C. Muñoz Centifanti ◽

Eva R. Kimonis ◽

Paul J. Frick ◽

Katherine J. Aucoin

Keyword(s):

Emotional Reactivity ◽

Violent Behavior ◽

Proactive Aggression ◽

Self Report ◽

Autonomic Reactivity ◽

Adolescent Boys ◽

Emotional Stimuli ◽

Detention Center ◽

Callous Unemotional ◽

Callous Unemotional Traits

AbstractDifferent patterns of emotional reactivity characterize proactive and reactive functions of aggressive behavior, and theory also suggests a link of both types with narcissism. How people with narcissistic traits respond emotionally to competitive scenarios could influence their aggressiveness. Participants were 85 adolescent boys from a detention center. Several indices of emotional functioning were assessed, including attentional bias to negative emotional stimuli and psychophysiological responding. In addition, we included self-report and laboratory measures of aggression and measures of psychopathy-linked narcissism, callous–unemotional traits, and impulsivity. Psychopathy-linked narcissism was uniquely related to unprovoked aggression (i.e., proactive aggression) and to heightened attention to pictures depicting others’ distress. Compared with those scoring low on narcissism, those high on narcissism, who were the least physiologically reactive group, evinced greater proactive aggression, whereas those showing a pattern of coactivation (i.e., sympathetic and parasympathetic autonomic reactivity) evinced greater reactive aggression. Results are consistent with descriptions of narcissistic individuals as being hypervigilant to negative cues and exhibiting poor emotion regulation. These characteristics may lead to aggressive and violent behavior aimed at maintaining dominance over others.

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