The additive and interactive roles of aggression, prosocial behavior, and social preference in predicting resource control in young children

Bibliographic Data

ID12936786
AuthorsAlexander Wettstein (0000-0002-5612-3144, University of Bern, corresponding author), Mara Brendgen (0000-0001-6780-8547, Université du Québec à Montréal), Frank Vitaro (0000-0003-3897-2916, Université de Montréal), Fanny‐alexandra Guimond (0000-0002-4261-5025, Université du Québec à Montréal), Nadine Forget‐Dubois (0000-0002-4285-3293, Université Laval), Stéphane Cantin (0000-0002-7632-0743, Université de Montréal), Ginette Dionne (0000-0001-9828-6403, Université Laval), Michel Boivin (0000-0001-8621-9844, Université Laval)
Year2013
Volume5
Issue3
Pages179-196
Publication date2013-07-12
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Aggression Conflict and Peace Research (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1759-6599 • E-ISSN: 2042-8715
PublisherEmerald Publishing Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1108/jacpr-11-2012-0011
OpenAlexW2039181322
LanguageEN
Citations received4
References cited64

Purpose Distinguishing between physical and social aggression, this study aimed to examine whether the predictive effect of aggression on resource control is moderated by prosocial behavior and corresponds to a linear or a curvilinear trend. Moderating effects of children's social preference among peers and child sex in this context were also tested. Design/methodology/approach Based on a sample of 682 kindergarten children (348 girls; average age 72.7 months, 3.6 SD), multilevel regressions revealed additive linear effects of social preference and prosociality on resource control. Findings Moderate (but not high) levels of social aggression also facilitated resource control for disliked children. There was no such threshold effect for well‐liked children, who increasingly controlled the resource the more socially aggressive they were. In contrast, physical aggression hampered resource control unless used very modestly. Originality/value The present study has a number of positive features. First, the distinction between physical and social aggression improves our understanding of the relation between aggression and social competence and sketches a more differentiated picture of the role of different forms of aggression in resource control. Second, this study combines the concept of resource control with the concept of social preference and investigates curvilinear effects of aggression. Third, the direct observation of resource control in the Movie Viewer increases the internal validity of this study

Aggression · Developmental psychology · Multilevel model · Preference · Prosocial behavior · Social change · Social competence · Bullying, Victimization, and Aggression · Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development · Child Development and Digital Technology · Psychology · Social Psychology

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