NCJ Number
219314
Journal
Journal of Youth and Adolescence Volume: 36 Issue: 6 Dated: August 2007 Pages: 787-798
Date Published
August 2007
Length
12 pages
Annotation
This study examined adolescents and whether proactive and reactive aggression subtypes differ in their association with empathy, social competence, and expectation for reward when using aggression.
Abstract
In summary of the major study hypotheses, proactively and reactively aggressive adolescents did not differ on the study variables. Study results suggest that proactive and reactive aggression differ very little in relation to levels of empathy, self-reported social competence, and expectation for reward. Males scored higher on proactive and reactive aggression scales and lower on empathy measures than females. Overall, uninvolved (nonaggressive youth) had higher empathy and social competence scores and lower expectation of reward for the use of aggression. Recently, much discussion has focused on adolescent aggression. In order to increase one’s understanding of this phenomenon, a closer look at subtypes of aggression might be necessary. Utilizing 433 middle school students, this study examined associations among empathy, social competence and expectation for reward across proactive and reactive subtypes of aggression. Table, references