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Researchers have been studying school aggression (often termed bullying) for many years, but it was not until the 1980's that the deleterious effects of school aggression became more apparent. Most of the studies on physical and relational aggression focus upon the experiences of children who perpetrate these actions or who are the victims of this form of aggression. However, few studies have investigated how physical and relational aggression is influenced by the teacher and/or specific classroom environments. To date, there is a scarcity of information available regarding teacher characteristics and attitudes within the classroom and how these specific characteristics are associated with physically and relationally aggressive behavior and the overall climate of the classroom. The purpose of the present study was to examine whether teacher positivity is associated with student levels of physically and relationally aggressive behaviors in the classroom. This study specifically examined the relationship between (1) teacher positivity and student physical and relational aggression, (2) the relationship between classroom climate variables and student physical and relational aggression, and (3) differences in school, teacher, student, and classroom variables (teacher and student gender, student grade, and student ethnicity) based on the level of teacher positivity. Data were collected from 502 male (n=259) and female (n=243) 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students from two large urban elementary schools within the School District of Philadelphia during the 2005-2006 and 2006-2007 school year. In addition to student participants, the third, fourth, and fifth grade teachers (n=18) also participated as part of the focus of a systematic observation tool developed by the lead researcher. Results from the first research question found no significant correlations between teacher positivity and non-compliant acts, the proportion of physically aggressive students or the proportion of relationally aggressive students. However, the proportion of physically aggressive students was significantly positively correlated with the average number of non-compliant acts (r = .603, p = .008). Results from the second research question found that the average number of non-compliant acts and the proportion of physically aggressive students was higher in classrooms where the minority of students was engaged and interested in the classroom activity. Results from the third research question showed only that there were differences between School 1 (m = 0.49, sd = .09) and School 2 (m = .29, sd = .14; t (16) = 3.56, p = .003) when comparing teacher positivity by school. Teacher, student, and classroom variables did not produce significant findings. Post hoc analyses, looking more specifically at the types of redirection and praise which composed the teacher positivity score, found correlations between the average number of noncompliant acts and universal redirections (r = .795, p = .000), the proportion of physically aggressive students and total teacher redirection (r = .479, p = .036), the proportion of physically aggressive students and specific teacher redirections (r = .540, p = .021), and the proportion of relationally aggressive students and teacher redirections (r = .477, p = .045) that occurred during an interruption. / School Psychology

Although researchers studying adolescent aggression have proposed a conceptual distinction between physical and relational aggression, there is contradictory evidence regarding the degree to which they differ in their trajectories and relations to other outcomes. This study explored the importance of differentiating between these two forms of aggression based on comparisons of their trajectories, relation with each other, impact on delinquency and substance use, and gender differences. Data were collected as part of the Multisite Violence Prevention Project, conducted at 19 middle schools from four sites with a predominantly low-income, minority sample of students (N = 2,822). Growth curves showed significant linear increases and quadratic trends for physical and relational aggression. Boys and girls had similar shaped trajectories, but boys reported significantly higher levels of physical aggression than girls. Bivariate latent growth curve models and autoregressive models suggested that physical aggression was a stronger predictor of externalizing difficulties than relational aggression.

Relational aggression is an indirect type of aggression used to damage relationships with others. Adolescent girls frequently encounter this issue, and the ubiquity of technology has expanded the ways in which girls can attack one another, i.e. cyber-bullying. The causes of relational aggression are unknown and could involve a combination of factors, including victim and/or bully psycho-social adjustment, social expectations, or the implicit structure of female friendships in adolescence. The effects range from social anxiety to impacted school performance to depression and suicidality. Groups of friends act much like a family for adolescents in terms of support and intimacy. Using Murray Bowen’s family systems theory as a template, an intervention is proposed where girls are taught techniques that will strengthen relationships with others and themselves. / text

The Master's thesis deals with the topic of aggression in children. It focusses on the different kinds of aggression, specifics of aggression in children in their developmental stages, developmental trajectories of aggression, gender differences in aggression, determinants of aggression, theories of origin of gender differences, and international comparisons of aggression. The objectives of the research was to examine specifics of aggression in a Czech sample group, compare Czech results with the results of other countries (Greece, France, Germany, Italy, Turkey, China, India, Venezuela, Colombia, Mexico and Peru), and examine the effect of age, gender, and sibling birth order on aggression. The mean of factors of aggression in the Czech sample was among the smallest of the countries mentioned above. We didn't find any significant difference among groups based on age, gender, or sibling birth order. Keywords: Relational aggression, physical aggression, developmental trajectories of aggression, The Fairy Tale Test

This study investigated if girls and boys high in ADHD symptomology exhibited and experienced relational and overt aggression differently than boys and girls without ADHD symptoms using peer, parent and teacher ratings. A measurement of social behavior for parent ratings was also validated. Using archival data, 371 3rd- 6th graders from a north Texas school district participated in the study, along with a parent or guardian and teachers. Results supported that ADHD subtype predicted more overt aggression according to parents and teachers but not peers. ADHD subtype did not predict more relational aggression but ADHD symptomology did. Contrary to past research, gender did not moderate relational aggression or internalizing symptoms from relational victimization. Furthermore, a parent version of the Child Social Behavior Scale was found to effectively measure relational, overt and prosocial behavior. Limitations, future directions and implications are discussed.

Relational aggression includes manipulative behaviors such as gossiping, spreading rumors, or practicing exclusion to intentionally destroy a peer's social reputation. Aggressive behaviors such as those found in relational aggression contribute to unsafe school environments. Research on relational aggression has increased in recent years, yet there is minimal research on relational aggression among African American adolescent females. The research questions were What is social workers' understanding of relational aggression? and How do social workers' cultural awareness and general understanding of African American females' relationships and interpersonal connections impact their ability to connect with their clients in the therapeutic relationship? The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore social workers' perceptions of relational aggression and African American females' social relationships and assess the impact of social workers' perceptions on their ability to connect with clients and provide effective therapeutic services. Relational cultural theory constituted the study's theoretical framework. Data were collected using a qualitative online synchronous focus group with six social workers who provide therapeutic services to female African American teenagers in the school setting. Purposeful sampling was used to determine the number of participants. Thematic analysis was used to identify common themes from interview data. Findings from this study revealed a mischaracterization of relational aggression in relation to bullying. The findings also revealed that social worker's cultural awareness and general understanding of African American females assisted them in being able to connect with the subpopulation in the therapeutic relationship.