Differential Associations Between Relational and Overt Aggression and Children s Psychosocial Adjustment

Transcription

1 J Psychopathol Behav Assess (2012) 34: DOI /s Differential Associations Between Relational and Overt Aggression and Children s Psychosocial Adjustment Teresa M. Preddy & Paula J. Fite Published online: 8 January 2012 # Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2012 Abstract Although much research has focused on the association between childhood aggression and negative psychosocial adjustment, the link between the subtypes of aggression and adjustment is less clear, particularly for relational aggression. The current study examined whether overt and relational aggression in childhood (M010.4 years, SD01.1) are differentially associated with four psychosocial adjustment outcomes (i.e., academic performance, social problems, depression, and delinquency). Results indicated that relational aggression was negatively associated with academic performance, while overt aggression was positively associated with delinquency. Additionally, findings suggested gender differences in the link between aggression subtypes and social problems. Specifically, overt aggression was positively associated with social problems for boys and relational aggression was positively associated with social problems for girls. Neither subtype of aggression was uniquely associated with depression. Thus, this study suggests that psychosocial outcomes may differ depending on the form of aggression that is utilized. Keywords Relational aggression. Overt aggression. Childhood. Internalizing and externalizing symptoms Much research has focused on the association between childhood aggression and negative psychosocial adjustment (Coie and Dodge 1998; Coie et al. 1990). Specifically, aggression in T. M. Preddy (*) Department of Psychology, University of Tennessee, Austin Peay Building, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA tpreddy@utk.edu P. J. Fite Clinical Child Psychology Program, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA childhood has been associated with various problems including peer rejection, academic problems, social skill deficits, risky behaviors, and externalizing and depressive symptoms (Barriga et al. 2002; Campbell et al. 2006; Coie et al. 1990). Although the importance of differentiating aggression subtypes has recently been recognized (Little et al. 2003), the link between psychosocial adjustment and the subtypes of aggression is less clear, particularly for relational aggression. That is, the majority of research has focused on overt aggression, or aggression that is perpetrated with the intention harming others through either physical acts or verbal threats (Crick 1996; Crick and Grotpeter 1995). While research has shown that relational aggression, or harming others through damaging one s reputation or relationships (Crick 1996;Underwood 2003), is also associated with negative psychosocial outcomes including peer rejection, depressive symptoms, loneliness, and isolation (Crick and Grotpeter 1995; Underwood 2003), few studies have examined how relational aggression is linked with other psychosocial outcomes (e.g., academic problems and delinquency), particularly in late childhood. Moreover, the majority of studies examining relational aggression have not examined these associations while also considering the variance associated with overt aggression (Putallaz et al. 2007). Examining both forms of aggression concurrently is necessary to more fully understand relational aggression and its consequences (Putallaz et al. 2007), as this information will help to inform theoretical models as well as ultimately aid in developing targeted prevention and intervention strategies. Accordingly, we examined how relational and overt subtypes of aggression are differentially associated with psychosocial outcomes academic performance, social problems, depression, and delinquency. Furthermore, due to literature suggesting gender differences in aggression (Crick 1996; Crick and Grotpeter 1995; Prinstein et al. 2001), we examined whether the association between aggression subtypes and adjustment differed for boys and girls.

2 J Psychopathol Behav Assess (2012) 34: Overt and Relational Subtypes of Aggression Overt aggression involves intimidating or causing harm or damage to another through either verbal threats or physical means. Overt aggression can be displayed in numerous ways, including pushing, hitting, or threatening to hurt a peer (Crick 1996; Crick et al. 1997; Crick and Grotpeter 1995). In contrast, relational aggression involves purposeful manipulation aimed at either damaging or threatening to damage a peer s relationships, social status, or reputation. Relational aggression includes actions such as spreading rumors, ignoring a peer, and excluding a peer from a group (Crick 1996; Crick and Grotpeter 1995). Although both forms of aggression are highly correlated (Cillessen and Mayeux 2004; Crick and Grotpeter 1995; Tomada and Schneider 1997), research has suggested that aggressive children typically exhibit either relational or overt aggression, rather than utilizing both forms of aggression (Crick and Grotpeter 1995). Additionally, although the perpetration of overt and relational aggression tends to be stable over time (Cillessen and Mayeux 2004; Herrenkohl et al. 2009), relationally aggressive behaviors may increase the likelihood of becoming physically aggressive. However, physical aggression is less likely to lead to increases in relational aggression (Herrenkohl et al. 2009). Moreover, boys and girls may differ in their use of relational and overt aggression. Although initial comparisons of relational and overt aggression suggested that girls are more relationally aggressive than boys (Crick 1997; Crick and Grotpeter 1995), it is uncertain as to whether girls actually are more relationally aggressive than boys (Underwood 2003), especially when culture (Tomada and Schneider 1997) or age (Kistner et al. 2010) is considered. However, whereas girls engage in proportionally more relationally aggressive behavior in comparison to boys (Putallaz et al. 2007), boys perpetrate overt and relational aggression at similar rates (Cillessen and Mayeux 2004; Prinstein et al. 2001; Putallaz et al. 2007; Tomada and Schneider 1997; Wolke et al. 2000). Since the consequences of relational and overt aggression perpetration may differ for boys and girls (Cillessen and Mayeux 2004; Crick1996, 1997; Crick and Grotpeter 1995), continuing to examine gender differences in aggression and the associated psychosocial outcomes will be essential for continuing to develop a theoretical understanding of these forms of aggression in childhood and adolescence. Psychosocial Adjustment and Subtypes of Aggression Relational and overt aggression have been shown to be associated with numerous maladaptive outcomes in childhood and adolescence. Consistent with developmental models of problem behavior (Reid et al. 2002), a majority of research has shown that overtly aggressive youth experience maladaptive academic outcomes, with overt aggression negatively associated with academic achievement, academic competence, and school commitment in childhood and adolescence (Barriga et al. 2002; Campbell et al. 2006; Herrenkohl et al. 2009; Putallaz et al. 2007). In contrast, current research suggests that relationally aggressive children may not suffer from the same negative academic consequences. Specifically, past year relational aggression was positively associated with adolescent reports of academic achievement (Herrenkohl et al. 2009). Additionally, in a British sample of six to nine-year-old children, relational bullies were associated with average to above average achievement on national standardized tests and high scores on national achievement tests predicted relational bullying 2 years later (Woods and Wolke 2004). However, other research has failed to replicate this association and has suggested that relational aggression in fourth grade girls is unrelated to teacher reports of child academic competence (Putallaz et al. 2007). Thus, while there is evidence to suggest that overt aggression is negatively associated with academic performance, the link between relational aggression and academic performance is less clear. First note that very few studies have examined this association. Furthermore, conflicting findings may be due in part to differences in how academic performance was defined and measured (i.e., student s report of his/her comparison to peers and previous grades, national test scores, or teacher s report of academic competence). Therefore, additional research is warranted. Aggressive children often struggle socially, with relationally aggressive children and adolescents rejected and disliked by their peers (Cillessen and Mayeux 2004; Crick 1996; Crick and Grotpeter 1995). Relationally aggressive children and adolescents also experience conflict within their friendships (Crick 1996; Rose et al. 2004). Similarly, overtly aggressive behavior in childhood and adolescence is associated with rejection and less acceptance by peers (Crick 1996; Putallaz et al. 2007; Smith et al. 2010). Although both subtypes of aggression are associated with problems with peer relationships, to date it is unclear as to which aggression subtype is more strongly linked to social problems. This study expands previous research by assessing how aggression subtypes are associated with caregiver reports of children s social problems. Emotional problems are also a concern for aggressive youth. Although both forms of aggression are associated with internalizing symptoms and loneliness in children and adolescents (Crick et al. 1997; Crick and Grotpeter 1995; Prinstein et al. 2001; Storch et al. 2004), overtly aggressive children are typically characterized as more externalizing and relationally aggressive youth as more internalizing (Crick 1997). However, overt aggression has been found to be more strongly associated with internalizing symptoms

3 184 J Psychopathol Behav Assess (2012) 34: in a sample of seventh and ninth graders (Rose and Swenson 2009). Thus, additional research is necessary to more fully understand the link between aggression subtypes and internalizing distress. Both relationally and physically aggressive third graders have been shown to be more delinquent than their nonaggressive peers (Crick et al. 2006); however, overt aggression during ages 9 to 13 has been shown to be a greater risk factor for delinquency than relational aggression (van der Wal et al. 2003). Additionally, physical and relational aggression both predict adolescents reports of binge drinking behavior, and physical and relational aggression are differentially linked to marijuana and tobacco use respectively (Herrenkohl et al. 2009). Therefore, although evidence suggests overt aggression is a greater risk factor for delinquency, additional research is necessary to more fully understand the association between relational aggression and delinquent behavior (Herrenkohl et al. 2009). Current Study In sum, we examine whether overt and relational aggression in late childhood are differentially associated with four psychosocial outcomes (i.e., academic performance, social problems, depression, and delinquency). These outcomes were selected because they each represent an aspect of the major spheres of functioning in childhood. Since few studies have examined overt and relational aggression during late childhood (Crick 1996; Grotpeter and Crick 1996), this study extends previous research by examining the unique associations during this important developmental period. This developmental period typically marks the important transition from elementary to middle school, a time in which child behavior is known to change (e.g., Fite et al. 2006), and there is evidence to suggest that associations of aggressive behavior depend on age (Kistner et al. 2010). Thus, developing a thorough understanding of associations with aggressive subtypes in the current age group (i.e., nine to 12-year-olds) will be important for establishing what type of aggressive behaviors to target for particular outcomes during this risky time of transition. Since previous work has suggested that children who perform well academically may have the language and social skills that allow them to utilize relational aggression (Herrenkohl et al. 2009; Woods and Wolke 2004), we expected relational aggression to be positively and overt aggression to be negatively associated with academic performance (Barriga et al. 2002; Campbell et al. 2006; Putallaz et al. 2007). Additionally, we expected both forms of aggression to be associated with social problems since both are linked to difficulties in peer relationships (Campbell et al. 2006; Coie et al. 1990; Crick and Grotpeter 1995). Both forms of aggression were also hypothesized to be associated with depressive symptoms since depressive symptoms have been linked to the perpetration of overt and relational aggression(campbelletal.2006; Crick and Grotpeter 1995; Prinstein et al. 2001; Storch et al. 2004). Since overt aggression is the form of aggression that is most strongly linked with risky behaviors and delinquency (Campbell et al. 2006; Loeber 1990; van der Wal et al. 2003), we expected overt aggression to be more strongly associated with delinquency than relational aggression. Finally, gender was examined as a moderator of the link between aggression subtypes and delinquency, and we expected the link between relational aggression and outcomes to be stronger for girls and the link between overt aggression and outcomes to be stronger for boys. Method Participants Participants were recruited through flyers and advertisements distributed throughout the community. The sample included 89 children (56% male) who were between 9 and 12 years of age (M010.4 years, SD01.1). Caregivers participated in a phone screen to ensure the child and participating family members did not meet any of the exclusionary criteria (i.e., child developmental delays or learning disabilities and non-english speaking families). The sample is racially representative of the mediumsized, Southeastern city from which participants were recruited. The majority of children were Caucasian (74%), while 20.5% were African American, and 5.5% were biracial or of other racial/ethnic group. Median family income was $50,000 (range0$5,600 to $240,000), and approximately 27% of the sample received public assistance. The majority of caregiver respondents were mothers (85%). Procedures Children and caregivers were invited to the laboratory to participate in interviews lasting approximately one and a half hours. Both caregiver consent and child assent for participation were obtained. Caregivers and children were interviewed separately to ensure confidentiality. Interviewers read all questions aloud and responses were entered into the computer by the interviewer using Medialab software. Additionally, for each child, one teacher was asked to complete several measures assessing child academic performance and behavior. Note that no single teacher reported on more than two children in the study. Families were compensated $45 for participation and children received a prize. Teachers were compensated with a $10 gift card.

4 J Psychopathol Behav Assess (2012) 34: Measures Relational and Overt Aggression Caregiver reports of child relational and overt aggression were assessed using two subscales of Little et al. s (2003) forms and functions of aggression questionnaire. These items were adapted from measures used previously to assess relational and overt aggression (Crick and Grotpeter 1995). Two subscales, 6- items each, of this measure were included to assess for overt (e.g., My child is the kind of person who often hits, kicks, or punches others ) and relational (e.g., My child is the kind of person who tells his/her friends to stop liking someone ) forms of aggression. Caregivers responded using a 5- point scale (1 0 never to 5 0 almost always). Mean scores were used for analyses. The internal consistencies for the overt (α0.88) and relational (α0.87) subscales were good. Academic Performance Teachers provided reports of child academic performance by rating the child s performance in three areas of academic functioning: (1) math, (2) language arts, and (3) other subjects. Teachers responded using a 3-point scale that assessed academic performance in comparison to the teacher s expectations for the child s grade level(1 0 below grade level, 2 0 at current grade level, or 3 0 above grade level). Teachers ratings for the three academic subscales were averaged for a total academic functioning score ranging from 1 to 3. The internal consistency for this measure was good (α0.88). Social Problems Caregiver reports of child social problems were obtained using the social problems syndrome scale of the Child Behavior Checklist (Achenbach 1991). This 8- item CBCL subscale measures social problems such as immaturity and poor peer relations. Caregivers rated the extent to which each item described their child during the past 6 months using a 3-point scale (1 0 not true, 2 0 sometimes/somewhat true, or 3 0 very/often true). Items included Acts too young for age and Gets teased a lot. Items were averaged and used for analyses. The internal consistency of this scale was adequate (α0.76). Depressive Symptoms Children completed the 27-item Child Depression Inventory (Kovacs 1992) to assess the extent to which depressive symptoms were experienced during the previous 2 weeks. The CDI is used to measure cognitive, behavioral, and affective symptoms of depression. For each item, the child indicates which of three responses best describes him/her. Each item includes a response that indicates an absence of symptoms (scored 0), mild symptoms (scored 1), and definite symptoms (scored 2). For example, items include responses such as: I domostthingsok (0), I do many things wrong (1), or I doeverythingwrong (2). For analyses, all items were averaged for a total score. Internal consistency was good (α0.86). Delinquency Child delinquency was assessed using child reports of Fergusson et al. s (1999) delinquency items. Children indicated whether they had engaged in a particular behavior in the past year by responding to 14 yes-no items. Items included Skipped school without parents permission and Smoked cigarettes. Higher scores represented greater levels of delinquency. The internal consistency of the measure was low (α0.48), most likely due to the dichotomous nature of the questionnaire (Cohen et al. 2003). Scores in the sample ranged from 0 to 4 out of a potential maximum of 14. Data Analyses We first estimated correlations to establish bivariate associations. Next, to examine unique associations, the four outcome variables (i.e., academic performance, social problems, depression, and delinquency) were simultaneously regressed on the overt and relational aggression subtypes. Age, child gender, caregiver gender, family income, and race were initially considered as covariates in the model. However, since age, child gender and caregiver gender were not significantly related to study outcomes, only income and race were included in subsequent analyses in order to reduce the number of parameters included in the models. Furthermore, we also examined gender differences in these associations by adding gender by aggression subtype interactions to the models using standard procedures (Aiken and West 1991). Variables were standardized prior to analyses to aid in interpretation. Results Descriptive Statistics Correlations, means, and standard deviations are reported in Table 1. As expected, overt and relational aggression were highly related. Both overt and relational aggression were positively associated with children s social problems, and social problems were negatively correlated with academic performance. Overt and relational aggression were also positively associated with self-reported delinquency. Further, delinquency was also positively correlated with child depressive symptoms. Relational aggression was negatively associated with academic performance, suggesting that high levels of relational aggression are associated with poor academic performance. Relational aggression was positively associated with depressive symptoms, whereas there was only a trend for overt aggression to be associated with depressive symptoms. Depressive symptoms were positively associated with social problems and negatively associated with academic performance. Relational aggression was associated with race, and race was also positively correlated with depression, such that

5 186 J Psychopathol Behav Assess (2012) 34: Table 1 Correlations, means, and standard deviations of observed study variables p<.09, *p<.05, **p<.01, ***p<.001; race (Caucasian 0 1, minority 0 2) Overt Aggression 2. Relational Aggr..66*** 3. Academic Perf ** 4. Social Problems.47***.58***.48*** 5. Depression.18.24*.37**.36*** 6. Delinquency.31**.23* * 7. Race.06.28**.44***.18.29** Income *.27* Mean SD ethnic minority children were more likely to exhibit relational aggression and suffer from depressive symptoms. Further, race was negatively associated with academic performance, such that minority youth exhibited lower levels of academic performance. Family income was positively associated with academic performance and negatively associated with social problems. Regression Analyses Academic Performance Relational aggression was negatively associated with academic performance, suggesting that high levels of relational aggression are associated with low ratings of academic performance (see Table 2). Race was negatively associated with academic performance, such that minority youth exhibited lower levels of academic performance than Caucasian youth. Income was positively associated with academic performance, suggesting that high levels of family income are associated with high ratings of academic performance. No relation was found between overt aggression and academic performance. When the gender by aggression interactions were added to the model, no significant interactions emerged (ps>.31). Social Problems As expected, relational aggression was positively associated with social problems. Contrary to our prediction, overt aggression was not linked to social problems. Income was negatively associated with social problems and race was unrelated to social problems. When gender by aggression subtype interactions were added to the models, a statistically significant gender difference in the link between overt aggression and social problems (ß0.29, p0.03) as well as a statistically significant gender difference in the link between relational aggression and social problems (ß0.29, p0.03) was found (see Figs. 1 and 2). For girls, relational (ß0.73, p<.001), but not overt (ß0.19, p0.40), aggression was associated with social problems. In contrast, for boys, overt (ß0.40, p0.02), but not relational, aggression (ß0.14, p0.50), was associated with social problems. Depressive Symptoms Overt aggression, relational aggression, and family income were not associated with children s reports of depressive symptoms. Race was positively associated with depression, such that minority youth exhibited higher levels of depressive symptoms than Caucasian youth. No significant gender by aggression interactions were found (ps>.58). Delinquency A positive association was found between overt aggression and children s reports of delinquency. However, relational aggression, income, and race were not associated with delinquency, and there were no gender differences in these associations (ps>.54). Discussion The purpose of the investigation was to assess how relational and overt aggression were differentially related to measures of children s school, social, psychological, and behavioral functioning. The current study extended prior research by simultaneously examining the link between relational and overt aggression and academic functioning, social problems, depressive symptoms, and delinquency. Although few of our hypotheses were supported, several interesting findings emerged. Unexpectedly, relational aggression was negatively associated with academic performance. Relational aggression waspositivelyassociatedwithsocialproblems,andanexamination of the gender by aggression subtype interactions indicated that overt aggression was associated with social problems for boys only and relational aggression was associated with social problems for girls only. As predicted, overt, but not relational, aggression was positively associated with delinquency. Neither form of aggression was uniquely associated with child depression. These findings and their implications are discussed below. Although previous research has suggested that children who exhibit higher levels of academic performance may have the language skills and intelligence to better utilize relational aggression (Woods and Wolke 2004), relational

6 J Psychopathol Behav Assess (2012) 34: Table 2 Unique associations of overt and relational aggression with academic performance, social problems, depressive symptoms, and delinquency Academic performance Social problems Depressive symptoms Delinquency R *** R *** R * R * ß (SE) t ß (SE) t ß (SE) t ß (SE) t Race.29(.12)* (.10).06.25(.12)* (.12) 1.04 Income.20(.10) (.09)** (.11) (.11) 1.89 Overt aggression.15(.14) (.12) (.14).85.34(.14)* 2.37 Relational aggression.33(.14)* (.12)*** (.15).49.00(.15).02 ß Standardized Regression Coefficient; SE Standard Error; *p<.05, **p<.01, ***p<.001 aggression was negatively associated with academic performance. Therefore, in contrast to our hypothesis and previous work (Herrenkohl et al. 2009; Woods and Wolke 2004), relationally aggressive children received lower ratings of academic performance from their teachers. One possible explanation for this finding is that whereas previous work has used national test scores and student reports of grades, this was the first study to use teacher reports of academic performance in specific subject areas. Since teachers have access to student grades, and national test scores may not reflect actual functioning in the classroom, our reports of academic functioning may be a more accurate representation of how students are currently performing in school. Another explanation for the negative association between relational aggression and academic performance is that relationally aggressive children may also may also experience victimization (Wolke et al. 2000), which is associated with academic underachievement, specifically scores on national standardized tests (Woods and Wolke 2004). Further, since relational aggression is typically premeditated, relationally aggressive children may spend a significant amount of time ruminating about social interactions. Since dysphoric rumination can impair concentration during academic tasks (Lyubomirsky et al. 2003), rumination may also contribute to the negative association between relational aggression and academic performance. Unexpectedly and in contrast to previous research (Barriga et al. 2002; Campbell et al. 2006; Herrenkohl et al. 2009), no association was found between overt aggression and academic performance. However, our sample differed from those used in previous research since our sample was younger than the samples of Barriga et al. (2002) and Herrenkohl and colleagues (2009) and we included both genders rather than girls only (Putallaz et al. 2007). Specifically, since perpetration of aggression varies with age (Kistner et al. 2010) and since developmental factors may play a role in the association between aggression and adjustment, age may be one factor that limited our ability to replicate the negative association between overt aggression and academic performance that has been identified in older samples. Further, since girls engage in lower levels of overt aggression than boys (Grotpeter and Crick 1996; Kistner et al. 2010), it is possible that our mixed sample identified overt children who were less maladjusted than the overtly aggressive girls identified The Association Between Overt Aggression and Social Problems for Boys and Girls The Association Between Relational Aggression and Social Problems for Boys and Girls Social Problems Low Overt Aggression Girls Boys High Social Problems Low Relational Aggression Girls Boys High Fig. 1 The association between overt aggression and social problems for boys and girls Fig. 2 The association between relational aggression and social problems for boys and girls

7 188 J Psychopathol Behav Assess (2012) 34: by Putallaz and colleagues (2007), potentially limiting the ability to detect a similar negative association between overt aggression and academic performance. Moreover, since relational aggression was examined as a covariate, this may suggest that relational aggression is more strongly linked to academic performance than overt aggression. Regardless, this study provides further evidence for the link between aggression and academic problems, and also suggests that relationally aggressive youth may not be immune to the academic problems that have been demonstrated by overtly aggressive youth in previous research. Interestingly, although both forms of aggression were associated with social problems at the bivariate level, gender by aggression subtype interactions revealed that overt aggression was associated with social problems for boys, and relational aggression was associated with social problems for girls. Therefore, the current study suggests that children who utilize forms of aggression that are normative for their own gender may be at the greatest risk for experiencing social problems. Although previous research by Crick (1997) has shown that gender nonnormative forms of aggression may be associated with higher levels of child reported distress and higher teacher ratings of maladjustment, current results suggest that children who engage in the form of aggression that is normative for their own gender may be at greater risk for problems related to social functioning. One potential reason why we did not replicate the findings on nonnormative forms of aggression and adjustment is that whereas we examined unique relations of continuous measures of the aggression subtypes, Crick (1997) examined relations by grouping individuals based on levels of the aggression subtypes. Thus, the unique effects of the aggression subtypes may not be as clear in the Crick (1997) study. Nonetheless, our link between relational aggression and girls is in accordance with previous research that has demonstrated that relationally aggressive girls are typically more disliked, lonely, and isolated (Cillessen and Mayeux 2004; Crick 1997; Crick and Grotpeter 1995). Therefore, problems with peers may be a significant problem for relationally aggressive girls. Neither relational nor overt aggression was uniquely related to depressive symptoms. However, relational aggression was positively correlated with depression and the positive correlation between overt aggression and depression was marginally significant. One potential reason for the lack of associations with depressive symptoms may be due to the high shared variance amongst the aggression subtypes. Moreover, our sample is also younger than the adolescent samples that have revealed associations between both forms of aggression and depression (Prinstein et al. 2001; Rose and Swenson 2009; Storch et al. 2004), and depressive symptoms become more prominent as children age into adolescence (Lakdawalla et al. 2007). As expected, overt aggression accounted for a unique proportion of the variance associated with delinquency when controlling for relational aggression. Although this suggests that overtly aggressive children are at a greater risk for engaging in delinquent behaviors, both forms of aggression were correlated with delinquency in this study. Therefore, overtly aggressive children may be at the highest risk for delinquency; however, relationally aggressive youth may also be at risk for delinquent behavior. In particular, relationally aggressive youth may be more likely to use certain substances, such as alcohol and tobacco (Herrenkohl et al. 2009). Since the high levels of delinquency that are associated with the overt aggression may be more visible to parents and teachers, delinquency and substance use among relationally aggressive youth may be overlooked, possibly allowing problems to worsen over time. Limitations and Conclusions Although the results of the current study are consistent with developmental models of problem behavior (Reid et al. 2002), suggesting important implications regarding the association between forms of aggression and children s adjustment outcomes, several limitations should be considered. First, due to the cross-sectional nature of the study, caution should be taken when drawing conclusions regarding causal direction of effects. Future researchers should seek to incorporate a longitudinal sample so that the prediction of developmental outcomes from the forms of aggression could be evaluated. Based on the R 2 values of the current models, we had adequate power to detect significant first order effects (Cohen 1988). However, due to the relatively small sample size (n089), we only had the power to detect medium and large interaction effects (Aiken and West 1991). Although it is not clear from a clinical perspective how useful identifying small effects may be, future research would benefit from the use of larger samples to ensure that small interaction effects are not missed. Regardless, findings should be replicated before firm conclusions are drawn. Moreover, this study utilized a community-recruited sample with low mean levels of outcome variables potentially limiting the associations found. In particular, because depressive symptoms are more prevalent in at-risk and clinical samples, associations between the aggression subtypes and depressive symptoms may be more evident in these sample types. Thus, the associations in the present study may not generalize to atrisk and clinical populations. Since the association between aggression and adjustment varies with age (Cillessen and Mayeux 2004), our results may not be generalizable to other developmental periods. Further, since the contexts of elementary and middle school differ in several ways (e.g., changing classrooms, time spent with friends), current results should be replicated in samples that only include students in either elementary or middle school to further evaluate these contextual

8 J Psychopathol Behav Assess (2012) 34: influences. Moreover, since grade reports or GPAs were not available, teachers provided ratings of academic performance. Although teachers are likely to be more accurate reporters of grade level performance than children or parents since they keep performance records, teachers assessments were subjective and may be subject to error or bias. Further research should utilize concrete measures of academic performance such as a cumulative GPA to minimize the potential for bias. Finally, the use of multiple informants to describe children s psychosocial functioning makes it difficult to determine whether the results may be due to who was chosen to report on a given outcome. Additional research should examine informant differences and similarities. In light of this limitation, note that informants for each outcome of interest were strategically selected. For example, since agreement between parent and child reports of internalizing distress is typically low (De Los Reyes and Kazdin 2005; Kemper et al.2003) and since children have been found to be reliable reporters of their own depressive symptoms (Michael and Merrell 1998), child reports of internalizing symptoms were selected over parent and teacher reports. Likewise, since children have been found to be valid and reliable reporters of externalizing behavior (Cashel 2003; Darrick et al. 2003; Moore and Ames 2002) and parents and teachers may not be aware of all children s delinquent behaviors or substance use, we chose to assess child reports of delinquency. This study suggests the importance of examining relational and overt aggression as unique correlates and predictors of psychosocial outcomes in children. Current findings indicate that relational aggression may be more strongly linked to academic problems and overt aggression may be more strongly linked to delinquency during late childhood. Relational aggression may also be more strongly linked to social problems; however, this study provides evidence that overtly aggressive boys and relationally aggressive girls are more likely to suffer from social problems. Continuing to study the relation between relational and overt aggression and adjustment will be essential to developing a more thorough understanding of these aggressive behaviors. Additionally, examining how relational and overt aggression are differentially related to psychosocial adjustment is necessary to inform the development of interventions. Once the link between forms of aggression and adjustment is better understood, researchers and clinicians can work to develop targeted interventions that not only reduce aggressive behaviors, but also seek to alleviate the negative outcomes that are associated with the perpetration of relational and overt aggression. In addition to more closely examining the link between relational and overt aggression and psychosocial adjustment, further research should seek to identify variables that may moderate these associations. For instance, experiencing victimization or rejection in addition to engaging in aggression perpetration may lead to greater maladjustment. Furthermore, since functions of aggression (i.e., proactive versus reactive) have been associated with differential maladaptive outcomes (Fite and Colder 2007), examining the motivation behind aggressive acts may illustrate why some aggressive children experience greater problems than others. 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