Gender Differences of Direct and Relational Aggression in Children and Adolescents / 정신신체의학

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to investigate the gender differences of direct aggression and relational aggression in Korean elementary and middle school students. METHODS: Parents of 946 elementary school students(age 9.54±1.72 years, 485 boys, 461 girls) completed the Child Behavior Checklist(CBCL). Six-hundred-and-three middle school students(age 13.98±0.93 years, 301 boys, 302 girls) completed the Youth Self-Report(YSR). Independent t-test, chi-square test, and Fisher's exact test were used. RESULTS: Boys had significantly higher direct aggression scores than girls in elementary school students(p<0.001). There was no significance gender difference of relational aggression in elementary school students(p=0.235). In middle school students, boys had significantly higher direct aggression than girls(p=0.017), and girls had significantly higher relational aggression compared to the boys(p<0.001). CONCLUSION: Our results suggest the presence of gender differences in manifestation of aggression subtypes in Korean elementary and middle school students. These gender differences should be taken into account in prevention and intervention approaches of aggression in children and adolescents.