Abstract
This study examined adolescents’ patterns of beliefs about aggression, and how these patterns relate to aggressive and prosocial behavior, and to risk factors associated with aggression. A sample of 477 sixth graders from two urban schools and a school in a nearby county completed measures of beliefs, behavior, and individual, peer and parental factors associated with aggression. Teacher ratings of participants’ behavior and emotion regulation were also obtained. The urban sample was 84% African American; the county school was in a rural fringe area with a student population that was 45% Caucasian and 40% African American. Latent class analysis of items on a beliefs measure supported hypotheses predicting three groups: (a) a Beliefs Against Fighting (BAGF) group that opposed the use of aggression (31% of the sample); (b) a Fighting is Sometimes Necessary (FSNEC) group that endorsed beliefs that fighting is sometimes necessary or inevitable (41%), and (c) a Beliefs Supporting Fighting (BSUPF) group that supported aggression across multiple contexts (28%). Differences across groups were found on race/ethnicity and family structure, but not on gender. Significant differences were also found such that the FSNEC group fell between levels of the BAGF and BSUPF groups on most measures. In contrast, the FSNEC and BAGF groups both differed from the BSUPF group, but not from each other on measures of empathy, perceived effectiveness of nonviolence and aggression, and parental messages supporting nonviolence. These differences suggest the need for tailoring prevention approaches for subgroups of adolescents who differ in their patterns of beliefs.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Achenbach, T. M. (1991). Manual for the Teacher’s Report Form and 1991 profile. Burlington, VT: University of Vermont, Department of Psychiatry.
Bray, B., Lanza, S., & Tan, X. (2011, June). Classify-analyze approaches in latent class analysis: The importance of inclusive modeling. Innovations in latent class analysis: New approaches to address classic questions. Symposium conducted at the meeting of Society for Prevention Research, Washington, DC. Retrieved from: filebox.vt.edu/users/bcbray/Bray_SPR_Talk_2011.pptx
Calvete, E. (2008). Justification of violence and grandiosity schemas as predictors of antisocial behavior in adolescents. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 36, 1083–1095. doi:10.1007/s10802-008-9229-5.
Card, N. A., & Little, T. D. (2006). Proactive and reactive aggression in childhood and adolescence: A meta-analysis of differential relations with psychosocial adjustment. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 30, 466–480. doi:10.1177/0165025406071904.
Cliffordson, C. (2001). Parents’ judgments and students’ self-judgments of empathy: The structure of empathy and agreement of judgments based on the interpersonal reactivity index (IRI). European Journal of Psychological Assessment, 17, 36–47. doi:10.1027//1015-5759.17.1.36.
Copeland-Linder, N., Jones, V. C., Haynie, D. L., Simons-Morton, B., Wright, J. L., & Cheng, T. L. (2007). Factors associated with retaliatory attitudes among African American adolescents who have been assaulted. Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 32, 760–770. doi:10.1093/jpepsy/jsm007.
Crick, N. R. (1997). Engagement in gender normative versus nonnormative forms of aggression: Links to social-psychological adjustment. Developmental Psychology, 33, 610–617. doi:10.1037/0012-1649.33.4.610.
Crick, N. R., & Dodge, K. A. (1994). A review and reformulation of social information-processing mechanisms in children’s social adjustment. Psychological Bulletin, 115, 74–101. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.115.1.74.
Crick, N. R., & Dodge, K. A. (1996). Social information-processing mechanisms on reactive and proactive aggression. Child Development, 67, 993–1002. doi:10.2307/1131875.
Davis, M. H. (1983). Measuring individual differences in empathy: Evidence for a multidimensional approach. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 44, 113–126. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.44.1.113.
Dodge, K. A., & Rabiner, D. L. (2004). Returning to roots: On social information processing and moral development. Child Development, 75, 1003–1008. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.2004.00721.x.
Dodge, K. A., Lochman, J. E., Harnish, J. D., Bates, J. E., & Pettit, G. S. (1997). Reactive and proactive aggression in school children and psychiatrically impaired chronically assaultive youth. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 106, 37–51. doi:10.1037/0021-843X.106.1.37.
Elliot, D., & Tolan, P. H. (1999). Youth, violence prevention, intervention and social policy: An overview. In D. Flannery & R. Hoff (Eds.), Youth violence: Prevention, intervention and social policy (pp. 3–46). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Press, Inc.
Espelage, D. L., Holt, M. K., & Henkel, R. R. (2003). Examination of peer-group contextual effects on aggression during early adolescence. Child Development, 74, 205–220. doi:10.1111/1467-8624.00531.
Farrell, A. D., & Camou, S. (2006). School-based interventions for youth violence prevention. In J. R. Lutzker (Ed.), Preventing violence: Research and evidence-based intervention strategies (pp. 125–145). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Farrell, A. D., & Vulin-Reynolds, M. (2007). Violent behavior and the science of prevention. In D. Flannery, A. Vazonsyi, & I. Waldman (Eds.), Cambridge handbook of violent behavior (pp. 766–786). New York: Cambridge University Press.
Farrell, A. D., Kung, E. M., White, K. S., & Valois, R. F. (2000). The structure of self-reported aggression, drug use, and delinquent behaviors during early adolescence. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 29, 282–292. doi:10.1207/S15374424jccp2902_13.
Farrell, A. D., Sullivan, T. N., Kliewer, W., Allison, K. W., Erwin, E. H., Meyer, A. L., & Esposito, L. (2006). Peer and school problems in the lives of urban adolescents: Frequency, difficulty, and relation to adjustment. Journal of School Psychology, 44, 169–190. doi:10.1016/j.jsp. 2006.02.001.
Farrell, A. D., Erwin, E. H., Bettencourt, A., Mays, S., Vulin-Reynolds, M., Sullivan, T., Allison, K., Kliewer, W., & Meyer, A. (2008). Individual factors influencing effective nonviolent behavior and fighting in peer situations: A qualitative study with urban African American adolescents. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 37, 397–411. doi:10.1080/15374410801955821.
Farrell, A. D., Henry, D. B., Schoeny, M. E., Bettencourt, A., & Tolan, P. H. (2010a). Normative beliefs and self-efficacy for nonviolence as moderators of peer, school, and parental risk factors for aggression in early adolescence. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 39, 800–813. doi:10.1080/15374416.2010.517167.
Farrell, A. D., Mays, S., Bettencourt, A., Erwin, E. H., Vulin-Reynolds, M., & Allison, K. W. (2010b). Environmental influences on fighting versus nonviolent behavior in peer situations: A qualitative study with urban African American adolescents. American Journal of Community Psychology, 46, 19–35. doi:10.1007/s10464-010-9331-z.
Farrell A. D., Henry D. B., & Bettencourt A. (2011a) Methodological challenges examining subgroup differences: Examples from universal school-based youth violence prevention trials. Prevention Science. doi:10.1007/s11121-011-0200-2.
Farrell, A. D., Henry, D. B., Mays, S. A., & Schoeny, M. E. (2011b). Parents as moderators of the impact of school norms and peer influences on aggression in middle school students. Child Development, 82, 146–161. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.2010.01546.x.
Giang, M. T., & Graham, S. (2008). Using latent class analysis to identify aggressors and victims of peer harassment. Aggressive Behavior, 34, 203–213. doi:10.1002/ab.20233.
Gresham, F. M., & Elliott, S. N. (1990). The Social Skills Rating System. Circle Pines, MN: American Guidance Service.
Hinshaw, S. (1992). Externalizing behavior problems and academic underachievement in childhood and adolescence: Causal relationships and underlying mechanisms. Psychological Bulletin, 111, 127–155. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.111.1.127.
Huesmann, L. R. (1998). The role of social information processing and cognitive schema in the acquisition and maintenance of habitual aggressive behavior. In R. G. Geen, E. Donnerstein, R. G. Geen, & E. Donnerstein (Eds.), Human aggression: Theories, research, and implications for social policy (pp. 73–109). San Diego, CA US: Academic.
Huesmann, L. R., & Guerra, N. G. (1997). Children’s normative beliefs about aggression and aggressive behavior. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 72(2), 408–419. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.72.2.408.
Kärnä, A., Voeten, M., Little, T. D., Poskiparta, E., Kaljonen, A., & Salmivalli, C. (2011). A large–scale evaluation of the KiVa antibullying program: Grades 4–6. Child Development, 82, 311–330. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.2010.01557.x.
Kliewer, W., Adams Parrish, K., Taylor, K. W., Jackson, K., Walker, J. M., & Shivy, V. A. (2006). Socialization of coping with community violence: Influences of caregiver coaching, modeling, and family context. Child Development, 77, 605–623. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.2006.00893.x.
Lim, S. H., & Ang, R. P. (2009). Relationship between boys’ normative beliefs about aggression and their physical, verbal, and indirect aggressive behaviors. Adolescence, 44, 635–650.
Lo, Y., Mendell, Y. R., & Rubin, D. B. (2001). Testing the number of components in a normal mixture. Biometrika, 88, 767–778.
Moffitt, T. E. (1993). Adolescence-limited and life-course-persistent antisocial behavior: A developmental taxonomy. Psychological Review, 100, 674–701. doi:10.1037/0033-295X.100.4.674.
Multisite Violence Prevention Project (2004). Description of measures: Cohort-wide student survey. Available from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Atlanta, GA.
Multisite Violence Prevention Project. (2008). The Multisite Violence Prevention Project: Impact of a universal school-based violence prevention program on social-cognitive outcomes. Prevention Science, 9, 231–244. doi:10.1007/s11121-008-0101-1.
Multisite Violence Prevention Project. (2009). The ecological effects of universal and selective violence prevention programs for middle school students: A randomized trial. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 77, 526–542. doi:10.1037/a0014395.
Muthén, L.K. & Muthén, B.O. (2010). Mplus: Statistical analysis with latent variables. User’s Guide v 6.0. Los Angeles, CA: Muthén & Muthén.
Ng-Mak, D., Salzinger, S., Feldman, R., & Stueve, A. (2002). Normalization of violence among inner-city youth: A formulation for research. The American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 72, 92–101. doi:10.1037/0002-9432.72.1.92.
Nylund, K. L. (2007). Latent Transition Analysis: Modeling Extensions and an Application to Peer Victimization (Doctoral Dissertation, University of California, Los Angeles).
Nylund, K. L., Asparouhov, T., & Muthén, B. O. (2007). Deciding on the number of classes in latent class analysis and growth mixture modeling: A monte carlo simulation study. Structural Equation Modeling, 14, 535–569. http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/hsem20/14/4
Olweus, D., & Limber, S. P. (2010). Bullying in school: Evaluation and dissemination of the Olweus bullying prevention program. The American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 80, 124–134. doi:10.1111/j.1939-0025.2010.01015.x.
Orpinas, P., Murray, N., & Kelder, S. (1999). Parental influences on students’ aggressive behaviors and weapon carrying. Health Education & Behavior, 26, 774–787. doi:10.1177/109019819902600603.
Peled, M., & Moretti, M. M. (2007). Rumination on anger and sadness in adolescence: Fueling of fury and deepening of despair. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 36, 66–75. doi:10.1207/s15374424jccp3601_7.
Reynolds, C.R., & Kamphaus R.W. (1992). Behavior Assessment System for Children. Circle Pines MN: American Guidance Service, Inc.
Schafer, J. L., & Graham, J. W. (2002). Missing data: Our view of the state of the art. Psychological Methods, 7, 147–177. doi:10.1037/1082-989X.7.2.147.
Shields, A., & Cicchetti, D. (1997). Emotion regulation among school-age children: The development and validation of a new criterion Q-sort scale. Developmental Psychology, 33, 906–916. doi:10.1037/0012-1649.33.6.906.
Solomon, B. S., Bradshaw, C. P., Wright, J., & Cheng, T. L. (2008). Youth and parental attitudes toward fighting. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 23, 544–560. doi:10.1177/0886260507312947.
Spencer, M. B., Cunningham, M., & Swanson, D. P. (1995). Identity as coping: Adolescent African-American males’ adaptive responses to high-risk environment. In H. W. Harris, H. C. Blue, E. E. H. Griffith, H. W. Harris, H. C. Blue, & E. E. H. Griffith (Eds.), Racial and ethnic identity: Psychological development and creative expression (pp. 31–52). Florence, KY US: Taylor & Frances/Routledge.
Stevenson, H. C., Jr. (1997). Missed, dissed, and pissed’: Making meaning of neighborhood risk, fear and anger management in urban black youth. Cultural Diversity and Mental Health, 3(1), 37–52. doi:10.1037/1099-9809.3.1.37.
Sullivan, T. N., Helms, S. W., Kliewer, W., & Goodman, K. (2010). Associations between sadness and anger regulation coping, emotional expression, and physical and relational aggression among urban adolescents. Social Development, 19, 30–51. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9507.2008.00531.x.
Toblin, R. L., Schwartz, D., Gorman, A. H., & Abou-ezzeddine, T. (2005). Social-cognitive and behavioral attributes of aggressive victims of bullying. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 26, 329–346. doi:10.1016/j.appdev.2005.02.004.
Tolan, P. H., Gorman-Smith, D., & Loeber, R. (2000). Developmental timing of onsets of disruptive behaviors and later delinquency of inner-city youth. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 9, 203–220. doi:10.1023/A:1009471021975.
Werner, N. E., & Nixon, C. L. (2005). Normative beliefs and relational aggression: An investigation of the cognitive bases of adolescent aggressive behavior. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 34, 229–243. doi:10.1007/s10964-005-4306-3.
Zeman, J., Shipman, K., & Penza-Clyve, S. (2001). Development and initial validation of the children’s sadness management scale. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior, 25, 187–205. doi:10.1023/A:1010623226626.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
This study was funded by the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC Cooperative Agreement U49 CE000730. The findings and conclusions in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Farrell, A.D., Bettencourt, A., Mays, S. et al. Patterns of Adolescents’ Beliefs About Fighting and Their Relation to Behavior and Risk Factors for Aggression. J Abnorm Child Psychol 40, 787–802 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-011-9609-0
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-011-9609-0