Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Longitudinal Investigation of the Link Between Proactive and Reactive Aggression and Disciplinary Actions in an After-School Care Program

  • Published:
Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The current study longitudinally investigated relations between proactive (goal-oriented, calculated) and reactive (response to perceived threat) aggression and disciplinary actions in an after-school care program in a sample of 147 school-age children (Mean age = 8.22 years; 54.4% male). In addition, perceived best friend delinquency was examined as a moderator of the relations between proactive and reactive aggression and disciplinary actions. As expected, high levels of proactive aggression were associated with high levels of disciplinary actions. Reactive aggression, in contrast, was negatively associated with disciplinary actions 2-months later. Finally, perceived best friend delinquency moderated the association between proactive, but not reactive, aggression and disciplinary actions. However, this interaction effect was only marginally statistically significant (p = .06). Implications for findings and future directions are discussed.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. Some may have concerns regarding the validity of findings across the broad age span included in the current sample. More specifically, some may question the impact of the inclusion of younger children on the current results. Accordingly, follow-up analyses were conducted in order to evaluate the stability of the current findings. First, two- and three-way interactions with age were added to the models to determine if age moderated the previously reported effects. No significant interactions were found, suggesting that age did not impact these associations. Furthermore, models were re-estimated using only children in 3rd grade and up. Findings were stable, with proactive aggression positively associated with disciplinary actions and reactive aggression negatively associated with disciplinary actions. Thus, the links between reactive and proactive aggression and disciplinary actions do not appear to be affected by the inclusion of younger children.

  2. Gender differences in associations were examined using a multiple group model approach (Kline, 2005). Specifically, a model in which parameters were free to vary across the gender groups was first estimated. A second model in which causal paths and exogenous variable covariances were constrained to be equal across the gender groups was then estimated, and a chi-square diff test was conducting in order to determine if constraining the paths to be equal across the groups resulted in a significant decrement in the model chi-square. Constraining the paths to be equal across the groups did not result in a significant decrement in the model chi-square (∆χ 2(10)= 17.14, p > .07), suggesting the model did not differ across gender groups.

References

  • Aboud, F. E., & Mendelson, M. J. (1998). Determinants of friendship selection and quality: Developmental perspectives. New York: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Arbuckle, J. L., (1996). Full information estimation in the presence of incomplete data. In G. A.

  • Bauman, K. E., & Ennett, S. T. (1996). On the importance of peer influence for adolescent drug use: Commonly neglected considerations. Addiction, 91, 185–198.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Berkowitz, L. (1978). Whatever happened to the frustration-aggression hypothesis? The American Behavioral Scientist, 32, 691–708.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brendgen, M., Vitaro, F., Tremblay, R. E., & Lavoie, F. (2001). Reactive and proactive aggression: Predictions to physical violence in different contexts and moderating effects of parental monitoring and caregiving behavior. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 29(4), 293–304.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bronfenbrenner, U. (1979). The ecology of human development: Experiments by nature and design. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bubier, J. L., & Drabick, D. A. G. (2009). Co-occuring anxiety and disruptive behavior disorders: The roles of anxious symptoms, reactive aggression, and shared risk processes. Clinical Psychology Review, 29, 658–669.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bushman, B. J., & Anderson, C. A. (2001). Is it time to pull the plug on hostile versus instrumental aggression dichotomy? Psychological Review, 108(1), 273–279.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • 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 Behavioural Development, 30(5), 466–480.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cashel, M. L. (2003). Validity of self-reports of delinquency and socio-emotional functioning among youth on probation. Journal of Offender Rehabilitation, 37, 11–23.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cohen, J. (1988). Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences (2nd ed.). Hillsdale: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Connor, D. F., Steingard, R. J., Anderson, J. J., & Melloni, R. H. (2003). Gender differences in reactive and proactive aggression. Child Psychiatry and Human Development, 33, 279–294.

    Google Scholar 

  • Coralijn, N. N., Orobio de Castro, B., & Koops, W. (2005). Social information processing in delinquent adolescents. Psychology, Crime, & Law, 11, 363–375.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Crick, N., & Dodge, K. A. (1996). Social information-processing mechanisms on proactive and reactive aggression. Child Development, 67, 993–1002.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Darrick, J., Farrington, D. P., Hawkins, D. J., Catalano, R. F., Hill, K. G., & Kostermena, R. (2003). Predictive, concurrent, prospective and retrospective validity of self-reported delinquency. Criminal Behavior and Mental Health, 13, 179–197.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dishion, T. J., & Owen, L. D. (2002). A longitudinal analysis of friendships and substance use: Bidirectional influence from adolescence to adulthood. Developmental Psychology, 38(4), 480–491.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Dishion, T. J., Spracklen, K. M., Andrews, D. W., & Patterson, G. R. (1996). Deviancy training in male adolescents friendships. Behavior Therapy, 27(3), 373–390.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dodge, K. A. (1991). The structure and function of proactive and reactive aggression. In D. J. Pepler & K. H. Rubin (Eds.), The development and treatment of childhood aggression (pp. 201–218). Hillsdale: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dodge, K. A., & Coie, J. D. (1987). Social-information-processing factors in reactive and proactive aggression in children’s peer groups. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 53(6), 1146–1158.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • 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(1), 37–51.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Durlak, J. A. (2009). How to select, calculate, and interpret effect sizes. Journal of Pediatric Psychology. doi:10.1093/jpepsy/jsp004.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Elliot, D. S., Huizinga, D., & Ageton, S. S. (1985). Explaining delinquency and drug use. Newbury Park: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fergusson, D. M., Woodward, L. J., & Horwood, L. (1999). Childhood peer relationship problems and young people’s involvement with deviant peers in adolescence. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 27(5), 357–369.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Fergusson, D. M., Swain-Campbell, N. R., & Horwood, L. (2002). Deviant peer affiliations, crime and substance use: A fixed effects regression analysis. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 30, 419–430.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Fergusson, D. M., Vitaro, F., Wanner, B., & Brendgen, M. (2007). Protective and compensatory factors mitigating the influence of deviant friends on delinquent behaviours during early adolescence. Journal of Adolescence, 30, 33–50.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Fite, P. J., Colder, C. R., & O’Connor, R. M. (2006). Childhood behavior problems and peer selection and socialization: Risk for adolescent alcohol use. Addictive Behaviors, 31(8), 1454–1459.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Fite, P. J., Colder, C. R., & Pelham, W. E., Jr. (2006). A factor analytic approach to distinguish pure and co-occurring dimensions of proactive and reactive aggression. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 35(4), 578–582.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Fite, P. J., Colder, C. R., Lochman, J. E., & Wells, K. C. (2007). Pathways from proactive and reactive aggression to substance use. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 21(3), 355–364.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Fite, P. J., Colder, C. R., Lochman, J. E., & Wells, K. C. (2008a). Developmental trajectories of proactive and reactive aggression from fifth to ninth grade. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 37(2), 412–421.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Fite, P. J., Colder, C. R., Lochman, J. E., & Wells, K. C. (2008b). The relation between childhood proactive and reactive aggression and substance use initiation. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 36(2), 261–271.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Fite, P. J., Stoppelbein, L., & Greening, L. (2009). Proactive and reactive aggression in a child psychiatric inpatient population. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 38(2), 199–205.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Fite, P. J., Wynn, P., & Pardini, D. A. (2009). Explaining discrepancies in arrest rates between black and white male juveniles. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 77, 916–927.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Fite, P. J., Raine, A., Stouthamer-Loeber, M., Loeber, R., & Pardini, D. A. (2010). Reactive and proactive aggression in adolescent males: Examining differential outcomes 10 years later in early adulthood. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 37(2), 141–157.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fite, P. J., Rathert, J. L., Colder, C. R., Lochman, J. E., & Wells, K. C. (2011). Proactive and Reactive Aggression. In R. J. R. Levesque (Ed.). Encyclopedia of Adolescence.

  • Gottfredson, D. C., Gottfredson, G. D., & Weisman, S. A. (2001). The timing of delinquency behavior and its implications for after-school programs. Criminology and Public Policy, 1, 61–86.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Haynie, D. L. (2001). Delinquent peers revisited: Does network structure matter? The American Journal of Sociology, 106(4), 1013–1057.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Haynie, D. L., & Osgood, D. W. (2005). Reconsidering peers and delinquency: How do peers matter? Social Forces, 84, 1109–1130.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kempes, M., Matthys, W., Maassen, G., van Goozen, S., & van Engeland, H. (2006). A parent questionnaire for distinguishing between reactive and proactive aggression in children. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 15(1), 38–45.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kerr, M., Tremblay, R. E., Pagani, L., & Vitaro, F. (1997). Boys’ behavioral inhibition and the risk of later delinquency. General Psychiatry, 54, 809–816.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kline, R. B. (2005). Principles and Practice of Structural Equation Modeling (3rd ed.). New York: Guilford.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ladd, G. W., & Emerson, E. S. (1984). Shared knowledge in children’s friendships. Developmental Psychology, 20(5), 932–940.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Laird, R. D., Pettit, G. S., Dodge, K. A., & Bates, J. E. (1999). Best friendships, group relationships, and antisocial behavior in early adolescence. Journal of Early Adolescence, 19(4), 413–437.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Loeber, R., Farrington, D., Stouthamer-Loeber, M., & White, H. (2008). Violence and serious theft: Development and prediction from childhood to adulthood. New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • McConville, D. W., & Cornell, D. G. (2003). Aggressive attitudes predict aggressive behavior in middle school students. Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, 11, 179–187.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Meldrum, R. C., Young, J. T. N., & Weerman, F. M. (2009). Reconsidering the effect of self-control and delinquent peers: Implications of measurement for theoretical significance. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 46, 353–376.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moore, R. S., & Ames, G. M. (2002). Survey confidentiality vs. anonymity: Young men’s self-reported substance use. Journal of Alcohol and Drug Education, 47, 32–41.

    Google Scholar 

  • Muthen, L. K., & Muthen, B. (2009). Mplus: The comprehensive modeling program for applied researchers. Los Angeles: Muthen & Muthen.

    Google Scholar 

  • National Research Council and Institute of Medicine. (2002). Juvenile Crime, Juvenile Justice. Panel on Juvenile Crime: Prevention, Treatment and Control. In J. McCord, C. Spatz-Widon, & N. A. Crowell (Eds.), Committee on law and justice and board on children, youth and families (pp. 13–44). Washington: National Academy.

    Google Scholar 

  • Poulin, F., & Boivin, M. (2000). Reactive and proactive aggression: Evidence of a two-factor model. Psychological Assessment, 12(2), 115–122.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Raine, A., Dodge, K. A., Loeber, R., Gatzke-Kopp, L., Lynam, D., Reynolds, C., et al. (2006). The reactive-proactive aggression questionnaire: Differential correlates of reactive and proactive aggression in adolescent boys. Aggressive Behavior, 32, 159–171.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Reitz, E., Dekovic, M., Meijer, A. M., & Engels, R. C. (2006). Longitudinal relations among parenting, best friends, and early adolescent problem behavior: Testing bidirectional effects. Journal of Early Adolescence, 26(3), 272–295.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rubin, K. H., Bukowski, W., & Parker, J. G. (1998). Peer interactions, relationships, and groups. In W. Damon & N. Eisenberg (Eds.), Handbook of child psychology, Vol 3 Social, emotional, and personality development (5th ed., pp. 619–700). Hoboken: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Scarpa, A. Haden, S.C. & Tanaka, A. (2009). Being hot-tempered: Autonomic, emotional, and behavioral distinctions between childhood reactive and proactive aggression. Biological Psychology.

  • Snyder, J., Schrepferman, L., Oeser, J., Patterson, G., Stoolmiller, M., Johnson, K., et al. (2005). Deviancy training and association with deviant peers in young children: Occurance and contribution to early-onset conduct problems. Development and Psychopathology, 17, 397–413.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Tobin, T. J., & Sugai, G. M. (1999). Using sixth-grade school records to predict school violence, chronic discipline problems, and high school outcomes. Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, 7, 41–59.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tremblay, R. E., Pihl, R. O., Vitaro, F., & Dobkin, P. L. (1994). Predicting early onset of male antisocial behavior from preschool behavior. General Psychiatry, 51, 732–739.

    Google Scholar 

  • Valois, R. F., & MeKeown, R. E. (1998). Frequency and correlates of fighting and carrying weapons among public high school adolescents. American Journal of Health Behavior, 22, 8–17.

    Google Scholar 

  • Valois, R. F., MacDonald, J. M., Bretous, L., Fischer, M. A., & Drane, J. W. (2002). Risk factors and behaviors associated with adolescent violence and aggression. American Journal of Health Behavior, 26, 454–464.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Vitaro, F., Tremblay, R. E., Kerr, M., Pagani, L., & Bukowski, W. M. (1997). Disruptiveness, friends’ characteristics, and delinquency in early adolescence: A test of two competing models of development. Child Development, 68, 676–689.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Vitaro, F., Brendgen, M., & Tremblay, R. E. (2002). Reactively and proactively aggressive children: Antecedent and subsequent characteristics. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 43(4), 495–506.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Vitaro, F., Wanner, B., Brendgen, M., Gosselin, C., & Gendreau, P. L. (2004). Differential contribution of parents and friends to smoking trajectories during adolescence. Addictive Behaviors, 29, 831–835.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Vitaro, F., Brendgen, M., & Barker, E. D. (2006). Subtypes of aggressive behaviors: A developmental perspective. International Journal of Behavioural Development, 30(1), 12–19.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vitulano, M. L., Fite, P. J., & Rathert, J. L. (2010). Delinquent peer influence on childhood delinquency: The moderating effect of impulsivity. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 32, 315–322.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Waschbusch, D. A., Willoughby, M. T., & Pehlam, W. E. (1998). Criterion validity and the utility of reactive and proactive aggression: Comparisons to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, oppositional defiant disorder, oppositional defiant disorder, and other measures of functioning. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 27, 396–405.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We would like to acknowledge and thank members of the UT Child Behavior Lab for their hard work and dedication. We would also like to thank individuals who participated in the study.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, USA

    Paula J. Fite, Jamie L. Rathert, Stevie N. Grassetti, Alden E. Gaertner, Scott Campion & Michael L. Vitulano

  2. Boys and Girls Clubs of the Tennessee Valley, Knoxville, TN, USA

    Jeremiah L. Fite

Authors
  1. Paula J. Fite
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Jamie L. Rathert
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Stevie N. Grassetti
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Alden E. Gaertner
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Scott Campion
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Jeremiah L. Fite
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Michael L. Vitulano
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Paula J. Fite.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Fite, P.J., Rathert, J.L., Grassetti, S.N. et al. Longitudinal Investigation of the Link Between Proactive and Reactive Aggression and Disciplinary Actions in an After-School Care Program. J Psychopathol Behav Assess 33, 205–214 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10862-011-9231-z

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10862-011-9231-z

Keywords

Search

Navigation